Early Look: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

With the football season less than two weeks from opening, today we take an early look at each of the Tigers' 11 opponents for the 2020 season with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Head Coach: Geoff Collins, an Atlanta area native and one of college football’s most successful and innovative coaches, is in his second season as Georgia Tech football’s head coach. He was named the 20th football head coach in Georgia Tech history on Dec. 7, 2018.

Despite the challenges associated with overhauling Georgia Tech’s football culture, including the monumental switch from its previous option-based offense to a pro-style, spread attack, highlights from Collins’ first year on The Flats included:

• a thrilling 28-21 overtime win at Miami (Fla.), the Yellow Jackets’ first-ever win over the Hurricanes at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium;
• four players named all-Atlantic Coast Conference — all of which were underclassmen and return to The Flats in 2020;
• Tyler Davis, who Collins recruited to Georgia Tech as a graduate transfer, being selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2020 National Football League draft, becoming the highest-selected tight end in program history and the first Yellow Jacket TE taken in the NFL Draft in 28 years;
• a team grade point average of 3.0 at the conclusion of the 2020 spring semester — the highest team GPA in program history.

His impact has also been felt in his prowess as a recruiter. Most notably, Georgia Tech’s first full recruiting class under Collins, the incoming class of 2020, was ranked No. 24 nationally by Rivals, making it only the second top-25 recruiting class in Tech history and the first since 2007, a class that was compiled when Collins served as the Yellow Jackets’ director of player personnel. A total of 12 four- and five-star recruits have joined the Jackets’ since Collins’ arrival as head coach in December 2018.

Yellow Jackets on Offense: Dave Patenaude is in his second season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech.

Given the monumental task of transitioning Georgia Tech’s offense from an option-based scheme to a pro-style, spread attack, Patenaude’s accomplishments in his first season as the Yellow Jackets’ offensive coordinator included:

• two Jackets earning all-ACC accolades — RB Jordan Mason and OL Jack DeFoor;
• WR Ahmarean Brown tying Calvin Johnson’s Georgia Tech freshman record (2007) with seven touchdown receptions;
• QB James Graham tying Shawn Jones’ Georgia Tech freshman record (1989) with 12 touchdown passes;
• TE Tyler Davis, Georgia Tech’s first tight end in 11 years, getting selected in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, making him the highest-drafted tight end in Tech history and the first Yellow Jacket TE to be drafted since 1992.

Yellow Jackets on Defense: Andrew Thacker is in his second season as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Georgia Tech, where he directed a unit that ranked among the nation’s top 40 in pass defense and the top 25 in red zone defense in 2019.

In his first year with the Yellow Jackets, Thacker’s defense produced two all-ACC honorees (LB David Curry and CB Tre Swilling), ranked among the nation’s top 40 in pass defense (207.7 ypg), and ranked among the top 25 nationally in red zone defense (.774).