Updated Georgia Tech depth chart projections post-fall camp

Georgia Tech opens the season against Louisville on Sept. 1st.

Jackson Caudell | Aug 20, 2023

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Preseason camp is now over for Georgia Tech and next week, the Yellow Jackets will turn their focus to Louisville. There have been competitions going on throughout camp on both sides of the ball and the coaches are going to figure out the depth chart heading into the first game against the Cardinals.

Back before fall camp began, I made depth chart projections for the Yellow Jackets. Here are the updated projections based on fall camp.

Quarterback

The quarterback competition has been going on all throughout fall camp between Zach Pyron, Haynes King, and Zach Gibson. The Yellow Jackets held a scrimmage yesterday and here is what Brent Key had to say afterward regarding the upcoming decision to name a starter:

"I tell the coaches all the time and I tell the players as well that everyone in the program needs to know where they stand. That is the number one thing about being a football coach. Whether it be the head coach or the assistant coach. If you're playing, you better know why you are playing and if you are not playing, you need to know why you are not playing. There is no grey area in this program, it is my job to eliminate grey.

Now when it comes down to who is the starter or who is not the starter, that will be determined when we continue to go through our evaluation, just like we have since January 6th about what is best for this football team and once we know what is best for this football team, we will make a decision and you guys will know after that."

This has been a close competition all throughout camp, with the decision likely coming down to Pyron or King. I projected Pyron before camp and I still think he is going to be the first guy on the field against Louisville.

Projection

1. Zach Pyron

2. Haynes King

Overview: This is a close battle and it truly could go either way, but I am still leaning towards Pyron for now. He showed enough in his limited action last season and with better playmakers and a better play-caller, he could be in for a solid season.

Running Back

Jamie Felix — Georgia Tech feels good about their depth at running back / Jackson Caudell

Georgia Tech might not have a superstar in the backfield, but they have solid players and a good mix of veterans and young players. Returning is Dontae Smith and he will be joined by Louisville transfer Trey Cooley in the backfield. Those two are likely to start the season as the top two backs, but running backs coach Norval McKenzie likes the depth at this position:

"I think collectively the young guys are doing well. We always talk about practice and it starts in the meeting room when those guys are learning material and then we talk about that material transferring over to team and it has been good, they are learning a lot in the classroom and they are applying it on the field and I would say those young guys are coming along. Jamie (Felix) is having a good camp, Jamal Haynes has done a good job switching over from wide receiver, he has done a great job.

I am very excited about those guys' growth and extremely excited about where they are going and their trajectory is going upward."

McKenzie was asked about how many of these guys he could trust in a game right now and he felt very confident that all of them could handle it:

"Right now I would say all of them and that is just in terms of preparation. We always talk about how preparation leads to performance, we talk about owning your reps and I challenge these guys... we have 120 snaps that each individual took 120 snaps and while you may not have gotten all of them physically, you got all of them mentally.

For us, we talk about the game being played from the neck up, its a mental game, you have to prepare like you are the starter and that is part of my job and part of my responsibility to prepare and I have confidence that if I put them in they can own their rep and they can go do their jobs."

Former wide receiver Jamal Haynes is joining the backfield and the coaching staff loves his ability to make plays in the pass game and add an element of explosiveness to the offense. Key also said that Jamie Felix was one of the standouts in the first scrimmage. True freshman Evan Dickens is going to compete for carries as well.

Projection

1. Dontae Smith

2. Trey Cooley

3. Jamie Felix or Jamal Haynes or Evan Dickens

Wide receiver

This group has the potential to be the best receiver room that Georgia Tech has had in a while, but they are still an unproven unit. Expect to see plenty of rotation early on in the season as Georgia Tech looks to find the group it trusts the most. Georgia Tech must get more explosive on offense and this group could play a huge part in that. One freshman that I believe could be a factor as the season goes on is Eric Singleton Jr.

Projection

Outside receivers

1. D.J. Moore and Abdul Janneh

2. Dominick Blaylock, Chase Lane, and Avery Boyd

Slot receiver

1. Malik Rutherford

2. Christian Leary

Tight End

No tight end on Georgia Tech's roster topped 100 yards or caught a touchdown last season and that was a problem. Most offenses will function better when they have a threat at the tight end position and the Yellow Jackets are looking for that this season. Veterans Dylan Leonard and Luke Benson are back along with transfers Brett Seither and Jackson Long, who will be challenging for playing time early. Seither was a standout in the last scrimmage of fall camp and I think he is going to get plenty of looks this season. Wide receiver Avery Boyd has even been practicing at tight end and could line up in special packages for the offense.

Projection

1. Dylan Leonard

2. Brett Seither or Luke Benson.

Offensive line

Georgia Tech offensive tackle Jordan Williams will be a leader up front this fall — Will the Georgia Tech offensive line improve this season? / Atlanta Journal-Constitution- Credit: Danny Karnik, Georgia Tech Athletics

This is arguably the most important position on the team this season, as they need to be considerably improved. They return all of the starters from a year ago and both Key and offensive line coach Geep Wade have praised their growth and stressed that they want to have eight linemen they can trust to be on the field. The backup center position has been talked about and Key mentioned that Brandon Best, true freshmen Gabe Fortson, and Joe Fusile have been working to help at the center. Wade has also liked the progression the five true freshmen have made during fall camp.

