It was no secret that Georgia Tech needed to see more production from its tight end position in 2024.
No tight end on Georgia Tech's roster topped 100 yards or caught a touchdown in 2022 and that was a problem.
Georgia Tech did not have elite receiving production from any tight end in 2023, but they made more impact plays than they did in the previous season.
Dylan Leonard caught 13 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown, but that is not where he made his biggest impact. Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key heaped praise on Leonard for his ability to block and how much that meant to the offense:
"I know you are talking about progression in terms of catching the football but anyone that has watched Dylan Leonard play football this season would be blown away, No. 2 is playing as well as any tight end in the country right now when it comes to the way he blocks, blocks core, blocks moving, blocks on the perimeter, I could not be more proud of that kid and what he is doing for this football team. You want to talk about someone that bleeds Georgia Tech and bleeds White and Gold and is all about this place, then watch the way he plays for 50, 60, 65 plays in a game. He is Georgia Tech, the gritness, the toughness, that is the intelligence, that is what this program is about is the way he is playing the game. If he gets catches, that is a bonus in what he is doing for this football team. That entire position is playing as good of football as I have seen out of a tight end position I have seen in my entire career."
Leonard had a good season as a leader and a blocker in 2023 and that might be what Georgia Tech is going to be looking for in their new tight end additions from the transfer portal.
Luke Benson caught eight passes for 81 yards and no touchdowns in his final season as a Yellow Jackets.
The biggest plays from the tight end position, in terms of receiving, came from Georgia transfer Brett Seither. Seither caught a touchdown in the first game of the year against Louisville, had a 35-yard touchdown in the upset win over North Carolina, and had a 28-yard catch against Georgia. Georgia Tech has a lot of depth at wide receiver and they use a lot of multiple wide receiver sets so Seither does not get a lot of opportunity to make plays, but he took advantage of the times that he did.
This was a position that saw more big plays and improvement this season and I will be interested to see how the new transfer additions and recruits mesh with the tight ends already on the roster.
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