Georgia Tech Football: Three Players to Watch In The Second Half of the Season

Georgia Tech is 3-3 heading into their matchup with Boston College

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Oct 18, 2023 1:28 PM EDT

In this story:

Georgia Tech is 3-3 and will begin their second half of the season on Saturday against Boston College. It has been an eventful first half of the season for Georgia Tech, from the opening loss to Louisville to beating Wake Forest on the road to losing at home to Bowling Green, and then two weeks ago scoring a touchdown in the final seconds to beat Miami. Head coach Brent Key finds himself needing three wins to get Georgia Tech to a bowl game in his first season and that would mark Georgia Tech's first appearance in a bowl game since 2018.

Georgia Tech has seen some big breakout stars in the first half of this season that have helped them win games. Quarterback Haynes King has been one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC and is one of the leading passers. He has emerged as a leader for the Yellow Jackets and is tied for the lead in the ACC in touchdown passes with Miami's Tyler Van Dyke.

Another player that has emerged in this first half of the season has been

True freshman Eric Singleton Jr. leads the Yellow Jackets in receiving with 355 yards on 20 catches and he has five touchdowns this season, averaging nearly 18 yards per catch. He is currently seventh in the ACC in receiving yards and second in touchdowns. He has given this team much-needed speed at the position and looks like a future superstar. Singleton is the second-highest-graded player on the Georgia Tech offense according to PFF and has a 73.7 grade.

King and Singleton have emerged as two stars from the first half of the season, but who are guys to watch in the second half of the season?

1. RB Jamal Haynes

Haynes is already having a good season, but I think he is capable of producing more than he already has and becoming more of a threat in the passing game, which is something to watch in the second half of the season. Georgia Tech started the year being able to run the ball successfully and Haynes is one of the ten leading rushers in the ACC, but the running game has ground to a halt in games against Bowling Green and Miami.

If you look at the basic stats and the advanced ones, they do not paint a pretty picture for the Georgia Tech running game right now. The Yellow Jackets are 10th in the ACC in rushing offense, averaging 156 yards per game (63rd nationally). In total rushing EPA (Expected Points Added), Georgia Tech is -7.05 (103rd nationally), 110th in rushing EPA/play (-0.07), 104th in rushing EPA/game (-1.76), and 111th in rushing success rate (37.1%).

Haynes has been an explosive player for the Yellow Jackets' offense and is currently the fifth-leading rusher in the ACC, with 409 yards and three touchdowns this season, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Haynes has also reeled in 12 passes for 112 yards. His ability to cut back and run the zone stretches in this offense has been very good and I think Haynes could make the case for an All-ACC team with a big second half of the season.

On PFF (Pro Football Focus), Haynes is the 6th-highest-graded member of the offense and has a 70.2 grade in 197 snaps.

I would like to see Georgia Tech find some balance on offense to go along with its passing attack and Haynes will play a big role in that.

2. WR Christian Leary

Christian Leary scores the winning touchdown — Christian Leary has been a top playmaker for Georgia Tech
Nathaniel Caudell

Leary made the play of the season for Georgia Tech when he caught the game-winning touchdown against Miami. That was Leary's second touchdown in as many games and I think he is ready to emerge as a weapon in this offense.

Leary has 13 catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 14.4 yards per catch. Leary has a 73.0 grade on PFF. He has started to emerge over the past few games for Georgia Tech and the Alabama transfer could have a big day on Saturday against a Boston College secondary that has not been good this season.

3. LB Kyle Efford

Trenilyas Tatum and Paul Moala have been the starters on the Georgia Tech depth chart, but it has been Kyle Efford who is the highest-graded linebacker so far this season for the Yellow Jackets. Efford is fifth on the team in tackles with 24 and has a 76.0 grade on PFF midway through the season. Look to see if Efford gets more snaps than the 114 that he has so far this season and that could start this weekend against Boston College. The linebacker play has not been very good for the Yellow Jackets this season, but I think Efford has shown promise and should see more playing time over the second half of the season. Georgia Tech's linebackers and run defense will be challenged this week against Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who is a legitimate threat when running the football.

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