ATLANTA — Coach Paul Johnson hopes senior quarterback Joshua Nesbitt can play one last game for Georgia Tech despite undergoing arm surgery on Monday.

Nesbitt, who began the season with Heisman Trophy aspirations, broke his right forearm in a loss last week at Virginia Tech.

"I talked to his mom," Johnson said. "The surgery went well, and he's back recuperating. Everything was successful, I think."

The senior quarterback told Johnson he wants to return in a few weeks for a final start if Georgia Tech becomes eligible for a bowl with a victory in one of its final three games.

Tevin Washington, a redshirt sophomore, will make his first career start when the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) host Miami (6-3, 4-2) on Saturday.

After Nesbitt was injured Thursday, Washington ran Johnson's triple-option attack in the second half, rushing 11 times for 45 yards and completing two of seven passes for 80 yards and one interception.

"It helped a whole lot because my nerves went out the window after the first play," Washington said. "I just buckled down and tried to execute."

Losing to Virginia Tech left the Jackets with only a mathematical chance of repeating as ACC champion.

Nesbitt became the league's career-leading rushing quarterback with a 71-yard touchdown against Virginia Tech. He was injured in the second quarter.

After Nesbitt was a first-team All-ACC pick in 2009, Georgia Tech launched a website, www.Nesbitt4Heisman.com, to promote his Heisman Trophy hopes.

But the Jackets dropped off the proverbial national radar by falling out of The Associated Press Top 25 with a surprising Sept. 11 loss at Kansas. The team's ineffective passing attack didn't Nesbitt's Heisman hopes in a run-first offense, either.

Georgia Tech, which leads the nation in rushing with an average of 320.6, ranks 119th in total yards passing with 758.

Nesbitt began the season with a 20-7 career record, but he clearly missed the presence of a No. 1 receiver that he had with Demaryius Thomas, a first-round NFL pick, last year.

His completion percentage, which was only 46.3 percent last season, dropped nearly 9 points. Nesbitt was on track to finish with 973 yards passing, 727 under his total for 2009.

Washington spent last spring as Georgia Tech's No. 1 quarterback as Nesbitt was recovering from ankle surgery and missed spring practice.

"I expect him to step in and do a good job," Johnson said. "It's like I told him. He didn't come here to be the backup, so now he's got an opportunity."