How Will Georgia Tech Navigate Their Loaded Injury Report vs Stanford?

The injury report did not come until late on Wednesday night, but it was a loaded one for Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets are going to be missing a few key starters on their team, including LT Ethan Mackenny, DE Jordan Walker, and safety Savion Riley have been ruled out (among others) while RB Malachi Hosley, CB Jaylen Mbakwe, LB Kyle Efford, C Jameson Riggs, and OT Josh Petty are all questionable. DE Noah Carter, OL Joseph Ionata, TE Kevin Roche Jr, and DT Vincent Carroll-Jackson are listed as questionbale.

Let's take a closer look at the players who are out and who might be stepping up to replace them.

Running Backs

It has been the Justice Haynes show at running back this season, with the Michigan transfer earning 55 carries so far this season. Hosley has only carried the ball 16 times this season and has not been used as much as anticipated.

Hosley is questionable coming into the game and if he is unable to go, I think that would give way to Trelain Maddox and possibly Chad Alexander earning more carries, but it could just mean that Haynes has a heavy workload ahead of him on Saturday night in Palo Alto.

Wide Receiver

Georgia Tech is not going to have a trio of freshmen receivers available on Saturday. While Darnell Collins, Coi Jean-Noel, and Kentrell Davis do not have a catch so far this season, they won't be able to provide depth in case of injury. The Yellow Jackets will continue to rely on Jordan Allen, Dalen Penson, Isaiah Fuhrmann, Jaiven Plummer, and Debron Gatling to play the majority of snaps. Both Gatling and Plummer had their first touchdown grabs of the season last week against Mercer.

Tight End

Kevin Roche Jr is listed as probable coming into the game, but if he were to not play, it would make things tougher on this Georgia Tech passing game, as Roche Jr is one of Alberto Mendoza's favorite targets. If he were to miss the game, that would mean more snaps for Chris Corbo, Spencer Mermans, and Gavin Harris.

Offensive line

With Mackenny out, it would not be a surprise to see Jordan Floyd start another game for Georgia Tech. Floyd started last week's game vs Mercer and I would expect him to get another one this weekend.

If Riggs does not play, I would expect Will Reed to get another start at center, Joseph Ionata is probable for this game.

The most interesting thing about this injury report for the offensive line is the designation for Petty. If Petty is available to play, could he see the field vs the Cardinal? With a bye week coming up, that would surprise me a little bit, but keep an eye on it.

Defensive line

Georgia Tech is going to be missing one starter (Jordan Walker) and a couple of key depth pieces (Shymeik Jones and A.J. Hoffler) on Saturday night vs Stanford. Assuming Noah Carter and Vincent-Carroll Jackson play (they are listed as probable), they should see plenty of playing time and I would anticipate Taje McCoy also getting plenty of snaps.

Linebacker

Kyle Efford is questionable for this game, and if he is out, as he was last week vs Mercer, then that opens the door for Cayman Spaulding, CJ Gamble, and Braylon Outlaw to play more.

Secondary

With Savion Riley and Fenix Felton out, Georgia Tech is going to be thin at safety in this game. Freshmen Kealan Jones and Chris Hewitt Jr will see more playing time, with one of them likely drawing a start.

If Mbakwe does not play, Daiquan White, Zachary Tobe, Jon Mitchell, and Jonas Duclona will see the majority of snaps in the secondary. True freshman Trae Stevenson is out for this game as well.

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