Evaluating Georgia Tech's 2023 Signing Class on February Signing Day
Since the addition of the early signing period in December, the traditional signing day has taken a bit of a hit in terms of drama and storylines.
That is not a bad thing though and it was a quiet day (as expected) for Brent Key and his staff at Georgia Tech.
Tech made two additions to the class this week with wide receiver Bailey Stockton and running back Chad Alexander, which is going to settle its 2023 signing class. Tech will finish with 20 commits and the 54th overall ranking on 247Sports. The Yellow Jackets are also 59th in the 247Sports Composite.
This is a bump from where Georgia Tech was in December and while this number will need to improve under Key, it is a good sign that there was some slight improvement in such little time.
The main reason that Georgia Tech's class has bumped up a few spots since the December signing period is their transfer class. As of the time of this writing, Georgia Tech has the 24th-ranked transfer in the country, which is good for fourth in the ACC. Key and his staff have done a good job of adding talent through the portal.
Let's break the class down.
Haynes King has been the lone addition at quarterback
At quarterback, out go Jeff Sims and Taisun Phommachanh, in comes Texas A&M transfer Haynes King. King is going to compete with Zach Pyron and Zach Gibson for the starting job this spring (and likely into fall). King is a former four-star recruit for the Aggies and won the starting job twice. His 2021 season was cut short after being injured early in the season. He started the 2022 season off as the starter but was benched after Texas A&M was upset by App State. He did return as the starter and had his best game on the road against Alabama, a game in which he threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns.
The Yellow Jackets did not bring in a high school quarterback this cycle.
At running back, Georgia Tech lost Hassan Hall (no more eligibility) and Dylan McDuffie (transfer to Kansas). Evan Dickens (IMG Academy, FL) signed in December and was an early enrollee and Georgia Tech made another transfer addition with Trevion Cooley coming over from Louisville. Cooley ran for 709 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. Cooley is going to be a big factor in the backfield for Georgia Tech next season and he was a good addition through the portal.
Perhaps no other position on the team has undergone more transformation than wide receiver. This was a weak point on the offense last season and it appeared to be getting worse when last year's leading receiver Nate McCollum entered the portal. Not only did McCollum leave, but Malachi Carter and EJ Jenkins are out of eligibility and Kalani Norris and Ryan King also transferred. There were going to need to be multiple additions to the group and that is exactly what this staff did.
For the high school class, Georgia Tech landed three signees in December. Bryce Dopson (Brookwood, GA), Zion Taylor (Norcross, GA), and Eric Singleton Jr (Alexander, GA) all signed with the Yellow Jackets in December. In the transfer Portal, Chase Lane (Texas A&M), Christian Leary (Alabama), and Abdul Janneh (Duquesne) all figure to make an impact next fall.
Christian Leary is a former top 100 recruit
Lane has 48 catches for 617 yards and two touchdowns in his career and figures to be an immediate contributor for the Yellow Jackets. Janneh is projected to be an outside receiver with his size and ball skills and I think that is the thing that stands out the most when watching him play. Last season, he caught 43 passes for 579 yards and was very good at catching the ball in traffic and winning his matchups. Leary is a former top 100 recruit from the class of 2021 and signed with Alabama. During his two seasons with the Crimson Tide, Leary only tallied three catches for 10 yards, but he still has potential. The 5'10 175 LBS wide receiver should compete for playing time immediately. Georgia Tech flipped Leary from UCF.
Tight end was one of the most disappointing positions for the Yellow Jackets last season, with no tight end catching a touchdown or topping 100 total yards. While the two new transfers have not produced much yet, they have talent. Brett Seither (Georgia) and Hunter Long (USF) are the two new additions to the tight end room and they will be there with Dylan Leonard, Luke Benson, and Peje' Harris.
The offensive line was the biggest issue for the Yellow Jackets last season, but they were a young unit that is hoping to improve in 2023. Tech brought in five high school players and one transfer this cycle. Two of the offensive lineman (Elias Cloy and Gabe Fortson) are early enrollees. Patrick Screws, Ethan Mackenny, and Benjamin Galloway are the other high schoolers that have signed and Georgia Tech also brought in Charlotte transfers Jordan Brown.
Brown was a redshirt freshman for the Charlotte 49ers in 2022 after redshirting his first year on campus in 2021. He has three years of eligibility left. This past season, Brown played 62 offensive snaps over the course of the season including 24 snaps against Maryland in week two for Charlotte. All of his snaps on offense were at the left tackle spot.
He also played 20 snaps on special teams, all on the field goal and PAT units.
Going over to the defense, Georgia Tech was able to land some late help on the defensive line in the early signing period. Three-Star Shymeik Jones (Camden, SC) is an early enrollee, Ezra Odinjor (Acworth, GA) is an edge player the staff is excited about, and high school teammates Bryston Dixon and Malcolm Pugh were two additions during the December signing period.
The highest-rated transfer in Georgia Tech's class according to 247Sports is Clemson transfer Etinosa Reuben. Reuben is a former three-star recruit and top 500 player from Park Hill South High School in Missouri and during his time with the Clemson Tigers, Reuben tallied 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
Etinosa Reuben is the highest-rated transfer that Georgia Tech has signed
At linebacker, Georgia Tech needed a big signing period with the losses of Charlie Thomas, Ace Eley, and Demetrius Knight II. The Yellow Jackets signed three transfers and two high school players. Braelen Oliver (Minnesota), Andre White Jr, and Austin Dean (Rutgers) figure to compete for playing time in 2023, and Ashton Heflin (Newnan, GA) and Nacari Ashley (Marietta, GA) will be players to watch in the future.
Oliver has amassed 79 tackles, three pass deflections, 3.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. I fully expect Oliver to challenge for one of the starting spots that have been vacated by Eley and Thomas. During his career in College Station, White tallied up 61 tackles, six pass deflections, one forced fumble, and an interception. He was a four-star recruit in the 2019 class. Dean (6'2, 225 LBS) registered 18 tackles. He is a former three-star recruit in the 2020 class and played his high school football at Berkeley Prep in Tampa, FL.
Like wide receiver, this was a position that needed to be addressed pretty heavily at the high school level and through the portal. The coaching staff did a nice job doing this and all three transfers will be important players.
In the secondary, this unit has remained the same since December regarding signees. The one departure was starting cornerback Zamari Walton. Taye Seymore (South Atlanta, GA), Nico Dowdell (Loganville, GA), and Steven Jones Jr are names to know for the future but could make an impact in 2023.
Overall, this was a pretty good start to the Key era, especially in the portal. Look for the Yellow Jackets staff to put in a lot of work to make the 2024 class a big improvement over where this class finished.
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