Notre Dame vs Georgia Tech: 3 Yellow Jacket Players to Know

Get to know three players to beware of before Notre Dame hosts the Yellow Jackets in a Week 7 matchup.

Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Antonio Stevens (11) defends the pass to Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans (88) Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 66-7. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame vs Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech plays everyone close. Besides their two blowout wins, each of the Yellow Jacket's contests this season have been one score games in the fourth quarter. Under the gutsy, never give up style coaching of sleeveless sweatshirt wearing Brent Key, that might be exactly what GT wants to be.

Notre Dame has quietly stacked quality wins since their endlessly frustrating loss to NIU, and Georgia Tech presents another worthy challenge.

It's been a tumultuous week for Notre Dame, stacking multiple wins on the recruiting trail while being rocked by a devastating injury, can they pull everything together this Saturday? The answer to that question will be heavily influences by the players lining up across from the Irish. Here are three of them to know.

3. Haynes King, QB Sr.

A fifth year senior, King will burn you with his arm and legs. The dual threat quarterback has six rushing touchdowns on the year, and flaunts an impressive 81.9 passer rating - good for 15th best in the country. Impressively, and rather surprisingly, King is also protecting the ball.

Following a year where King coughed up 17 total turnovers, a lone pick against Georgia State marks his only turnover on the year. Coming off of a relatively quiet performance against North Carolina in a win, this Georgia Tech offense doesn't need King to post gaudy numbers to win.

However, with Benjamin Morrison going down this week, King and the Yellow Jackets might find success through the air this week.

2. Lamiles Brooks, SS Sr.

Remarkably, the Yellow Jackets only have one pick through seven games. Their inability to generate turnovers compounds the general deficiency of their pass defense. Allowing over 220 passing yards per game, they are by no means atrocious, but are definitely less than mediocre.

Riley Leonard is fresh off his best game in an Irish jersey, and Brooks will need to effectively patrol the secondary. Brooks hasn't yet recaptured his excellent play from the 2023 season, which he finished with three INTs and 37 tackles, but he has the potential to change any game he's in.

The fifth-highest rated returning safety to start the year, Brooks could break out and shut down the back half of the field against Notre Dame.

1. Jamal Haynes, RB Jr.

Last season, this rushing attack led the ACC. While King plays an outsized role, Haynes is the true focal point of the ground game. This season, Haynes has been getting better game after game.

In last week's win over North Carolina, Haynes dropped season highs in yardage, yards per carry, carries, longest run, and touchdowns. He will need to take yet another step against Notre Dame's run defense that seemingly, hopefully, figured things out against Stanford.

Almost regardless of improvement, Haynes will be fed the rock repeatedly this Saturday, and whether or not he can play off the passing game to establish himself will dictate the flow of the Georgia Tech offense.

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