Georgia Tech Top Performers From 30-29 Win Over Wake Forest

Georgia Tech is officially in bye week mode after its win over Wake Forest last week. Let’s take a look at some of the top performers for Georgia Tech this past weekend, that was instrumental in their win.

Haynes King- It was ugly in the first half, but as King always does, he just simply finds a way. The senior quarterback got going in the second half, putting together three consecutive scoring drives to get the Yellow Jackets back in the game. A lot was put on his shoulders. He came up big when the running game was nonexistent outside of him, and he rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. King finished with 349 yards of offense and three touchdowns. Simply put, the Yellow Jackets don’t win without King. His head coach, Brent Key, said it best about the star quarterback.

“Kids believe in him. The coaches believe in him. We believe in him. I believe in him as a competitor. A lot of times, look, you know, you don't, when you're out of sync in the first half of football, it's either all on you, which we didn't execute at times, but, you know, they changed things up, had 16 days prepared, had some good things,” said Key. “You can tell early on, you know, we're looking one way, and boom, it's not there, and now we're having to, you know, like, sprinkle it back across the field, and by the end of it you know it was too late. So we make some adjustments at halftime, and it just leaves us to build on the job done.”

Eric Rivers- He was a big part of Georgia Tech's offensive resurgence in the second half. Offensive Coordinator Buster Faulkner was scheming up Rivers on out routes, corners, and hitches to get him the ball. Georgia Tech was getting good chunk plays, throwing to Rivers, who was making some nice plays after the catch, and continuing to keep drives alive. He led the Yellow Jackets in catches, yards, and touchdowns on Saturday. With a breakout game from Rivers, we could see this past offense start to get going and reach its full potential.

Ahmari Harvey- Harvey was mentioned as an unsung leader for this team going into the game against Wake Forest and the veteran defensive back delivered in a major way. He finished with five tackles and two tackles for loss and was constantly making plays on the outside. Harvey was the highest grade defender for the Yellow Jackets in their Week 5 win over Wake Forest. He finished with a 74.1 grade on 69 snaps. He’s beginning to emerge as one of the better cornerbacks in the ACC and one who should have more attention on him.

Clayton Powell Lee- Without Powell-Lee, the Yellow Jackets don’t win the game against Wake Forest. He did a good job of staying in phase with the wide receiver who tried to do a drag route across his face. He stayed in position and made the interception, effectively ending the game for Georgia Tech and sealing the win. Powell-Lee finished with three tackles and the interception that unfortunately won’t count in the stat sheet.

“I mean, we called one of our base coverages. There are a lot of eyes on the quarterback. He told us that if it's sprint out, plastered, honestly. So when I saw it sprint out, the nearest guy was that receiver coming on the drag and really just trying to match him, and then just seeing where the quarterback was going, honestly, and then he just you know gave us a present, and I was happy to capitalize and just you know call it a game on that one. Last week I had an opportunity, but then I'm just grateful to have another one, even though it may not count as that she counts in my heart, honestly,” said Powell-Lee.

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Amontrae Bradford- He needs to see more plays on the field. Bradford has been superb to begin the season for the Yellow Jackets. He is making a living in the backfield for Georgia Tech and once again put together a stellar effort. On just 18 snaps played, Bradford finished with the second-highest PFF grade with a 71.3. Bradford finished with four tackles and two tackles for a loss. He was pivotal in stopping some big plays from happening by attacking the mesh point and going down and making a play with his speed and athleticism. He’s been a player that Coach Key has continued to highlight in press conferences as one who is playing at a high level. Georgia Tech has been struggling to get pressure on the quarterback, and it feels like with the emergence of Bradford, he could be a guy who can help in this category.