Could Georgia Tech Be This Year's Indiana and Make A Surprise Run?

Georgia Tech had another productive season under head coach Brent Key in 2024. It was the first time since 2013 and 2014 that Georgia Tech had back-to-back winning seasons. Make no mistake about it, Key has turned this program around in a short span of time, and the Yellow Jackets are continuing to garner respect from all over the country. Can the Yellow Jackets take the next step this season and play in an ACC championship or get into the College Football Playoffs as the Hoosiers did a season ago?

Let’s break down the cases of why they can and what could potentially stand in their way.

Why Yes: Georgia Tech returns their star quarterback Haynes King, who has received quite the buzz this offseason from a number of notable outlets, including Phil Steele, Josh Pate, Greg McElroy and more. He is credited with his toughness and the ability to give his all and be a poised leader. King had offers to leave the portal but decided to stay and do one final ride with the Yellow Jackets. Here is why he came back, as he told Pete Nakos of On3 in an interview.

“I feel like that’s just kind of who I am,” King said. “I’m not the one who tries to jump ship and quit, or try to move on to bigger and better things. Thinking the grass is greener somewhere else. This is the ship that I helped build, and I’m part of it. And let’s ride this thing out, see where we can go. Let’s try to build a championship-caliber team, not just this year, but for the years in the future.”

“We definitely have unfinished business,” Haynes King said. “The first one, we’ve got to take it one game at a time. Being at Colorado for the first game, that’s going to be a big one. Just take it each week, make it simple. Some people try to make it too complicated and try to make it harder than it is. If you execute and do your job and have the players around you playing at a high level, things are going to happen for you.

The Yellow Jackets have one of the deepest running back rooms in the country, led by senior running back Jamal Haynes, who nearly rushed for 1,000 yards as a junior despite dealing with nagging injuries throughout the season. Haynes is dynamic, catching the ball out of the backfield and is one of the best running backs in the open space. Georgia Tech landed Malachi Hosley in the transfer portal, who was one of the best running backs available in the portal and will allow Georgia Tech to keep Haynes fresh. Georgia Tech also has Daylon Gordon and Chad Alexander as veterans. Trelain Maddox should have a bigger role and has only improved his craft at every turn. JP Powell was a standout in the spring game, showing what he can do with the ball in his hands. Shane Marshall is also set to join Georgia Tech this summer and be ready for the fall.

Despite losing Eric Singleton, Georgia Tech has a very impressive wide receiver core that will be led by Dean Patterson, Eric Rivers, and Malik Rutherford. Here is a deeper look at those three receivers in-depth.

“Patterson comes over for his final collegiate season from FIU. Over the course of his career with FIU, he caught 98 passes for 1,406 yards and eight touchdowns. He finished his junior season with 50 catches for 685 yards and seven touchdowns. He was named second-team all-conference USA after a productive junior campaign.”

“Mr. Reliable Malik Rutherford hit the transfer portal but decided to return to the Yellow Jackets after careful consideration. Rutherford finished his junior campaign with 62 catches, 702 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. Rutherford had one of his best games of the season against Georgia State, finishing with seven catches for a season-high 131 yards and a touchdown.”

“Rivers finished his junior season with 62 catches for 1,162 yards and 12 touchdowns. He became the first FIU player to be named to the Associated Press All-American team, earning third-team honors. He had one of his best games against New Mexico, finishing with a school-record 295 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 11 catches. Out of all the players the Yellow Jackets got in the portal, he probably has the most upside.”

Defensively, Georgia Tech could have one of the best secondaries in the NCAA this upcoming year. The Yellow Jackets have a good blend of veterans in Clayton Powell-Lee, Omar Daniels, Rodney Shelley, and Zachary Tobe. They also brought in Jy Gilmore, Daiquan White, Kelvin Hill, Savion Riley, and Jon Mitchell. They also have an outstanding freshman class coming in led by Dalen Penson and Tae Harris who should see the field early for Georgia Tech.

Haynes King Georgia Tec — Dec 27, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) warms up before the 2024 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

What can stand in the way: Injuries and schedule

Let’s start with the schedule. Now, the strength of the schedule hasn’t been released yet for teams outside of the top 25 but Georgia Tech will not have as difficult of a schedule it did in 2024.

It will be important that Georgia Tech starts its season off fast and gets off to a good start. Georgia Tech will play three winning teams from a season ago in its first three games. If Georgia Tech can go 2-1 or even 3-0, they will be sitting in a good spot. The most important game during that stretch will be Clemson. Will the Yellow Jackets be able to beat the ACC Elite Clemson Tigers, who have their sights on winning a national championship? A big test for them on September 13th on ABC.

Other notable games on the schedule include Syracuse, NC State, Pittsburgh and Georgia. Pittsburgh started the season of 7-0 and was led by true freshman quarterback Eli Holstein. Pittsburgh is a solid defensive team and will be a worthy opponent this year. Although Syracuse lost Kyle McCord to the NFL, they will have a new quarterback at the helm this year and lost several playmakers to the transfer portal and the NFL. Despite the changes, the Orange showed under head coach Fran Brown that they will be a well-coached team and one that will be tough to beat. NC State and Georgia Tech gave us a Thursday Night Thriller in 2024 that came to an end with a walk-off touchdown run by Aaron Philo, sealing the victory. CJ Bailey showed in that game that he can dissect a defense and make plays when given time as a freshman. He will only be better in 2025.

Injuries

Georgia Tech dealt with some pretty significant injuries last year that you could say hindered the Yellow Jackets from winning 9-10 games. One was Haynes King, who dealt with an AC Shoulder Joint Sprain that affected him midseason and forced him to be out for some games. Before the injury, King was 5-2 as a starter for the Yellow Jackets.

Jamal Haynes dealt with nagging injuries all season long that saw him miss a few games, and when he was playing in some games, you could tell he wasn’t 100%. Although Georgia Tech's running back room was good last year, it is even better this season, which should help one of the toughest positions to avoid injury.

The eight-overtime game against Georgia was the true battle of attrition for Georgia Tech and saw a secondary that played well, for the most part, fall apart at the end, with so many players dropping like flies due to injury.

Injuries are not excuses, but it does play a factor when your top players go down and you are trying to compensate for their absence. No team is going to avoid injury because they are a part of the game, but depth will be critical to overcome things that happen throughout the season. Georgia Tech looks primed to be fine with the plug-and-play players they acquired in the portal and the hungry young talent that is itching to see the field.

Prediction: I will go out on a limb and say yes, the Yellow Jackets can be this year’s Indiana. They have everything they need to make the College Football Playoff and surprise some folks while doing it. The schedule is not as rigorous as it was a season ago, and there is more room for Georgia Tech to go on a winning streak. The key for Georgia Tech will be how they start the season and handle the ACC elite when they play them in 2025. Head coach Brent Key will have this team ready to roll, and this will be a big shocker for a lot of the college football world, who are not familiar with the team.

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