Three Georgia Tech Players Who Must Improve During The Bye Week

Who must improve during the bye week?

Christian Garrett Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech Athletic

Georgia Tech is firmly in its bye week and looking to get back on track. Let’s look at three players who must improve during the bye week for the Yellow Jackets to turn things around.

1. Gavin Harris

One of the players you thought would be the top tight end on the roster and get a lot of reps, but it's been a different story. Harris has two catches for 19 yards this season. He also has only 59 reps this season for the Yellow Jackets. Harris did miss the Colorado and Mercer games this season, so being healthy is one of the things. Also, he just hasn’t been effective when he has been on the field. You did see a catch against Stanford for 14 yards. Simply put, the Yellow Jackets need more from him. Kevin Roche Jr. has emerged as the top target in the tight end room. With some of the struggles they’ve had offensively, Harris is someone you thought would make a difference. It will be interesting to see if he has a bigger role moving forward and contributes more.

2. Isaiah Fuhrmann

Fuhrmann is another player who must improve and get more production from his play for the Yellow Jackets. He only has two catches for 29 yards this year for the Yellow Jackets. You can put it on the scheme, the lack of usage on the field, or even his role being more relegated to blocking. However, he was supposed to be a big-body wide receiver that was expected to contribute at a high level. Fuhrmann has 146 snaps this season, which ranks 11th on the team. You would even think that Fuhrmann would get reps in the red zone, an area the Yellow Jackets have struggled in this season. With his 6’4 frame, it would be ideal to fix those issues, but the Yellow Jackets haven’t used him in that area. It doesn’t feel like he has as big a role as expected. Georgia Tech needs more from him.

3. Christian Garrett

Coming into this season, Garrett was expected to be a key impact player for the Yellow Jackets. He’s healthy but has rarely been used this season, with only 52 snaps. That ranks him No.18 on the team. Garrett has produced a 63.5 defensive grade and only a 55.6 pass rush grade. Garrett only has two registered tackles this season for the Yellow Jackets. He was one of the players that defensive line coach Jess Simpson mentioned in fall camp that was improving and that has come a long way. We still haven’t seen that impact or even the reps on the field. Going into sophomore year, he was expected to be one of those guys for the Yellow Jackets and a major contributor. We just haven’t seen it. This is what was said about Garrett in camp.

“He's worked hard in the transition. If you've ever done it, which, you know, move from backer to DN or from DN to DTackle, man, those moves are just in some ways it's, you know, just so different, you know? So, he's done a really good job of trying to own like, okay, because things just happen so fast. You hit blocks in less than half a second. You're reacting to pressure. You're reacting to color. You're moving and making, you know, and reacting off the next blocker. Like, it comes at you really, really fast. Different from playing off the ball or different from playing on the edge. So, I think he's done a really, really good job. Um, he's learning.He's come a long way, and he has a long way to go. Um, but big hopes and aspirations for him.”

A little disappointing to see with the results so far.