Five Reasons To Believe In Georgia Tech In 2026

We are at about the halfway point of spring practice, with practices set to start back up this week. With so many changes to the team this offseason, there have been some questions as to how they will look next fall, and rightfully so. However, here are five reasons why you should believe in Georgia Tech in 2026.

1. Brent Key is still the head coach

Say what you want about all the coaches, players, and personnel leaving, but one thing remains the same, and that is head coach Brent Key. He has guided the Yellow Jackets to three consecutive winning seasons, and last season had a chance at 10 wins. Before Coach Key was named the permanent head coach, the Yellow Jackets were struggling to win consistently. He has been able to get this team to a level year in and year out where they are competitive, and they win the games no matter what coaches he has, players, or the schedule that is in front of them. Coach Key has built up enough cache, where you have to consider him one of the better coaches in the ACC, and potentially in college football if he can take another step forward with this team after all they lost after 2025. It would be a remarkable job if he could get this team to the playoffs in 2026 with 11 Power 4 opponents on the schedule. Time will tell, but Coach Key has proven you have to take the Yellow Jackets seriously when he is the head coach of the program.

2. The Yellow Jackets used the portal to get better in areas

Georgia Tech made a number of splash pickups in the portal to make the team better and take the next step. Getting Justice Haynes, who was the top running back available in the portal, was massive and makes the running back room a whole lot better. Alberto Mendoza was a savvy pickup to bring in a veteran to help out with a fairly young and inexperienced quarterback room. The Yellow Jackets completely revamped the tight end room, bringing in Chris Corbo, Gavin Harris, and Spencer Mermans. The room should be on par with what they had in 2025. Defensively, they were active with a major pickup at cornerback, bringing in former five-star Jaylen Mbakwe. They also brought in Tawfiq Thomas, Noah Carter, Tim Griffin, and Jonas Duclona as key pickups for the Yellow Jackets. This team got better with these additions, and it will be apparent on Saturdays when they lace it up.

3. The intensity with this team is off the charts

Now, I will tell you one thing: it is hard to match the intensity of head coach Brent Key, but he may have finally found his match with the team he has compiled together. The 2026 iteration for the Yellow Jackets is no pushovers and loves the physicality and going through the dog days of offseason training and putting on the pads. They have a different mentality and edge to them that we didn’t see previously. That can be a difference maker, especially with some of the games they have this year, like Tennessee, Louisville, Clemson, Georgia, and Virginia Tech all on the schedule. Coach Key put it best when talking about the fire resonating with this group.

"They love it. They like it. I mean, and I've got some good guys on this team that, you know, we had a training session a couple of weeks ago and you know, we're running, we've done a whole, we did walk through and we did a whole, you know, session of drills and work and eight stations, four stations, and we're running curbs. And if you may know what a curve is from your old playing days, and those aren't any fun. We get about the seventh one, and they're just laughing. They're smiling. I'm like, all right. And one guy takes their shirt off. The whole team takes a shirt off,” said Key.

4. The defense will be more aggressive

At times last season, the Yellow Jackets played passively and used a lot of zone scheme to keep plays in front of them. Not this year with defensive coordinator Jason Semore coming over. The Yellow Jackets will be more aggressive, flowing to the ball, getting deflections and interceptions, and making plays on the ball. Expect a hard-hitting defense and one that won’t be afraid to make plays this upcoming season. Star freshman Tae Harris put it best about the new coaching scheme.

“Yes, sir. I like it a lot. Like I said earlier, he came in with a different approach to it. So, I definitely like the aggressive part. I think that's where my game shows more. I'm definitely a better player when I'm being more aggressive than just sitting back in zone and reacting offense. So, I definitely like getting my hands on people. I definitely like being aggressive, catch man technique and just stuff like that. I like being in my element playing that way. So, yes, it's it's definitely it's definitely helped a lot. I like it.”

5. The continuity remains at the forefront

You go and look at the defense besides the players graduating and a few hitting the portal, the Yellow Jackets retain a lot of their guys. Players like Tae Harris, Fenix Felton, Dalen Penson, Elgin Sessions, Kyle Efford, E.J Lightsey, Melvin Jordan IV, Cayman Spaulding, Savion Riley, Kelvin Hill, Amontrae Bradford, Christian Garrett, Andre Fuller Jr, Jordan Boyd, Jayden Barr, and more. Those are just a few of the names I mentioned that are coming back. Some of the players barely played last season, but still believed in the vision and decided to run it back when they could have easily hit the portal, especially with so many coaching changes at their positions. However, the players didn’t leave when they could have. That is saying something about the culture of the program and where it is currently. The players believe in the vision and want to continue to usher in the change and get the Yellow Jackets where they want to go. Continuity will loom large.