Four storylines to watch ahead of Georgia Tech White-Gold Game
1. Quarterback battle
Outside of a new head coach gracing the sidelines, there is nothing quite like a quarterback battle in the spring to attract interest in a program. After playing four quarterbacks over the course of last season, the program will certainly be looking for more continuity at the position and all three bring starting experience to the battle.
Haynes King left Texas A&M to join the Zachs (Pyron and Gibson) last December. He could be viewed as a favorite due to his experience and athleticism as a former four-star recruit. While his numbers weren’t particularly strong last season, with his incredible effort against Alabama as an exception, a good bit of that could be attributed to the offense that he was running.
Zach Pyron had a strong three-game stretch last season but broke his clavicle against Miami and lost the rest of his season. He finished the year with 565 passing yards (59.8 percent), three touchdowns, and three interceptions in 2022. The highlight of his year had to be leading the offense on a pair of 70-plus-yard drives to help get a comeback road victory over Virginia Tech.
Zach Gibson got his first taste of action in a start against Virginia while filling in for
Jeff Sims but was replaced by Pyron in their next contest against Florida State. After the injury to Pyron, he started the remainder of the season. He led Georgia Tech to its surprise win over #13 North Carolina and had a strong performance against Georgia in the season finale, finishing with 589 passing yards (54.8 percent), a touchdown, and a pair of interceptions.
With new offensive coordinator
Buster Faulkner joining the team, it becomes even more critical that they make the best decision here. All three have made progress this spring but seeing them in live action will be the biggest indicator of where the staff stands with these players.
2. Who's in the top-8 of the offensive line rotation?
A blessing for the new offensive coordinator
Buster Faulkner is that his offensive line returns several key players from last season for new offensive line coach
Geep Wade. That experience will be important as his players adjust to his new scheme and look to build consistency.
“Our goal is to get seven or eight guys that help us go win a championship,” Wade said earlier this spring about building the depth along the offensive line. He feels he has the right group to get that number.
They return
Corey Robinson,
Joe Fusile,
Weston Franklin, and
Jakiah Leftwich, with Franklin in particular taking on a bigger role at center after starting every game last year.
Jordan Williams will be the favorite to take the vacant right guard slot.
Behind this group,
Paul Tchio,
Brandon Best,
Tyler Gibson, and early enrollee
Elias Cloy will look to get some valuable reps.
Considering how difficult this unit has been for Georgia Tech in recent years, the depth will be a major boon for the offense. Add in notable recruits like
Benjamin Galloway,
Patrick Screws,
Gabriel Fortson, and
Ethan Mackenny who will be joining the team this summer, and this position could be a strength for the Jackets in 2023.
3. Wide Receiver competition
The wide receiver room lost three of its top four receivers from last season --
Nate McCollum transferred to North Carolina while
Malachi Carter and
EJ Jenkins graduated – and lost
Leo Blackburn to injury. The lone returner
Malik Rutherford figures to be an
important piece to the rotation out wide, but there will be plenty of new faces (and position coach) to get familiar with.
Josh Crawford joined the staff from Western Kentucky and immediately dipped into the portal for experienced players to rely on. Of the players we’ll see tomorrow, there is the big-bodied receiver in
Abdul Janneh from Duquesne and a quick slot player
Christian Leary from Alabama.
Chase Lane also transferred from Texas A&M, but he will join the team this summer.
Other depth players include
Avery Boyd,
Jullian (Juju) Lewis,
DJ Moore, and
James Blackstrain. Joining Lane as reinforcements this summer are signees
Bryce Dopson,
Eric Singleton Jr., and
Zion Taylor.
With all the departures and a quarterback battle to boot, this will be a critical position to monitor tomorrow and into the summer months.
4. Who is replacing Ayinde Eley and Charlie Thomas at linebacker?
While the receiver room was gutted at the top, no group took a hit quite as the linebackers did when the Yellow Jackets lost one of the country’s best duos in Charlie Thomas and
Ayinde Eley.
“The linebacker room was very much so run by
Charlie Thomas and
Ayinde Eley. [We] miss those guys dearly,” said defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker earlier this spring about what they lost at linebacker. “They were undoubtedly the leaders of the linebacker room and arguably the defense. So that's why we felt like we had a maturity, experience, and leadership void.”
Eley led the team in tackles with 118 (third in the ACC), while also adding 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles (tied for the most in FBS). Thomas came in just behind his compatriot with 112 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. The staff was aggressive in trying to replace that experience at the position in the portal and brought in
Andre White from Texas A&M and
Braelen Oliver from Minnesota. Junior
Trenilyas Tatum is another player to watch.
Both of those players have had good spring practices leading up to Saturday’s game, but we’ll see first-hand tomorrow how much progress they’ve made.
We have a couple of things that we will be watching for on the field during tomorrow’s White and Gold Game.
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