Top Three Position Battles to Watch as Georgia Tech Football Begins Spring Practice Tomorrow

Georgia Tech Football has been hard at work with winter workouts and conditioning since they lost to Vanderbilt in the Birmingham Bowl and they will step onto the practice field tomorrow to begin spring practice. There are quite a few contributors back from last year's team, but there are going to be some position battles that will be worth keeping an eye on this spring and maybe even into the fall.

Let's break those battles down.

1. Wide Receiver

Georgia Tech is going to have a new-look group when it comes to wide receiver this season. Eric Singleton Jr (transfer portal), Chase Lane, and Abdul Janneh are all gone from last year's team. Malik Rutherford seems to be a lock to start and contribute, as well as FIU transfer Eric Rivers, who was one of the most productive receivers in the country at FIU last season, but what about the other spots? Rivers FIU teammate Dean Patterson brings experience to the roster, but Georgia Tech has young talent such as Bailey Stockton, Isiah Canion, Zion Taylor, Trey Horne, and South Carolina transfer Debron Gatling on the roster and some of those guys will be asked to take a step forward this season.

Stockton caught 17 passes for over 200 yards last season and was a favorite target of Aaron Philo's when he was in. Canion was a four-star prospect in the 2024 class who flashed at times last season, catching six passes for 84 yards. Taylor saw some playing time in the bowl game vs Vanderbilt and the redshirt sophomore might be ready for a bigger role in 2025. Horne did not play last season and redshirted. Last season, Patterson (6'2, 202 LBS) caught 50 passes for 685 yards and seven touchdowns for the Panthers. He also averaged 13.7 yards per catch. In four years with FIU, Patterson caught 98 passes for 1,406 yards and eight touchdowns.

Let's see if someone emerges from this group to pair with Rivers and Rutherford.

2. Center and Right Tackle

I am cheating a little bit here, but these are going to be the two biggest battles on the offensive line. Keylan Rutledge and Joe Fusile are back at right and left guard and Ethan Mackenny should be the starter at left tackle. However, Weston Franklin and Jordan Williams are both gone, leaving open holes along the front five.

They won't be easy to replace, but Brent Key and Geep Wade deserve to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this group and how they develop them. Identifying new starters at center and right tackle, as well as who can be the depth behind them, is going to be the big question this spring. Tana Alo-Tupuola was Franklin's backup last season and should get first crack at the center position. Benjamin Galloway is a player to watch when it comes to the right tackle battle.

3. Defensive Line

Cheating again here with the third one, but Jordan van den Berg is the only player returning on the defensive line where you can pencil him in as a starter. Whether it is on the interior or on the edge, Georgia Tech has a lot of questions.

On the edge, it is going to be nearly a completely new group. Georgia Tech is bringing in A.J. Hoffler (Clemson), Brayden Manley (Mercer), and Ronald Triplette (UTSA) from the portal while hoping young guys like Jordan Boyd, Amontrae Bradford, and Andre Fuller Jr can step up into their roles. On the interior, UCF transfer Matthew Alexander looks like an impackt player, but what about the depth behind him? Jason Moore is likely to be in the rotation, but there is a lot of in-experience between guys like Shymeik Jones, Landen Marshall, Christian Garrett, Blake Belin, and Derry Norris Jr. Who will step up? It is not an exaggeration to say how this position performs this season could swing the season for Georgia Tech.

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