Georgia Tech Releases Depth Chart Ahead of Matchup With No. 4 Georgia

After the disappointing loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, Georgia Tech will wrap up their regular season with their big rivarly game against No. 4 Georgia. The Yellow Jackets have not beaten Georgia since 2016, but took the Bulldogs to eight overtimes last year and were closing to finally snapping the losing streak in this rivarly. Can they get it done this year?

Ahead of Friday's game, Georgia Tech has released its depth chart.

Offense

Position	Starter	Backup
QB	Haynes King	Aaron Philo
RB	Jamal Haynes	Malachi Hosley or Trelain Maddox
WR	Eric Rivers	Zion Taylor Or Debron Gatling
WR	Malik Rutherford	Bailey Stockton or Jordan Allen
WR	Isiah Canion	Dean Patterson
TE	J.T. Byrne or Luke Harpring or Brett Seither or Josh Beetham
LT	Ethan Mackenny	Josh Petty or Peyton Joseph
LG	Joe Fusile	Kevin Peay Jr or Peyton Joseph
C	Harrison Moore or Tana Alo-Tupuola	Jameson Riggs
RG	Keylan Rutledge	Will Reed
RT	Malachi Carney	Jameson Riggs or Josh Petty

Defense

Position	Starter	Backup
End	AJ Hoffler	Ronald Triplette or Christian Garrett or Andre Fuller
Nose	Akelo Stone or Matthew Alexander	Landen Marshall
Tackle	Jordan Van Den Berg	Jason Moore or Shymeik Jones
Rush	Brayden Manley	Jordan Boyd or Amontrae Bradford
Linebacker	Kyle Efford	Cayman Spaulding
Linebacker	E.J. Lightsey	Melvin Jordan or Tah'j Butler
Nickel	Kelvin Hill	Will Kiker
Strong Safety	Clayton Powell-Lee	Tae Harris or D.J. Moore
Free Safety	Omar Daniels or Savion Riley
Cornerback	Ahmari Harvey	Daiquan White or Jon Mitchell
Cornerback	Rodney Shelley	Zachary Tobe

Special Teams

Position	Starter	Backup
K	Aidan Birr	Landon Shaffer
P	Marshall Nichols	Joshua Taylor
Long Snapper	Ronnie Thomas	Joseph Stoever
Kick Returner	Daylon Gordon and Shane Marshall
Punt Returner	Eric Rivers or Bailey Stockton	Jamal Haynes

Did Georgia Tech peak too early?

Georgia Tech QB Haynes Kin — Nov 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive back Kavir Bains (23) tackles Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It is a fair question to wonder if Georgia Tech peaked too early this season. They have played poorly in three straight games and the same can't be said for Georgia. They seem to be ascending after their blowout win over Texas and they look like a team capable of winning the national championship.

When speaking with the media today, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key was asked if his team peaked too early this season:

"You never know when you're in the moment, really, you know, because you don't know if you're hoping there's still more to go. And what probably, you know, game seven, eight, you know, we're in there, you know, we're hoping we hadn't peaked. So, and obviously we've come down the last few weeks and haven't played up to anyone's expectation of the way that I thought we're capable of playing. And so, you know, I hope that's not the case. I hope we still have some peaking left in us."

He also discussed the difference between playing in this rivalry and coaching in this rivalry:

"Never thought about that. Thought of it. You know, as a player, you're really more singularly focused on your job and what you have to do, the task at hand. Yeah, you let the emotions, you know, the emotions are all around. You've got to channel that into the energy and the passion to play a game.

As a coach, you see, you know, you feel it, you know it, but you're also so focused on so many other different areas. It's a totally different feeling, but you're also responsible for all those areas. So it's kind of a double-edged, I guess you'd say, swing both ways as a coach opposed to a player. A player is just about to go out and play, but when you see everything and are responsible for it all, it's a little different as a coach. But either way, You know, the passion and emotions about it are strong. You know.

It does for me, yeah. does for everybody on both teams. I mean, that's what in -state rivalries are about. You know, they're about playing against the guys that you grew up with or grew up playing against and grew up playing with. You know, majority of players on both teams are from this state and one of not the best high school football in the entire country. And, you know, to be able to have a showcase what really ends up being a, it's a showcase of the high school talent and the high school programs and the high school coaches of all their players really competing at once.

And, you know, I said that was one of the cool things about last year's game at the end of it, you know, as it kind of went through the weekend, you saw all the, you know, the different things taking place in the games and the fighting and all that stuff. And, you know, you didn't see that in this game, right? And it doesn't mean they don't play hard. They play extremely hard, but fighting is not a representation of playing hard, right? You know, doing those things.

And I think that's because there's respect, you know, and, you know, sometimes the hardest play against the people you know the best or you have the most relationship or experience with because it's like two brothers fighting. And, you know, they're going to go at it. But, you know, after the game, there's still going to be that respect for each other."

Can Georgia Tech find a way to pull the big upset?

Offense

Position

Starter

Backup