Georgia Tech Releases Depth Chart Ahead of Saturday's Big Matchup vs Duke

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It is game week for No. 12 Georgia Tech, and it is a big one. The Yellow Jackets head out on the road this weekend to face Duke, which is 3-0 in ACC play. The winner of this game is going to be in the driver's seat when it comes to getting to Charlotte for the ACC Championship.
Ahead of Saturday's game, Georgia Tech has released its depth chart for the upcoming game with the Blue Devils.
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 | Jy Gilmore or 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
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 |
While cornerback Ahmari Harvey and defensive tackle Akelo Stone are on the depth chart, their status for Saturday's game is uncertain. At his weekly Tuesday press conference, head coach Brent Key said that he will update Harvey's status on Thursday.
Duke is a well rounded team

Duke head coach Manny Diaz is one of the most respected defensive coaches in the country and Key said as much about the Blue Devils on Tuesday.
"I mean, they move. They play a lot of different, not necessarily different fronts, but different variations of what they do. I mean, whether it's zone pressure or man pressure, different line stunts and games inside. You know, their D -line gets off the ball, it's vertical. You know, I think they're fourth in the country in havoc rate as a defensive line.And, you know, but everything that's good, there are also disadvantages as well. We've got to take advantage of those times when they come up and be able to be consistent with it throughout the game. We've got to control the tempo of the football game. And I'm not saying control the clock. What it is. Again, I'm not going to get into a game plan here, but I respect Manny a lot. I've known Manny a long time. A good person, good family man, you know, and damn good football coach."
Key also talked about the difficulty of slowing down their offense which is one of the best in the country:
"Yeah, I mean I don't think you, you stop them, they're going to get their yards, they're going to get points, we want to limit that as much as we can, and we've got to do things that we've done well, got to continue to do them. I'm not sitting here and giving you the game plan of what we're going to do, and then putting our players in positions to be able to make plays. But look, you guys know how I am. I'm about, you know, there's a ton of plays and calls and blitzes and coverages and runs and passes and all that stuff is cool and fun, but, you know, how hard are you going to play to the football, how are you're going to work to get off a block to sustain a block, you know, to tackle a guy and get him down where he, you know, catches the ball, make plays on the football, protect the football, be a disciplined team. That's what's important. That's what's really important. That's what our DNA as a team is. We've got to continue to do that well and improve on."
Georgia Tech and Duke is one of the most pivotal games in the ACC this season and will kick off at Noon this Saturday.
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Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell
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