Ranking Every Georgia Tech Position Group Following Spring Practice

Which position groups appear to be the strongest for Georgia Tech following spring practice?

Spring Football has wrapped up at Georgia Tech and the Yellow Jackets head into the summer with some excitement following the month plus they spent on the field working to get better.

Heading into the summer, which position groups look strongest for Georgia Tech? Which still have questions? I ranked each position group from strongest to weakest with spring practice wrapped up.

1. Running Back

This is not going to come to a surprise to anyone, but Georgia Tech should have one of the best running back rooms in the country this season.

Justice Haynes looked good in his snaps on Saturday and paired with Malachi Hosley, Georgia Tech is going to have a dynamite duo in the backfield, but rising sophomore JP Powell had a 56-yard touchdown run and looked explosive. If anyone could emerge as a dangerous No. 3 back for this team, it would just be icing on the cake for what should be an elite group.

2. Tight End

This might come as a surprise to some, but I think this is going to be a good tight end room and there is going to be a spike in production from this group and should be targeted much more.

One of the stars of the spring game on Saturday was Kevin Roche, a 6'9 target that Alberto Mendoza seemed to have a good connection with. Gavin Harris had a 28 yard catch and guys like Spencer Mermans and Chris Corbo will find their roles as well. This is a solid group that should be getting attention ahead of the season.

3. Defensive Line

They have not proven anything in a real game setting, but I am going to drink the Kool-Aid on this group after the spring.

Brent Key has made it known how much better this group should be and the plan they had to improve their size looks to be working. Noah Carter and Jordan Walker had two sacks each, Christian Garrett has been mentioned as a breakout candidate this fall, true freshman Christian Speakman had a great spring, and Tawfiq Thomas looked like a good veteran.

The Yellow Jakckets should be much improved on the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball and improve a good bit.

4. Quarterback

It looks like Alberto Mendoza has this competition wrapped up and he had a strong day on Saturday, going 12-16 and making some nice throws, including an 18-yard touchdown to Debron Gatling and a 28-yard completion to Gavin Harris. He targeted Roche a lot and also wanted to find this year's top receiver Jordan Allen at different times.

The knock on Mendoza of course is the lack of experience and he is going to have to jump in right away by facing two power four opponents to start the season.

Grady Adamson looked to be the second best quarterback on Saturday, but again, he has not played in a game and if Mendoza were to go down, that is a big question mark.

Mendoza looked good enough on Saturday to put this group here, but it could move up or down based on his performance.

5. Offensive Line

This is the position that has its fair share of questions, especially along the interior. The Yellow Jackets did give up some sacks in pass protection on Saturday, but I do think that Brent Key and Allen Mogridge will find the right combination of guys that will make this another strong unit for the Yellow Jackets. Ever since he was hired, Key has found a way to put a strong group up front.

6. Secondary

If the safeties produce at a higher level and there is a better sense of depth, I think this group could be higher.

The cornerbacks have a chance to be a good group. They have good veterans in Jonas Duclona (who was banged up this spring), Jaylen Mbakwe has NFL potential, Daiquan White and Zach Tobe are back, and there are intriguing young guys as well.

At safety, there is going to be a lot of youth. Tae Harris has the talent to be a star and Fenix Felton flashed towards the end of the year, especially in the Georgia game. Savion Riley has to stay healthy and freshman Kealan Jones will have an opportunity to get on the field.

If they stay healthy and have some young guys emerge at safety for depth, I think this group will be fine.

7. Linebacker

This was arguably the worst positoin on the defense a year ago and they are hoping that better coaching and a different scheme are going to improve.

Kyle Efford, E.J. Lightsey, Cayman Spaulding, and Melvin Jordan are all back this season and true freshman Braylon Outlaw had a good spring. They can be better than what they were last season, but there has to be proof of concept before I am ready to say so.

8. Wide Receiver

Georgia Tech lost a ton of production at receiver (Eric Rivers, Malik Rutherford, Dean Patterson, Isiah Canion, Bailey Stockton, and others) and only brought two guys in during the spring portal window. Jordan Allen is undoubtedly the top option for the Yellow Jackets, but who else is going to step up?

Debron Gatling had a nice spring game, Evan Haynes flashed as well, but there are plenty of questions for this group following Saturday and this is going to be something to watch as the season gets closer and closer.