Projection

Left Tackle: Corey Robinson II, Jakiah Leftwich

Left Guard: Joe Fusile, Jordan Brown

Center: Weston Franklin, Brandon Best or Gabe Fortson

Right Guard: Connor Scaglione, Paul Tchio

Right Tackle: Jordan Williams, Elias Cloy

Defensive line

D'Quan Douse — Georgia Tech could have real depth on the defensive line / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The coaches have praised this group during fall camp and during each scrimmage, the defensive tackles stood out. Defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker likes the progression of the group and the depth that they are building:

"It is hard to talk about one player, but it is more of a collective. We feel like we are starting to get more size and depth at the position and (defensive line coach) Marco Coleman has done a great job with that group. Brian Baker is a great mentor and help for us to be in that room and to give Marco some advice and I am really happy with their progress.

But to that point, it will take me some time to talk through those things. On the interior, we feel like we have some guys that look like Zeek Biggers and Horace Lockett, who look like power five defensive tackles that will allow us to be a little sturdier in there. We have a lot of experience with guys like Makius Scott and D'Quan Douse who were our two starting defensive tackles this past season. They have quite the amount of experience and then we even have a young man like Jason Moore, who has been in real matches and played against North Carolina and got a sack for the inside.

Working outside, we have three defensive ends at the rush end or boundary end as we call it. They have all played and have all started if my memory serves, but Kyle Kennard probably the most experienced of the group and Noah Collins and Kevin Harris to give us some depth there and we have a little bit of a new flavor at the end position. Sylvain Yondjouen played a bunch of downs for us this past season and usually he would be behind Keion White and play relief pitcher for him but certainly played some great football for us at times. Two other names, Etinosa (Reuben) came this past spring and is really starting to improve.

Josh Robinson has been around for a while and Paul Moala and Eddie Kelly are two guys that we got post-spring practice as far as roster management from the portal but I am really excited about Eddie Kelly, he played this past season at South Florida. Again, first day of pads but the talent and the mentality and the coachability is there so I am really excited about his fit. Those guys are cross-trained, we'll put them in a position for a depth chart. We will see as we really move forward the things that people like to talk about, the pass rush ability that those guys have."

Transfer Eddie Kelly is another guy the coaching staff has praised during camp and he should be a part of the rotation on the edge.

Projection

Defensive End: Sylvain Yondjouen, Noah Collins or Kevin Harris

Defensive Tackle: D'Quan Douse, Zeek Biggers

Defensive Tackle: Makius Scott, Etinosa Reuben, Jason Moore

Defensive End: Kyle Kennard, Eddie Kelly

I think Reuben could play on the edge as well and Jason Moore is another guy that has gotten praise from the coaching staff over the past few weeks. The pass rush is the biggest question with this group, but they have players that will rotate in the position.

Linebacker

Trenilyas Tatum is a likely starter at linebacker for Georgia Tech / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech has to replace two good linebackers in Ace Eley and Charlie Thomas and they have been having a competition through the spring and fall camp. I think Trenilyas Tatum is a safe bet to be a starter, with Andre White Jr, and Paul Moala as the competitors for the other spot. I think Kyle Efford, Tyson Meiguez, and Braelen Oliver are also going to continue to compete for playing time. Moala had a standout final scrimmage and this is what Key had to say about him afterward:

"Paul has had an outstanding camp. He really has. Paul has done well."

Freshmen Nacari Ashley and Jacob Cruz were also singled out by Key yesterday and they could push for playing time as the season goes on.

Projection

1. Trenilyas Tatum and Paul Moala

2. Andre White Jr and Braelen Oliver

Secondary

Georgia Tech defensive backs Myles Sims and LaMiles Brooks — The Georgia Tech secondary could be one of the ACC's best / Georgia Tech Athletics

This has a chance to be one of the best defensive backfields in the ACC. The safety group is three deep with LaMiles Brooks, Clayton Powell-Lee, and Jaylon King returning, and if Georgia Tech can figure out who is going to start opposite of Myles Sims, this unit could really flourish.

King said that being one of the best secondary's in the country is their goal:

"We talk about that every day. Not just being one of the best units in the conference, but being one of the best units in the country. We try to go out there and practice like that every day. We try to go out there with that mindset because if you are not going out there and trying to be the best then why go out there."

Kenyatta Watson, Kenan Jonson, Rodney Shelley, Ahmari Harvey, and Omar Daniels have been competing for the other spot.

K.J. Wallace was the starter at Nickel last season and should be an improved player in 2023. Key singled out Taye Seymore as a freshman DB that has stood out over the last week of fall camp.

Cornerback: Myles Sims, Kenan Johnson

Safety: LaMiles Brooks

Safety: Clayton Powell-Lee or Jaylon King

Nickel: K.J. Wallace

Cornerback: Kenyatta Watson, Ahmari Harvey

Special Teams

Kicker: Gavin Stewart

Punter: David Shanahan

Both Stewart and Shanahan are back to start for the Yellow Jackets and this group must be more consistent than last year, but with new special teams coach Ricky Brumfield, there is hope for that.

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