Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets OL Keylan Rutledge Named to Outland Trophy Watchlist

Nov 21, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets helmet is seen on the sideline in the first half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Yesterday, Georgia Tech's Haynes King and Jamal Haynes were named to the Maxwell Trophy watchlist and today, watchlist season continued with offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge being named to to the Outland Trophy watchlist.

The Outland Trophy is presented annually to college football’s top interior lineman.

Rutledge earned first-team all-America honors from Sports Info Solutions in 2024, his first season at Georgia Tech after transferring from Middle Tennessee. He started all 13 games at right guard in ’24, despite being unable to participate in football activities for the entire preseason after sustaining a serious foot injury in a car accident in December 2023.

Rutledge earned the all-America recognition on the strength of ranking in the top 10 offensive linemen nationally in SIS’s Total Points metric, including a top-five national ranking in run-blocking Total Points. In pass protection, he had only two “blown blocks” in nearly 400 regular-season attempts, according to SIS. He also helped anchor a Georgia Tech offensive front that ranked third nationally in fewest sacks allowed (nine in 13 games) and paved the way for the Yellow Jackets to rank second in the ACC in rushing offense (187.0 ypg).

Earlier this summer, he was named second-team preseason all-America by Phil Steele College Football Preview.

𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 🏈

Rutledge has been named to the preseason watch list for the Outland Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation’s top interior lineman.

📰 : https://t.co/8Mk7Y8dzaG #StingEm 🐝 pic.twitter.com/rlQW9ULzKU

— Georgia Tech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) July 29, 2025

Rutledge is one of only 15 guards on the Outland Trophy watch list. Sixteen offensive tackles, 10 defensive tackles and nine centers make up the rest of the list.

The winner of 2025 Outland Trophy will be announced during The Home Depot College Football Awards, live on ESPN on Friday, Dec. 12. The official trophy presentation will be made at the Outland Trophy Awards Dinner on Jan. 21, 2026 in Omaha, Neb.

Georgia Tech has posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time in a decade and returns five all-ACC honorees from last season’s squad, including Rutledge, an all-America guard and first-team all-conference selection. Other top performers returning for the Yellow Jackets in 2025 include all-ACC selections DT Jordan van den Berg, LB Kyle Efford, RB Jamal Haynes, and WR Malik Rutherford, as well as two of the league’s top quarterbacks in senior Haynes King and redshirt freshman Aaron Philo.