North Avenue Buzz
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Tech is a great academic institution that has also been known for having strong athletic programs.
They are a program that has multiple national championships on their resume in football and they have played in several bowl games.
Brent Key had his first full season as head coach for the Yellow Jackets last year. Key took over after the 2022 season and he went 4 – 4. He looked like he might find success and he delivered.
Tech went 7–6 overall and 5–3 in the ACC in 2023. On the surface that does not sound impressive, because it’s just one game over .500. This was their first bowl appearance since 2018, which was Paul Johnson’s final season.
They started the season 2 – 3 with an embarrassing home loss to Bowling Green. The highlights of their season were two upsets over North Carolina and Miami, both were ranked 17th at the time of the game.
They played in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, Florida and they beat UCF 30-17. Now the question is can they build on that in 2024?
The transfer portal is huge in college football and unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets are dealing with that. They had 32 players enter the portal ahead of the 2024 season.
Some of the key players leaving are corner back KJ Wallace (UCLA), defensive lineman D’Quan Douse (Michigan State), corner back Kenan Johnson (Utah), defensive end Kyle Kennard (South Carolina), quarterback Zach Wilson (Georgia State), wide receiver Juju Lewis (FIU) and defensive end Malcolm Pugh (Louisiana Tech).
They also acquired players in the transfer portal. They added a few more from the spring. 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. It’s good to see them addressing that side of the ball because they were awful.
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.
Georgia 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. I think he could have a breakout year in 2024.
The season opens August 24th against Florida State in Dublin, Ireland. FSU will be favored to win this game.
The other games where they will be underdogs are against Notre Dame at Mercedes Benz Stadium and at Georgia.
The games I expect them to win are Georgia State, Syracuse, VMI and Duke.
The other games that are too close to call are Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Miami and NC State.
I think they are capable of winning six games again, if they stay healthy.
As of now their 2025 recruiting class is ranked 22nd in the country and that could improve with another good season.
