Georgia Tech Unveils Its Depth Chart Ahead of Saturday's Game vs No. 12 Clemson

The depth chart for Georgia Tech is out

Aug 29, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) carries the ball for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

After beating Gardner-Webb on Saturday, the attention for Georgia Tech now shifts to one of its biggest games of the Brent Key era. No. 12 Clemson comes to Atlanta on Saturday, and a win would be huge for the Yellow Jackets. They would emerge as a real threat to win the ACC, and it would be their first victory over the Tigers since 2014.

Tuesday is the day when Georgia Tech likes to release its depth chart and that is what they did today.

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	Rondald 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

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

Expect Clemson's Best

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks with media after the game at Memorial Stadium Saturday, September 6, 2025 in Clemson, S.C. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is expected to be a close football game and on his radio appearance last night, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney said that Clemson would have to play its best game to beat Georgia Tech and gave a lot of praise to Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on Georgia Tech: "We're gonna have play our best game yet to beat them"

— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) September 9, 2025

Swinney also said that Tigers wide receiver Antonio Williams is day to day. Williams has not played in the first two games of the season so far for Clemson.

Will the Yellow Jackets beat the Tigers?

Dec 27, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key tracks his team during the first half of the 2024 Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech is an underdog according to the oddsmakers, but SP+ thinks the Yellow Jackets are going to pull off the upset this weekend. SP+ is giving Georgia Tech a 51% chance to win the game.

WEEK 3 SP+ PICKS

GT 28.2, Clemson 27.7?
Vols 25, Dawgs 24??
Irish 28, Aggies 25
LSU 28, Florida 25
Bama 33, Wisconsin 16
Pitt 30, WVU 26
Miami 38, USF 24
SC 30, Vandy 21

Not as many disagreements this week. Clemson aside, anyway. Full list: https://t.co/7pOK9K2Aj8 pic.twitter.com/ZlruRlTHTs

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 7, 2025

What is SP+? Here is how Connelly describes it:

"In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. I created the system at Football Outsiders in 2008, and as my experience with both college football and its stats has grown, I have made quite a few tweaks to the system.

SP+ is indeed intended to be predictive and forward-facing. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system is. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise."

The Tigers dropped their season opener to LSU and were down 16-0 vs Troy before they were able to mount a comeback and defeat the Trojans 27-16. They are the favorite to win the ACC, and at Fanduel Sportsbook, they are starting out as 6.5-point favorites vs the Yellow Jackets. In the offseason, Clemson was at one point a 9.5 point favorite over Georgia Tech, but the Tigers struggles have lowered that number.

This would be one of the biggest wins of Key's tenure as the head coach at Georgia Tech. While he has gotten several ranked wins against ACC opponents, the fact that Georgia Tech has not beaten the Tigers in a long time in the rivalry would add something special to this win if they earned it. Not only that, but Georgia Tech would have the tiebreaker over the Tigers and would join Miami and Florida State as favorites in the ACC.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.