By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The college football season kicks off this month. We are going to take a look at Georgia Tech and see what we should expect in 2025.

The Yellow Jackets finished the 2024 season 7-6. They lost the season finale to #7 Georgia in eight overtimes, 44-42.

Surprisingly, they created rings to celebrate the season. They did defeat two top 10 teams, #10 Florida State and #4 Miami but that’s not a reason to get rings.

Expectations are higher going into this season. The media has picked them to finish fourth in the ACC. The last time they were picked in the ACC preseason poll to finish higher than fourth was in 2015.

“Before I got here we were 3-9 (in 2021). And then 5-7 (in 2022). It’s a steady progression,” senior safety Clayton Powell-Lee said. “So just knowing that I was a part of that foundation and knowing where this team is going to, where this program is going to skyrocket to? You better buy in now because we gonna be gone in a minute.”

They have some talented players returning on both sides of the ball. On offense they have quarterback Haynes King, running back Jamal Haynes, wide receiver Malik Rutherford and guards Keylan Rutledge and Joe Fusile returning.

“I think the biggest difference is the buy-in. Everyone is bought in, especially starting off in the spring with the guys coming in and NIL (name, image and likeness) taking a big turn — you’re never gonna have the same team over the years. It’s just inevitable,” Haynes said.

“Then us building a bond over the spring and the summer, you definitely see the change in the program. Then on top of that, we have a great locker room. And as long as you have a great locker room, you have great people surrounding your team, you’ll have a great team.”

On defense they have Powell-Lee, corner back Ahmari Harvey, linebacker Kyle Efford and defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg returning.

They have also added talent in recruiting and the transfer portal. Some of the players they added through the transfer portal are WR Evan Haynes (North Carolina), DL Akelo Stone (Ole Miss), CB Jon Mitchell (Penn State), S Jyron Gilmore (Georgia State), S Savion Riley (Colorado), Edge A.J. Hoffler (Clemson), LB Melvin Jordan IV (Oregon State), OT Andrew Rosinski (North Carolina) and WR Debron Gatling (South Carolina). Their 2025 transfer portal recruiting class is ranked 32^nd nationally.

“Look, we got good football players, right? We got good football players that work their butts off,” Tech coach Brent Key. “So, they should have confidence, right?”

The schedule does not look tough. They only have two opponents that are ranked in the preseason top 25, #6 Clemson and #4 UGA.

They will start the season on Friday, August 29^th at Colorado. The Buffaloes lost several talented players to the NFL Draft like Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and QB Shedeur Sanders.

They play FCS Gardner-Webb in Week 2.

On paper Tech should be favored against teams like Temple, Wake Forest, Duke, Syracuse, Pitt and Boston College.

I’m not a fan of the rivalry game with Georgia being played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic this season.

I believe they will win eight games if they stay relatively healthy.

Schedule

8/29 @ Colorado

9/6 Gardner-Webb

9/13 #6 Clemson

9/20 Temple

9/27 @ Wake Forest

10/11 Virginia Tech

10/18 @ Duke

10/25 Syracuse

11/1 @ NC State

11/15 @ Boston College

11/22 Pitt

11/28 #4 Georgia, Mercedes-Benz Stadium