Brent Key Discusses What The Three Spring Transfer Additions On The D-Line Are Bringing To The Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech brought in Romello Height, Jordan van den Berg, and Thomas Gore in the spring transfer window

Oct 21, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive end Romello Height (2) celebrates against the Utah Utes in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

One of Georgia Tech's top objectives this offseason was find ways to improve one of the nation's worst defenses. Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key did that by bringing in a brand new coaching staff and a host of new transfers on that side of the ball. Three players (USC transfer Romello Height, Penn State transfer Jordan van den Berg, and Miami transfer Thomas Gore) were brought in to help the defensive line in the spring transfer portal window. The Yellow Jackets began Fall Camp yesterday and all three players were out there and after practice, Key was asked about what they are bringing to the defense this season:

"Yeah, you know, the ones, the line of scrimmage guys, you know, it'll be a few days before we can tell a lot, uh, as far as true contact and the ability to, to play at the line of scrimmage. But from what I've saw out there today, from what I've seen this summer, Romello has really good speed. He's strong, he's got great length, really good takeoff. Really looking forward to him being able to help us generate pass rush and improving that area. JJ, again, I think he's probably the strongest guy, pound for pound, total weight from squats, cleans, 700 pound squat guy, close to 400 pound clean, just phenomenal strength that he has, but he's also got good athletic ability and everybody really enjoys being around him. So they brought a lot of value, Thomas out there. Again, another guy's played a lot of football in the defensive line. So we really helped ourselves there. And then some of the depth we brought in on the back end with Zach, Jayden and those guys right away, they stepped in this summer and didn't look like it was the first day. So excited for those guys to be able to add some of the depth in the back end, create competition. The more competition you have, the less complacency you're going to have. And we really believe in that. The more guys we can get to play football with force this year, the better off we're going to be."

I think all three of the guys have a chance to make the defensive line and the defense as a whole much better. For Georgia Tech to improve on their season from a year ago, their defense needs to make major strides this season. It will not just be up to those guys those. With Zeek Biggers, Horace Lockett, Kevin Harris, Sylvain Yondjouen, and Makius Scott, the new additions could make Georgia Tech's defensive line deeper.