One Freshman the Yellow Jackets Will Have to Lean On After the NFL Draft

With the NFL Draft now in the rearview mirror, who is the top freshman to watch for Georgia Tech to help replace these losses?

Nov 28, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key on the field during the game against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Spring football has concluded for Georgia Tech and one of the key goals for Brent Key and his program was figuring out how to replace the players that departed the program for the NFL Draft. Georgia Tech had a large group of seniors that had help build the program under Key, such as Haynes King, Jamal Haynes, Malik Rutherford, Clayton Powell-Lee, Omar Daniels, and Ahmari Harvey, and now the Yellow Jackets are turning the page and moving into a new era so to speak.

With the draft and spring football now in the rearview mirror, we have a better understanding of this Georgia Tech roster and who is going to replace the players who departed. The safety room for Georgia Tech is very interesting to me heading into the season and there is one freshman who could ease these draft losses and the Yellow Jackets can lean on.

Freshman to watch

One of the things that head coach Brent Key referenced during the spring was that he wanted to make sure they are playing the younger players who have earned playing time. One freshman who has stood out among that group is Kealan Jones. Jones was a late addition to Georgia Tech's recruiting class after flipping him from rival Georgia and Key has been impressed with how Jones performed in the spring.

“The guy that keeps catching my eye out there, Kealan Jones, he just keeps showing up, whether it be a solid, really good tackle in space,  whether it be in coverage, support, knowing what to do.  He's progressing a lot,

Let's let him learn how to crawl and then get up off of these and start walking, maybe jogging a little bit, before we put him in that full thing. He's practiced 11 days, 12 days now. So, just go and say he had a good day, but it doesn't mean he's Ronnie Lott out there yet."

He might not be Ronnie Lott just yet, but that does not mean that he is not ready to help Georgia Tech's secondary. With Daniels and Powell-Lee gone, Georgia Tech is having to replace two players that played in a lot of games over the past three seasons. Former blue chip recruit Tae Harris has star potential, fellow class of 2025 recruit Fenix Felton saw some playing time towards the end of the season and Savion Riley brings the veteran experience for the group.

But there is room for Jones to crack the rotation and help ease the losses of the players they lost. Flipping Jones was a massive recruiting win for Brent Key, and the freshman safety is a player to watch going into the summer and the fall.