Brent Key Reveals What He is Looking For With Depth At The Running Back Position For The Yellow Jackets This Season

Georgia Tech is hoping to have plenty of depth behind starting running back Jamal Haynes this season

Nov 25, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key reacts before a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech began Fall Camp yesterday and the preparations for the upcoming 2024 season are now underway. There is less than a month until the Yellow Jackets open up the season with a huge game overseas against Florida State and while many of the starters from last year's team are back, there are still some questions that Georgia Tech needs to try and figure ahead of the matchup against the Seminoles. One of the things that head coach Brent Key talked about after practice yesterday was what he thought about the depth the Yellow Jackets had at the running back position and more specifically, what he wants at the position from a depth perspective:

"Yeah, I mean, running back is a position that you always want to have more. Okay, because it doesn't take much at that position, just the durability of those guys. One cramp here, one ankle here, one helmet comes off now, so you're down to your third, fourth guy. So you got to have guys, I think in a perfect world, you always want to have five guys that you can count on. They're reliable to be able to get in there and get reps. And if something happens to games, five guys that can be able to get in there and carry the football, and number one thing is, hold on to football, right? And I don't care whether we have three backs or we have 13 backs, right? If they're gonna be on the field, they gotta hold on to football, right? And that's really a challenge for these young guys that come in, it's the ball security, because the game's faster, the guys are bigger, they're stronger, they get you quicker and you can't get away with the things you did when you were in high school. So that's the big point, emphasis with those guys."

Georgia Tech is fortunate to have one of the best running backs in the ACC with Jamal Haynes but with the loss of Dontae Smith, who will be the main player behind Haynes. Trey Cooley got off to a great start last year and has experience. Georgia Tech has two talented young players in redshirt freshman Evan Dickens and true freshman Anthony Carrie. This could end up being a very strong position for the Georgia Tech offense from a depth perspective, but there are still unknowns that they are going to have to navigate as Fall Camp goes on.