What's the Biggest Question For Georgia Tech This Spring? One Analyst Gives His Opinion

Georgia Tech is hoping to build off of their successful 2023 season

Georgia Tech had its best season in quite some time in 2023 and they will enter the 2024 season with positive momentum. Their offense is bringing the majority of its starters back and made nice additions through the transfer portal. 

That does not mean the Yellow Jackets are not without questions though. 

While Georgia Tech had one of the ACC's best offenses, including the No. 1 rushing attack in the conference, the Yellow Jackets had one of the ACC's worst defenses and one of the worst defenses in the country. 

247Sports Analyst Chris Hummer says his biggest question for Georgia Tech this spring revolves around its run defense:

"There were a lot of good things about Georgia Tech football last year in Brent Key's official debut. Run defense was not one of them.

The Yellow Jackets were the worst rushing defense in the Power Five, ranking 130th nationally while allowing 5.38 yards per attempt. Fixing that issue is priority No. 1 for new Yellow Jackets defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci.

Georgia Tech allowed 2.75 yards before contact on opposing rushing attempts last spring, which ranked 128th nationally. That means the Yellow Jackets weren't getting an interior push and struggled with run fits.

Thus, Georgia Tech will need a lot from transfers like defensive tackle Ayo Tifase (Florida State) and linebacker EJ Lightsey (Georgia). They'll also need players like Zeek Biggers, Horace Lockett and maybe even a young talent like Shymeik Jones to step up along the defensive interior.

The defense overall has a chance to be decent if the middle of the unit can take even a small step."

If Georgia Tech makes big leaps on defense, they can once again be the surprise team in the conference. Brent Key brought in a brand new defensive staff and made some key additions through the transfer portal. 

Oct 21, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston College Eagles offensive lineman Kyle Hergel (60) gets in the face of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive back LaMiles Brooks (1) in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

After their first practice this spring, Key spoke highly of his new hires on that side of the ball: 

"Yeah, so when I made the decision to make some adjustments and changes on that side of the football, talked to a lot of people, talked to a lot of people in reference of guys, talked to a lot of people as far as the interviews go. wanted to make sure that we got this right. You know I think the offensive staff really set a bar high as far as and look I'm not talking about the outcome on the field on game day that's inevitably what a good what the outcome becomes when you put a good staff together but just the way that you and then the way that room really fits together. So that was really the standard that we're looking at, know buster goes about the, you know managing the people in the room, putting things together, the organization, the detail that's coached, the progression, the teaching progression, all of those things.

And then the way that room really fits together. So that was really the standard that we're looking at. And you go through the process of talking to people for different spots. And really lucky to be able to hire Tyler as the defense coordinator. You know, he's wise a lot, you know, wise past his years. You forget a lot of times what his age actually is, especially when you see him, the energy he coaches with, but the detail he coaches with, the toughness that he coaches with. He's been around really good. good coaches in his career. And the outstanding thing about him when you look at what he's been able to do and what he did at the last place he was at was he had a group of guys that really played, they played cohesive, they played together. Yeah, they were good statistically, but that's because of the way that you could tell that they were coached and that the expectation and the demands to the expectation they had on that side of the football, so exciting. So excited to get him. And Jess (Simpson) is a guy that I've known a long time. He's as respected as anyone that is out there as a defensive line coach. But what people probably don't know about him is just the relationships that he's able to have with those guys, the players in the room. And when you have those relationships, you're able to push them and able to do a lot of things with them and really push them out of their comfort zones. and I thought that's what we needed but he's also a very detailed coach he's very technique driven to be strong technicians he's coached at every level and had success at every level he's coached so you know excited with him.

Then you know, Kyle Pope was somebody that he was a graduate assistant in Tuscaloosa with us and just the the energy that he had at a young age then then. Energy as a coach on the field, as a recruiter, the relationships he had with those guys over there at that time. And again, the way he goes about every day, the recruiting part of it is huge as we all know. He had proven then to be a very successful recruiter, then goes on. and you know works at a couple different places and then and proved that you know what he was doing as a GA You know six seven years ago You know was able to develop that and become an even better coach and really excited you know having him and You know working with the ends and the outside backers if we you know go into a 3-4 type mold. But you know him and Jess working together a really good pairing, really good pairing, um, feed off each other and, uh, really expect big things out of those two guys and, and, and, and, you know, how our guys are coached and how they, uh, and how they play.

Um, you know, as far as on the defensive backfield, you know, Corey (Peoples), who was right down the road, again, another one who was one of the first people I talked to at that position. Um, and, you know,, the relationships that he had with people in the area, you know, when you talk to people, whether it be local high school coaches, former players that he's coached, everything was-- it was super positive when it comes to Corey and what he was able to do with a lot of the guys that he brought into the last place he was at the relationships he had with high school coaches in the area, which I thought was a very important thing for us to address with that hire. And then Ricky (Brunfield), who's been here for a year already, coaching special teams, add in the corners with him. Again, it allows him to be able to affect in a different way another position group and be able to use his recruiting skills even more than we were able to last year with that.

We won't know if Georgia Tech has solved their run defense or overall issues on defense until they start playing real games, but Key has a month this spring to see how his team has progressed since last season.

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