Fixed Ramblin’ Wreck?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Tech’s season begins August 24th against #10 Florida State in Dublin, Ireland.
They come into this season with some expectations because they went 7-6 last year and 5 – 3 in the ACC. Tech beat UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, 30-17.
Brent Key is entering his second full season as head coach in Atlanta. They have less than 10 practices remaining until the season opener. They had a scrimmage to wrap up their second week of preseason camp.
Key pointed out how well wide receivers Christian Leary and Leo Blackburn, tight ends Brett Seither, Jackson Hawes and Luke Harpring and quarterbacks Haynes King and Zach Pyron played. Every Yellow Jacket was able to play in the scrimmage.
“Went into this talking, ‘This isn’t a dress rehearsal. This is game day. Prepare yourself going into it as if it’s game day.’ Then we’ll hit a hard reset (Sunday) and go back into camp preparation, building our football team mode,” Key said.
“I think now is the point in camp where the guys know what to do. It comes down to the details, the techniques, the alignments, getting into the proper stances and alignments before the snap, being able to play whether it was a huddle play or a tempo play or whatever it may be.”
The transfer portal is something that all programs have to deal with. They had 32 players enter the portal ahead of the 2024 season. They have also added some transfer talent.
Some of these new additions are tight end Josh Beetham (Michigan), safety Jayden Davis (Cincinnati), defensive lineman Thomas Gore (Miami), defensive end Romello Height (USC), cornerback Zachary Tobe (Illinois), linebacker E.J. Lightsey (Georgia), corner back Warren Burrell (Tennessee), defensive lineman Ayobami Tifase (Florida State) and defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg (Penn State).
The Yellow Jackets ranked 120th in total defense last season out of 130 FBS teams. They should be better since they have added more talent. It’s also very hard to get worse than that.
Quarterback Haynes King transferred in from Texas A&M. He passed for 2,842 yards, 27 touchdowns and he rushed for 737 yards and 10 TD’s. He did lead the ACC with interceptions so he will need to improve his decision making and cut down on his turnovers. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.
Tech has a total of 17 starters returning, which is tied for 7th with Cal. They have eight on offense and seven on defense.
That includes most of their offensive line, leading rusher Jamal Haynes and top-two receivers Malik Rutherford and Eric Singleton Jr.
Haynes rushed for 931 yards, 7 scores and averaged 6 yards per carry. He had 1,129 all-purpose yards. He should be one of the best backs in the nation this season.
I believe the Yellow Jackets are looking to win six games again to become bowl eligible. They have games against five teams that are ranked in the preseason top 25 Coaches Poll. They will need to win against at least one of those teams to make that happen.
Here is the rest of their schedule:
8/31 vs Georgia State
9/7 @ Syracuse
9/14 vs VMI
9/21 @ Louisville
10/5 vs Duke
10/12 @ North Carolina
10/19 vs #7 Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
10/26 at Virginia Tech
11/9 vs #19 Miami
11/21 vs #22 NC State
11/29 at #1 Georgia
