News and Notes From Georgia Tech's First Fall Camp Scrimmage

Georgia Tech held their first scrimmage of the fall today

Sep 30, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key shown on the field before the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The first scrimmage of fall camp is now in the books for Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets took the field at Bobby Dodd Stadium today and scrimmaged this afternoon and there was a lot to discuss afterward with head coach Brent Key. Here are the news and notes from today's scrimmage.

1. Georgia Tech ran 160 plays today and were out there for three hours.

2. Key pointed to the depth that the team has now and how everyone was able to stay fresh: "So really, that goes back to the depth. They were able to, you know, we've been able to acquire and build over the last year because the threes were able to get out there and they were over 30, 30-35 plays. The third group was able to get today. And we wanted to see if we could get that many with that group. Because there's a lot of guys in that group that we're looking to see if they can help us this year."

3. Key said there was not a dominant side of the ball today, but he gave a lot of praise to the defense and how they performed:

"It flowed back and forth in the first half when we were going sustained drives, you know, really from the minus 20-yard line. I think it was four touchdowns, five, three-in-outs, and a 52-yard field goal that had leg on it to go a mile, but defense got in and got a hand on it. So, and threw it off. So you see right there just the flow back and forth that both sides had. And really, when it comes down to it, if you look at why there wasn't success, it's things we did ourselves, whether it was an alignment, whether it was an assignment -based or an adjustment, we've got to make sure we get those things done so we can have success both ways."

4. They did a third down scrimmage and the first team defense had a nice day against the No. 1 offense. Key said the first-team defense was 100% efficient against the No. 1 offense and 8 for 8 in terms of big plays. He really praised the improvement on that side of the ball.

"Went into a third down scrimmage. I really wanted to see where we were at as far as from a protection standpoint, from a improved pass rush standpoint, from a coverage standpoint, receivers being able to, you know, get open, cover on the back end. You know, in third group, I mean, I think they were 67 percent efficient the offense was. Second group was 50 -50. Just like I said, you're seeing balance in both things. But if you look at the first group, defense was 100 % efficient. Defense was eight for eight in big plays against the first offense. So we'll talk about improvement in a football team. Now we've got to look at that offensively and see why that was. "

5. Key said that Leo Blackburn was one of the standouts from the scrimmage:

"So I thought Leo had a really good day. Man, I was really, really excited and proud of him, really proud of him of what he's been through and how he's come, you know, just continually the resiliency that he's shown to come back and be out there with us and be a big factor for us.."

6. Key was also complementary of the tight end group and singled out Jackson Hawes, Brett Seither and Luke Harpring today:

"The tight end group had a big day. You know, you talk about, you know, from a receiving standpoint, but, you know, there's a lot of things we've got to improve from every other facets of the game, too. But, you know, Jackson Hawes had a really impressive touchdown in the red area. He's like a monster truck. Big, big-body guy with good balance. I think, four catches and a touchdown. If I'm not mistaken four catches and a touchdown out there, sure-handed, catches everything that comes in sight. The details are what Harp's got to work on, just understanding all the different alignments and the motion, the alignments, and all the things that happen before the snap. Because once the ball snapped, he's, even if he's not precisely or whatnot. He's a competitor now. It must run in his blood or I don't know. So it was good to see that and then really big day for Brett Seither. I thought to see Brett have two touchdowns today. Had a really good day catching the football and the way he played out there. So really really proud of Brett, you know, and that's what he wanted to do and he went out and did it."

7. Here is what Key had to say about how the quarterbacks performed today, he singled out Zach Pyron and the young quarterbacks:

"So the quarterbacks, the quarterbacks did a good job. You know, a lot of different looks, the first team offense at the same versus the first defense. You know, and then, you know, some of those packages start to, you know, diminish a little bit just because of personnel that you have when you get to the other groups. But, you know, Haynes had a solid day out there with the first group that would deliver the ball, put it where it needs to be, manage the offense. We had crowd noise at times in different areas to start to simulate the crowd noise good job. So all in all, there's a lot of things we have to work on. We have to be honest with ourselves. We have to develop the consistency. Everyone in the team played today. Everyone was able to get in there and play. So now we can really have a true evaluation of who we are and the personnel on our football team."

8. Key said they were impressed with what the defensive line did today:

"We're deeper, we're better. It allows the guys that have been here that have played a bunch of reps to play more, you know, efficient reps. I guess the best way to say it. And, you know, you don't want to count your chickens before the hatch. We still have a lot of camp to go. But like I said, we've, I feel like we've improved our pass rush. Inability to stop the run with the front."

9. As far as the right guard battle goes, Keylan Rutledge took every first team snap today and performed well:

"Yeah, I mean, took every rep. First team guard today. He's a throwback. He is a throwback O -lineman, nasty, plays the game in weigh the old heads, you know, wanted that position to be played. And it's contagious, the toughness he plays with, the mentality he plays with. He's able to, you know, one-on-one move a man, you know, to get movement. You can anchor in a pass pro and all the things you look for in a guard. Been really pleased with him this camp, not just with his performance, but the mentality that he's brought to that group. Going into the scrimmage, we said that we'll really look hard at the depth chart tomorrow and we'll really set it for the next week. We wanted to see guys play today. I wanted to see a lot of guys play. I wasn't as concerned with who was with the ones or the twos or the threes or right side, left side. You know, where they were at, that didn't matter to me as much. Come October. So by next Saturday, we'll have a little better feel for who's settled into what spots right now. Right now we're trying to get a lot of them reps, but I've been very impressed with Keylan and so far."

10. Key talked about the running back depth and mentioned Evan Dickens, as well as an update on how Trelain Maddox is progressing:

"Yeah, I think he's at nine and a half months now from his injury. But we want to be certain with him with Tre and make sure that he's fully ready to go when he goes back out there. He's a beast now. You're talking to 6 -2 -210 -15 -pound running back that does everything right for a freshman. This kid sits in the front row. He takes every single note of everything. He's early. The way he works, the focus he has every single day. You would not believe the way he carries himself that he's a freshman. So that's only going to add to his ability to come back from a mental standpoint after the physical part as well. So I'm really excited about him and hopefully we can get more and more as the weeks go on, getting him involved in things. Other guys, we know Jamal is a good football player, very versatile. Today was a day to be able to see some of the other guys. Thought Scooter had a good job, did a good job today. You know, had some hard carries. Evan Dickens had some really nice carries today but you know it's it's overall you know the it's what they have to do you know I don't think we had one ball in the ground we were covered back it was a lot off the ground calls it or not off to look of film and see but for the most part I think we did a good job of holding on the football all right and then the big part of it running back though I mean you know they're a running back they ought to be they ought to call them a blocking back because they have to understand past protections. And that's the hardest thing for a young guy to do. That's the hardest thing for young guys to understand those protections.you know, to see them, to see the pictures. All right, the technique that on with it because that's just as important as carrying the football because if we just thought about the part of running football and they had a very productive day you know you know good balance and that was the thing I know Evan's been working on and you know the balance you know some of his things and I thought he showed up today doing some of that and then like I said Scooter is, you know some really good hard runs he's a good inside runner that to continue to work on his pad level, you know, and like all the freshmen continue to learn, you know, the different things that go on all before the snap."