Editor’s note: Saturday Down South’s annual Crystal Ball series continues with Georgia Tech. We’ll go in alphabetical order through the 17-team ACC.
Previously: Boston College | Cal | Clemson | Duke | FSU
* * * * * * *
Georgia Tech will get a head start on virtually everyone in the country by taking on Florida State a week early in Dublin, Ireland.
But even the Aug. 24 opener is not soon enough for defensive tackle Zeek Biggers and his teammates.
“We’re ready to get to it,” the 6-6, 320-pound senior said. “As soon as the schedule came out we were like ‘Let’s go do this.’ Guys are just amped up and ready.”
Truth be told, the Yellow Jackets began looking forward to putting the pads and helmets back on long before the new schedule was released in late January. They’ve been ready to roll since walking off the field from their 30-17 Gasparilla Bowl blowout of UCF a month earlier.
That victory did more than just secure Tech’s first winning record since 2018. It also validated the retention of former Yellow Jackets offensive lineman Brent Key as the team’s permanent head coach and created the kind of buzz that’s been missing from the program for nearly a decade.
Tech isn’t ready to contend for championships yet as it did from 2008-14 under Hall of Fame coach Paul Johnson. Especially against the grueling schedule this year’s team faces. But after suffering through 3 consecutive 3-win seasons during the forgettable tenure of Key’s predecessor Geoff Collins, the Yellow Jackets are clearly on the upswing.
Just don’t call it momentum.
“You don’t carry momentum. You carry experience, confidence and lessons learned,” Key said. “Success is not continuous by any means. We’ve got 33 new players on this team. That’s one-third of the team coming into the locker room, learning how to do things the right way.
“But there is an excitement to know that we have so many guys who have played the game already, that have been on the field and won’t have those pregame jitters that first time playing.”
The Yellow Jackets are so excited about the coming season that they can’t even wait until Week 0 to get started.
He’s a look at how they stack up.
Transfer tracker
The Yellow Jackets made great strides last season primarily on the strength of a high-powered offense fueled by quarterback Haynes King, one of last season’s best transfer pickups. This year, the portal focus has concentrated on improving the other side of the ball.
Twelve of Tech’s 16 incoming transfers play on defense, a unit that allowed the most yards and 2nd-most points in the ACC in 2023.
Among those joining the program are 2nd-team All-Southern Conference pass rusher Jack Barton from Furman, former CAA Defensive Rookie of the Year Syeed Gibbs from Rhode Island and one-time Tennessee starter Warren Burrell, along with tackles Ayobami Tifase from Florida State and Thomas Gore from Miami, along with linebacker EJ Lightsey from rival Georgia.
Three of the 5 offensive transfers, Mississippi State’s Ryland Goede, Yale’s Jackson Hawes and Josh Beetham of Michigan, are tight ends.
A (Blue) Devil of a hire
The injection of new talent isn’t the only offseason move Key made in hopes of improving the defense. He also restructured his staff by hiring 3 assistants on that side of the ball – outside linebackers/edge coach Kyle Pope, defensive line coach Jess Simpson and coordinator Tyler Santucci.
The most impactful of the 3 is Santucci, whose work helped ACC rival Duke lead the conference in scoring defense a year ago. His Blue Devils allowed only 19 points per game in 2023. That’s an average of 10.5 points fewer than the Yellow Jackets yielded. Tech finished dead last in the league in total defense (437 ypg), run defense (231 ypg) and 3rd-down conversions (43.5%).
Santucci became a coaching free agent when his former boss Mike Elko left Duke for Texas A&M. Beyond his impressive resume, he’s already made a positive impression on his new players.
“We’ve adapted really well,” senior tackle Zeek Biggers said. “(Santucci) came in and built the culture we needed. We’re looking forward to this coming year.”
Among the many changes is a concerted effort to build depth. It’s a philosophy aimed at easing the work load of starters such as Biggers, whose 40 tackles last season ranked 8th on the team overall and 1st among Tech’s defensive tackles, in order to help them stay fresher longer.
“Some games last year I played like 62 plays,” Biggers said. “That’s kind of taxing on my body for the whole season. But having the guys we have now behind me and beside me is going to make a difference.”
The other Haynes
Two of the most important players on the Yellow Jackets’ roster share a similar name. But when Key or another member of his staff calls out the name, “Haynes,” on the practice field, there’s never any doubt which one they’re referring to.
