(Editor's note: Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. For more on the Yellow Jackets, visit the FANSonly Georgia Tech team page. For more on the ACC, visit the conference's official site at theacc.com.)

Nov. 17, 1999

It would mean a lot to win the Heisman Trophy, but it's just really not my place to talk about right now. It would be any player's dream to win the Heisman, but with two games left in our season, I can't be focused on that right now.

	Hamilton passed for 2,166 yards in 1998, leading Tech to a 10-2 record.

I don't get too involved in awards like this, but I definitely know that it goes to the best player in college football, no matter the position. I understand that along the way some people are going to vote for this and that for various reasons, but I can't worry about it.

As for the other Heisman candidates, I have watched Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne on television. He's a football player that gets the job done. He does a lot for his team, and he's player who you like watching. What he does for college football, for himself and for Wisconsin is amazing. He's the all-time rushing leader in college right now. That speaks volumes in itself. He's an exciting player to watch.

No matter what happens, I just want a chance to prove myself in the NFL. I don't know how good my chances are or how high I will go. I just want a chance, a legitimate shot to prove myself. If I can get that, everything will fall into place.

I like challenges and I like to defy the odds. I just want someone to look at me and give me a chance. If you get a chance that is all you can ask for. I am going to play football somewhere.

I take a lot of pride in being able to execute whatever play the coach calls. I would like to go to an offense that features a running type quarterback. I think I could succeed in leading that offense.

Hopefully I can pursue a professional career in the NFL. But if not, I am going to graduate this spring and go into the business world somewhere. But I would still like to be involved in sports.

We have two games left. I just have to be myself and do the things that I have been trying to do for the team and that we all have been trying to do just to win the game. The other things will take care of themselves.

We're a team and do whatever it takes for us to win a ball game. The defense feels it has to step up. We (the offense) feel the same way.

	THE FULL DOSE OF DIARIES
	Miami's André King: Playing for pride and a bowl
	Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops: A tough game at Texas Tech
	USC's Travis Claridge: Proving them all wrong

There's no individualism and no pointing fingers out there. We have to step it up when we have to and they have to step it up when they have to. The defense has made a lot of plays this year. We understand as an offense that our job is to try and score points. So when we get the ball, we try to score points. But it is a team effort. We need the defense to help us out and we are going to help the defense out. Overall, it is a team effort.

The offensive line has done a great job this year. The guys really take a lot of pride in protecting me and protecting the running backs, too. They have opened up a lot of holes.

The early days
My father has had a very big influence in my development. He's a positive guy. Positive influence, positive thinking. You can always talk to him. He feels like he has been in every situation that you can be in and he feels like he can advise you on the right thing to do. To have that after every game and when you need it is a big plus.

I started playing football in Alvin, S.C., when I was about eight. I was just running around and trying to be a part of it. I didn't really understand what the game was about. I was about 11 when I really started to get hit and hit back.

All we really did was play the game. And we really understood the game of football. That's something you don't get in a lot of football players. In college football, you get a lot of athletes and a lot of good skill players, but you don't really get a lot of people who understand the game.

The games I played growing up in Alvin were just as intense as a Saturday game that I play now. Nobody wanted to lose. We really played to win, although we were cousins, friends and brothers. It didn't matter how you won. You just wanted to win and talk about it after that and then do it again the next day. It was just an exciting and real competitive game that continued for 10 or 11 straight years.

No penalties were called. Everything goes in the sandlot. And you won some and you lost some, but the ones you lost were the ones you remembered the most because they hurt so much.

Another guy that played football with us growing up was Penn State's Courtney Brown. He didn't play as often as we did, but when he did come out, it was a bonus. The rest of us would be out there seven days a week, and Courtney would probably be out there three days out of seven. When he was in fourth or fifth grade, he really wasn't getting picked, but as he got older, he became the man on the field. He became a guy you really wanted on your team.

It means a lot that Alvin will now be put on the map. For so long Alvin has been ignored, but now we can say we do have a spot on the map. If you ask anybody in Alvin, they will say we put Alvin on the map. They believe that they are helping me and they are with me. They feel a part of it.