Georgia Tech Football: Top Position Battles to Watch as Yellow Jackets Begin Fall Camp

3. Right Tackle

On offense, this is the biggest position battle to keep an eye on. While Georgia Tech is going to have new starters at left tackle and center, those positions feel settled. However, there is going to be an intriguing right tackle battle going on to round out the group. In the spring, Georgia Tech had Jameson Riggs, Jordan Floyd, and Peyton Joseph rotating in, but Brent Key and Geep Wade dipped into the transfer portal in the spring to bring in more competition.

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 this fall.

4. Defensive Line

I am going to group the entire defensive line here because aside from Jordan van den Berg, there are not any certain starters on the Yellow Jackets defensive front.

The edge position was going to be one to watch this season whether or not Romello Height came back or not. Of course, Height left for Texas Tech and now Georgia Tech needs someone to emerge from a group of transfers and young players.

On the edge, look for Mercer transfer Brayden Manley, UTSA transfer Ronald Triplette, Clemson transfer A.J. Hoffler, and young players such as Amontrae Bradford, Jordan Boyd, and Andre Fuller to be the main factors. Who will start? That is up for grabs but expect it to be two guys from that group.

Along the interior, UCF transfer Matthew Alexander, Akelo Stone, Jason Moore, and young players like Shymeik Jones and Christian Garrett are going to be the players to watch. I expect Alexander, Stone, and Moore to be the main rotation players next to van den Berg.

5. Cornerback

Ahmari Harvey is locked into one spot, but Georgia Tech is going to have to find someone to replace Warren Burrell, who was perhaps the most underrated defender on the team last season. Who will it be?

I think Zachary Tobe, Georgia State transfer Jyron Gilmore, Penn State transfer Jon Mitchell, and UAB transfer Kelvin HIll are the names to know. I think true freshman Dalen Penson, who was not a participant in the spring, will find a role eventually, but it might take a little bit.

Tobe played 170 snaps last season, earning a 69.8 grade from PFF. He earned especially high marks in his run defense, where he finished with an 87.1 tackling grade. Can Tobe take a step forward, improve in coverage, and be a reliable starter or at least a rotation player? His development is going to be key in the secondary this season.

Hill (5'10 175 LBS) started for the Blazers as a true freshman last season at cornerback and has three years of eligibility remaining. Last season at UAB, Hill totaled 42 tackles and five pass deflections. At Pro Football Focus, Hill finished with a 68.9 overall grade on defense, but what is most notable is his grade in run defense. Hill earned an 87.1 run defense grade and a 90.1 tackling grade.

The secondary needs to improve this season if Georgia Tech is going to make a run to the ACC Championship and they will need some players to emerge.