Which Offensive Transfer Will Have The Biggest Impact For Georgia Tech?

Georgia Tech has brought in seven transfers on the offensive side of the ball

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Updated:
Jan 13, 2023 2:52 PM EST
Original:
Jan 13, 2023

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech's offense did not score more than 30 points in a game against an FBS opponent last season. There were injuries and inconsistency at the quarterback position, lackluster play at wide receiver, and poor play along the offensive line that kept this team from being able to score points consistently against most teams.

Since he was hired as the head coach, Brent Key has worked on addressing those issues. The offensive staff has a new offensive coordinator and tight ends coach (Buster Faulkner, Georgia), a new running backs coach (Norval McKenzie, Vanderbilt), a new wide receivers coach (Josh Crawford, Western Kentucky), and a new offensive line coach (Geep Wade, App State).

A new coaching staff is not the only way that the Yellow Jackets are hoping to improve on offense this season.

Quarterback Haynes King is one of six incoming transfers on offense for Georgia Tech
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Georgia Tech once again went heavily into the transfer portal to try and find some instant impact players on both sides of the ball, but seven of the ten transfers are on offense. I think all of them have a path to being able to make an impact this season, but which one is most likely to?

Let's break all of them down.

It is likely that there is going to be a competition at the quarterback position this spring and probably into the summer as well between Texas A&M transfer Haynes King and Zach Pyron. After playing as many as four quarterbacks last offseason, Georgia Tech is hoping to have just one guy behind center for the 2023 season.

Pyron played against Florida State, and Virginia Tech, and started the Miami game before being injured. King has the upper hand on experience, but Pyron played well in his limited time on the field. Pyron threw for 565 yards and three touchdowns and completed 60% of his passes.

King is a former four-star recruit for the Aggies and won the starting job twice. His 2021 season was cut short after being injured early in the season. He started this season off as the starter but was benched after Texas A&M was upset by App State. He did return as the starter and had his best game on the road against Alabama, a game in which he threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns. For his career as an Aggie, King has thrown for 1,579 yards with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

King has a slight edge in experience and I think there is a chance that Texas A&M's outdated offense and coaching was holding him back. He played well at times, especially against Alabama this past season, and if Faulkner and quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator Chris Weinke can get the most out of him, King could be in for a big season.

Trevion Cooley will add depth to the running back room
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Georgia Tech is going to have Dontae Smith returning for another season and will also have Jamie Felix back as well, but that did not stop them from adding Louisville transfer Trevion Cooley. In two seasons at Louisville, Cooley ran for 709 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 4.9 yards per carry.

Wide receiver was a huge need for Georgia Tech after losing five players (Nate McCollum, Malachi Carter, EJ Jenkins, Ryan King, and Kalani Norris) and Key and the rest of the staff have done a good job of adding talent. Texas A&M transfer Chase Lane had 48 catches for 617 yards and two touchdowns in his career and figures to be an immediate contributor for the Yellow Jackets. Duquesne transfer Abdul Janneh is projected to be an outside receiver with his size and ball skills and I think that is the thing that stands out the most when watching him play. Last season, he caught 43 passes for 579 yards and was very good at catching the ball in traffic and winning his matchups.

Two other transfers include Charlotte transfer Jordan Brown, an offensive lineman, and USF transfer tight end Jackson Long. Both guys are talented, but lack experience and reps and might be a year away, but it should not be totally ruled out that they play this season.

The guy I think is going to make the biggest impact is Alabama wide receiver transfer Christian Leary.

Leary is a former top 100 recruit from the class of 2021 and signed with Alabama. During his two seasons with the Crimson Tide, Leary only tallied three catches for 10 yards, but he still has potential.

The reason I think that Leary is set to make an impact is his speed and his ability to be used across formations. Georgia Tech has been lacking big-time speed at the receiver position in recent years and Leary is someone that defenses are going to have to make sure does not beat them over the top. Malik Rutherford possesses speed, but outside of him, it has been an issue for the Yellow Jackets' offense.

I would expect Leary to be used as a gadget weapon on offense too. He could line up in the backfield in certain formations, jet sweeps, and other ways. It will be up to Faulkner and Weinke to make sure he is used correctly. It also would not surprise me to see him line up as the kick returner and punt returner.

Every offense needs a guy with this kind of potential and I am excited to see Leary this fall in Georgia Tech's new offense.

All seven of these guys are going to have a chance to make an impact this fall, but look out for Leary to be a big weapon for this offense in 2023.