Georgia Tech Players To Watch Saturday Against VMI

Georgia Tech is looking to bounce back and these players could have a big impact in that happening

Photo By Najeh Wilkins

Georgia Tech is a 45-point favorite to defeat VMI. Although the Keydets are an inferior opponent, there are some key players to watch on Saturday, especially if Georgia Tech wants to achieve their goals this season. They have a big game the following week on ESPN or ESPN 2 when they take on Louisville in a pivotal ACC battle. Here are the players that you should watch on Saturday afternoon. 

1. DT Jordan van den Berg- Expect a heavy dose of the running game from VMI and Hunter Rice getting a lot of touches, especially after starting quarterback Collin Shannon has been ruled out of the game on Saturday. Now van den Berg doesn’t start, but he was the highest-rated Georgia Tech player on defense per PFF, receiving an 80.1 grade against Syracuse. The Penn State transfer is tough to move on the defensive line and has really good gap integrity. Van Den Berg is continuing to get increased reps each week as the coaching staff is starting to trust him more and more. Here are some things he said in the press conference today via Jackson Caudell. 

"I feel like the more I'm learning the defense, the more comfortable I'm getting, the better I'm becoming. So as I keep learning this style of defense and keep pursuing it and just learning more, I'll just carry on developing and getting better. "We are very motivated. Like the D-Line, we want to get to that quarterback. We just got to carry on trusting in the process and keep trust in Coach Simpson. We'll get there."

Van Den Berg is certainly one to continue to watch for the Yellow Jackets and if he can churn out good performances he could see more and more playing time. 

2. FS Taye Seymore- Seymore had the sixth-highest grade on defense last week per PFF. With the middle of the field being exploited by the Syracuse offense last week, Seymore stepped into the role and played well. He had a great performance against the Orange last week and was the leading tackler with 10 tackles, including six solo tackles. Seymore has already tripled his total of tackles that he had last season and is seeing more of the field in his sophomore year. 

Seymore is a backup free safety for the Yellow Jackets behind LaMiles Brooks, and Brooks went out with an injury on Saturday at Syracuse. Leader Clayton Powell-Lee talked about the injury to Brooks and how nicely Taye Seymore filled in his absence from our own Jackson Caudell: 

"I want to say it would put more pressure on me because I've already been trying to step up in that leadership role as far as the back end. I know LaMiles has a lot on his plate. I'm trying to just, just trying to help each other out. So now that LaMiles has been taking a couple of fewer reps, and in practice, I'm just trying to just keep everything smooth transition because we got Taye Seymore, who's been playing a lot recently, and he's been doing a great job. So I have a lot of faith in Tay. He has a lot of faith that we're able to just keep things rolling, even though he may be down when as far as that game."

"I mean, Taye has been a sponge. Like, we all wanted to defend at the same time. He's been a real sponge. Like, now he's playing field safety and boundary safety, just like how I usually been playing it. So I've just been real on him about all the little details, all the little communication that he has to make to the linebacker to the corners, even to the opposite safety. And the nickel, just trying to make sure he knows his defense inside and out to where he's more versatile to where we can't use him at the boundary. We can't use him in the field. So it just makes him more versatile in his skill set."

3. LB Treniylas Tatum- It was a tough outing for Tatum last Saturday afternoon and he is one of the staple defensive players on the team. Tatum was picked on a lot on Saturday with in-breaking routes and seam routes across the middle. Now he is not going to face the same passing attack that Syracuse has but I am curious to see how he rebounds and answers after a tough outing. The senior linebacker is tied for fifth in tackles on the team with 13 tackles in 2024. Tatum is coming off a career year in 2023 finishing with a career-high 38 tackles and a pass deflection. He is known for his hard-hitting ability and how great he is at playing the run. Tatum will be tasked with slowing down the rushing attack of VMI on Saturday, and knowing, Tatum he should have a big afternoon.