“It’s my quarterback,” Jamal Haynes said with a laugh.
That makes sense because the quarterback is almost always the highest-profile member of any team. And this particular quarterback, Haynes King, led the ACC by throwing for 27 touchdowns last year. But junior running back Jamal Haynes has earned his share of respect, as well.
Jamal Haynes is coming off a breakout season in which he surpassed the 100-yard mark 4 times, averaged better than 6 yards per carry and became the first Yellow Jacket in 7 years to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
It’s a set of accomplishments made all the more impressive by the fact that he started preseason camp as a wide receiver who didn’t record a single catch in his first 2 college seasons. He’s looking to expand his role, while at the same time helping his future NFL Draft prospects, by becoming a more effective receiver out of the backfield.
“As far as the transition, it did nothing but add value to me as a player,” Haynes said. “Being at the running back position, we know today’s league is changing. They are looking for backs that can catch the ball out of the backfield and not only get handed off the ball. I feel like it adds to my versatility as a player.”
Game-by-game predictions
Week 0: vs. Florida State at Dublin, Ireland (W)
The Seminoles are talented and motivated. But this is also the first game most of them have played together. Communication, especially in the secondary, could be an issue. And Haynes King is plenty talented enough to take advantage of it.
Week 1: vs. Georgia State (W)
This is a potential trap game, coming off an emotional opener and an overseas trip, against a cross-town rival looking to make a splash against a power conference neighbor. Tech’s brutal 2nd-half schedule won’t allow it to have a repeat of last year’s Bowling Green disaster.
Week 3: at Syracuse (W)
No rest for the weary. Another road trip. Another in-state connection with former Georgia assistant Fran Brown taking over the Orange. Brown has injected some new optimism into Syracuse’s program. But the Yellow Jackets are the more experienced, more proven team.
Week 4: vs. VMI (W)
One last tune-up before things start getting real.
Week 5: at Louisville (L)
This is a different Cardinals team than the one that beat Tech in last year’s opener and went on to play in the ACC Championship Game. But it’s still good, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Good enough to give the Yellow Jackets a sneak preview of what’s to come.
Week 6: Open
Week 7: vs. Duke (W)
The Blue Devils gave up the fewest points in the conference last season and replaced Mike Elko with another defensive-minded coach in Manny Diaz. But the Yellow Jackets have an ace in the hole in new defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci, the man responsible for building that stout Duke unit.
Week 8: at North Carolina (L)
Death. Taxes. Georgia Tech beating North Carolina. It doesn’t matter where the game is played or what the circumstances are. The Yellow Jackets own the Tar Heels, going 33-21-3 overall and winning 5 of the past 6. Even Geoff Collins, who’s now with UNC, was able to beat Mack Brown’s team. And Collins won only 10 times in 3½ seasons.
Week 9: vs. Notre Dame (W)
The Yellow Jackets have the skill to stay with the Irish. But they’re still not physical enough to beat the likes of Notre Dame.
Week 10: at Virginia Tech (L)
The other Tech, coached by the other Brent, is a full year ahead of the Yellow Jackets and their Brent in the building process.
Week 11: Open
Week 12: vs. Miami (L)
Mario Cristobal won’t forget to take a knee this time.
Week 13: vs. NC State (W)
Tech catches the Wolfpack looking ahead to a possible championship game berth and clinches a 2nd straight winning season.
Week 14: at Georgia (L)
The Yellow Jackets have lost 6 straight to their rival and 19 of the past 22 dating to 2001. While Key has done an admirable job at rebuilding the program and clearly has it heading in the right direction, the gap is far too wide to expect the Dawgs’ dominance to end anytime soon.
2024 Projection: 7-5 (5-3)
#StingEm
The Yellow Jackets are riding high after last season’s success. But they’ve got their work cut out for them to take another step forward. There’s a real possibility they could be a better team this season without having as many wins as they did in 2023.
The 1st step toward avoiding that fate is an improvement on defense. It’s tough being anything more than a .500 team when you’re giving up as many points as you’re scoring. Even with a potent offense putting up 30-plus points per game.
Tech also can’t afford to leave any meat on the bone as it did in losing at home to Bowling Green a year ago. There just isn’t enough margin for error. Not with a schedule that starts with the defending ACC champions and only gets tougher from there.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
