What We’ve Learned, and What Questions Remain at the End of Georgia Tech Fall Camp

Fall camp is coming to a close in Atlanta, and Georgia Tech is about to completely turn its attention to its week one game against Colorado. After going through spring, summer, and three weeks of fall camp, Georgia Tech has had a chance to figure out all of the new pieces on its roster, and it is almost time to see how they match up against another opponent.

So what have we learned and what questions remain for Georgia Tech as fall camp winds down?

What we have learned

1. Georgia Tech is confident in its defense

I have spoken about this a number of times over the course of fall camp, but Georgia Tech is confident that the scheme they have, the coaches they have hired (Jason Semore and Vinnie Sunseri), and the players they have brought in via the portal, as well as in younger players taking a step forward.

The Yellow Jackets feel they are deep at defensive end, the linebackers will bounce back from down seasons, the two transfer cornerbacks will help replace what they lost, and the inexperience at safety will not be a problem.

The Yellow Jackets have not had a strong defense in quite some time, but they are projecting confidence in that side of the ball.

2. Alberto Mendoza has settled into his starting position

Mendoza arrived at Georgia Tech in a battle for the starting quarterback position, and he left the spring as the Yellow Jackets' starter. He was able to enter fall camp as the starter, and he stepped up and is ready to take hold of his first opportunity to start in college football.

Mendoza has been praised for his intelligence and ability to pick up the offense. Georgia Tech is hoping to give him an elite running game, a high-level kicking game, and a strong enough defense where they can play games on their terms. There are going to be some ups and downs, as there are for every first-year starting quarterback, but Mendoza has earned the praise of this coaching staff and his teammates, and I think he will develop into a dependable starter.

3. The tight end room looks deep

Georgia Tech has a brand new tight end room this season after losing J.T. Byrne, Brett Seither, Josh Beetham, and Luke Harpring from last year's team, they have inserted Chris Corbo, Spencer Mermans, Gavin Harris, and second year tight end Kevin Roche Jr, who has picked up right where he left off in the spring.

Tight ends are not always a valued part of every offense, but just because Buster Faulkner is gone, that does not mean that the Yellow Jackets are going to abandon have multiple tight ends used in their offense. Corbo, Roche Jr, and Harris are legitimate receiving threats and Mermans is more or less another offensive lineman out there with his blocking ability.

Questions that remain

1. Will Georgia Tech have enough depth at receiver?

Isaiah Fuhrmann, Jordan Allen, and Dalen Penson seem to have seperated themselves during camp, but there is still questions about how deep Georgia Tech is at the receiver position.

That does not mean that the Yellow Jackets are not going to find answers. They are leaning on Debron Gatling and the four true freshmen to step up and carve out roles for themselves, not to mention Jaiven Plummer and Rahkeem Smith.

Even in an offense that wants to have a physical and run-first identity, you have to have a compotent passing attack to be a threat. This remains the No. 1 question for this team heading into the regular season.

2. Will the offensive line mesh together?

There should be a certain amount of faith applied to any Georgia Tech line under Brent Key, but Georgia Tech is going to have a few new starters on their offensive line this season and for a team that wants to run the ball as much as Georgia Tech does, they need to be able to lean on their front five as they have in the past.

The spots are more or less settled for the Yellow Jackets, with Ethan Mackenny at left tackle, Kevin Peay Jr at left guard, Joseph Ionata at center, either Markell Samuel or Malachi Carney at right guard, and Jameson Riggs at right tackle.

Again, Georgia Tech has put out strong offensive lines each year with Key as the head coach, but they have some questions to answer, especially with a strong Tennessee defensive line waiting for them in week two.

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