Two-Deep Depth Chart Projection For Georgia Tech's Offense Ahead of Fall Camp

Running Back

1. Jamal Haynes

2. Malachi Hosley

Let me start by saying that I think more than two backs will get carries this season and I do think Trelain Maddox, Chad Alexander, and even JP Powell will see carries this season and be a part of the offense. I do however think that Haynes and Mosley will be the top two.

Haynes is going to be the leader in the backfield for Georgia Tech again. He had a productive season in 2024, rushing for 944 yards on 169 carries and nine touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, but he had to deal with some nagging injuries throughout the year. If he can stay healthy, Haynes should be one of the best running backs in the country. According to PFF (Pro Football Focus), Haynes earned a 67.9 overall grade in 567 snaps.

Last season at Penn, Malachi Hosley ran for 1,192 yards on 191 carries and also had nine touchdowns while averaging 6.2 yards per carry. In 2023, Hosley carried the ball 121 times for 723 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging six yards per carry.

If Hosley can establish himself as the top backup to Haynes, this could be a dangerous duo. Health is the most important factor with this group.

Wide Receiver

1. Malik Rutherford

2. Bailey Stockton

Wide Receiver

1. Eric Rivers

2. Zion Taylor

Wide Receiver

1. Dean Patterson or Isiah Canion

This group has a lot of potential, but a lot to prove as well.

Rutherford is back for one more season on The Flats and he is going to be the veteran leader for this group. After having 62 catches for 702 yards and three touchdowns, Rutherford is hoping that his final season will be his best yet. Rutherford finished with a 70.6 overall grade on PFF (Pro Football Focus) and played nearly 600 snaps for the Yellow Jackets last season. He will be one of Haynes King's top targets this season.

Bailey Stockton caught 17 passes for over 200 yards last season and was a favorite target of Aaron Philo's when he was in. Isiah Canion was a four-star prospect in the 2024 class who flashed at times last season, catching six passes for 84 yards, and is one of the only receivers on Georgia Tech with a real size advantage. Zion Taylor saw some playing time in the bowl game vs Vanderbilt, and the redshirt sophomore might be ready for a bigger role in 2025, especially given how he looked in the spring game in April. 

The big addition to the receiver group this offseason was FIU receiver Eric Rivers, who has a chance to be one of the top receivers in the country.

Rivers caught 62 passes for 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 18.9 yards per catch. The thing to know about Rivers is that he possesses elite speed and the 5'11 174 LBS receiver from Chattanooga, TN would help replace that element in the offense that Singleton had. Rivers had plenty of suitors, with Miami, Nebraska, and other big-time programs coming after him.

At Pro Football Focus, Rivers was the highest-graded player on Florida International last season, finishing with an 83.2 grade in 614 snaps.

Rivers brought one of his teammates from FIU with him. Dean Patterson has one more year of eligibility and brings size to the Yellow Jackets' receiver group. Last season, Patterson (6'2, 202 LBS) caught 50 passes for 685 yards and seven touchdowns for the Panthers. He also averaged 13.7 yards per catch. In four years with FIU, Patterson caught 98 passes for 1,406 yards and eight touchdowns.

Other players such as Debron Gatling, Evan Haynes, Rahkeem Smith, and freshman Jordan Allen should be in the mix, but I expect this to be the top six in the group.

Tight End

1. Brett Seither or Luke Harpring or J.T. Byrne

I am cheating a little bit here but anyone who watches and knows Georgia Tech's offense knows that they will use multiple tight ends for different roles. I think these three guys are going to see the field plenty for Georgia Tech.

Harpring got a little bit of playing time last season, most notably in the North Carolina win, and the highest-rated member of the Yellow Jackets' 2024 class could be ready to break out in a big way this year. Yellow Jackets tight end coach Nathan Brock spoke highly of Harpring and his progress during the spring:

"Yeah, I tell the guys all the time right you know the best guys are gonna play whether you're 19 years old or 25 And we've over the last few years had a mix of that right brought in some older guys, but the best guys are gonna play and so there's opportunity every day for Luke to go out and compete, you know he does some things really really well right with the ball in his hands playing in space And then there's still that piece of being a younger guy, of locking in on the details, right? You know, my alignment, just hand placement, things like that, that, you know, he's still continuing to develop playing the tight end position, right? 'Cause he was a defensive end in high school. So there's still some nuances that he's learning in the position, but he's doing a great job for us. He's got, like you said, a really bright future, you know, excited to see all the ways that he can help us this year. But yeah, Luke's doing a great job."

It would be huge for this group if Seither can get back and play just as well as he did during the 2023 season. He made some big plays in the passing game and was also a solid blocker.

Georgia Tech once again dipped into the transfer portal to find a tight end and one that will replace the blocking of Jackson Hawes. They got a commitment from Cal transfer J.T. Byrne, and he is embracing that role in the offense.

According to 247Sports, the 6'6 240 LBS tight end was ranked as a three-star transfer prospect, the No. 636 player in the transfer portal, and the No. 35 tight end in the portal. Pro Football Focus gave him a 67.5 grade on offense this season, including a 78.5 run-blocking grade. Hawes was a tremendous asset in the run game this year and Byrne looks like he can step in and fill that role. Of his 63 offensive snaps, 51 of them were in run blocking according to PFF, showing how he was used at Cal last season. He might not be as good as Hawes, but Georgia Tech's offense and running game specifically cannot afford a huge drop off.

Look for Josh Beetham to also see snaps this season.

Offensive Line

Left Tackle

1. Ethan Mackenny

2, Josh Petty

Left Guard

1. Joe Fusile

2. Kevin Peay

Center

1. Harrison Moore

2. Tana Alo-Tupuola

Right Guard

1. Keylan Rutledge

2. Benjamin Galloway

Right Tackle

1. William Reed or Malachi Carney

2. Jameson Riggs

The depth on this unit is a question mark and unlike last season, Georgia Tech is going into fall camp with some positions still unsettled. I think Brent Key and Geep Wade have earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to sorting these things out up front, but there are more questions than one might admit.

Georgia Tech is returing both left guard Joe Fusile and right guard Keylan Rutledge. Those two should form one of the top guard tandems in the ACC this season.

Rutledge is also coming off an all-America campaign, having received first-team honors from Sports Info Solutions as a junior in 2024. He earned the recognition on the strength of ranking in the top 10 nationally among offensive linemen in SIS’s Total Points metric, including a top-five national ranking in run-blocking Total Points. In pass protection, the junior had only two “blown blocks” in nearly 400 regular-season attempts, according to SIS. He also helped anchor a Georgia Tech offensive front that ranked third nationally in fewest sacks allowed (nine in 13 games) and paved the way for the Yellow Jackets to rank second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing offense (187.0 ypg).

Ethan Mackenny battled injuries last season, but has started plenty of games before, especially during his true freshman season in 2023. Is he ready to be the full-time starter this season? Georgia Tech needs him to be.

At center, I expect Harrison Moore to be the guy. Both guards were complementary of Moore in the spring, with Fusile offering this:

"It's different, but Harrison's a great center and just the whole line -room gels really well together. We're really doing very well for what we lost last year, and yeah, I couldn't be, couldn't be happier to play next to Harrison."

The four of Mackenny, Fusile, Moore, and Rutledge seem to be set in stone, but the right tackle battle is going to be a position to watch during fall camp.

Transfers Malachi Carney and William Reed are the two notable newcomers who were not at Georgia Tech in the spring and both are set to join the right tackle competition. Both Wade and Key spoke about addressing that position in the spring and they did so with two experienced transfers.

According to 247Sports, Carney is the 6th best offensive tackle in the portal. The 6'4 310 LBS tackle played two years for the Jaguars and last season, he played 855 snaps according to PFF (Pro Football Focus) and finished with a 59.0 overall grade, including a 64.7 in pass blocking and a 66.6 in run blocking. In 2023, he played 317 snaps and finished with a 50.5 overall grade, including a 38.4 grade in pass blocking and 64.8 grade in run blocking.

Now, the PFF numbers are not going to blow you away, but one way to look at them is a young player who got better with more playing time last season. Carney saw a big increase in his number of snaps played and saw his pass blocking grade jump up significantly.

I expect it to be either Carney or Reed at right tackle, but perhaps Riggs makes a big push for the job.

Georgia Tech brought in a talented offensive line class, headlined by five-star freshman Josh Petty, but I don't expect any of them to be significant contributors this season. Petty, Peyton Joseph, Kevin Peay, Xavier Canales, Jimmy Bryson, and North Carolina transfers Andrew Rosinski will all be fighting for spots as backups this season and trying to develop.