Will Evan Haynes And Debron Gatling Be The Auxiliary Pieces Georgia Tech's WR Room Needs To Be Successful?

Names to watch in the wide receiver room now that spring is over

Oct 18, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10), linebacker Kyle Efford (44), tight end Josh Beetham (17), and wide receiver Debron Gatling (6) walk out for the coin toss before the first half of the game against Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

One of the biggest questions has been the wide receiver room throughout the spring. There has been a number of injuries to the position, so to evaluate it in its totality is hard to do for newly hired WR coach Jafar Williams. One thing is for sure, he has a standout WR in Jordan Allen, whom he can lineup anywhere on the field. Who will help Allen this upcoming season, though? Will it be Dalen Penson who made the transition over from cornerback to wide receiver? Or Isaiah Fuhrmann, who came over from Elon? 

Spring game flashes

Coach Williams may have a couple of players who can calm his worries after great performances on Saturday in Debron Gatling and Evan Haynes. Both players made their names in the Georgia High School Football ranks. Gatling at Milton High School, where he became a state champion, and Haynes at Fellowship Christian High School, where he was a multi-sport star. 

On Saturday, they both put on shows. Gatling finished with four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. Gatling had a highlight-reel touchdown catch over Isaac Obrokta, where he skied for it. Gatling has now put together back-to-back stellar springs, which should lead to more playing time. The depth has been in question for the Yellow Jackets, but Gatling is one of the players who should help in that. 

Haynes had three catches for 50 yards, including a long 38-yard catch down the sideline, which was an absolute beauty from true freshman Cole Bergeron. Haynes made routine catches throughout the day and used his big, wiry frame to come up with catches over defenders. Head coach Key talked about their development and the room as a whole. 

“Yeah, Debron has. think you saw after he made that really good touchdown, I grabbed him, brought him back out on the field. Just told him how proud I was of him, of how he's come along this spring. Dalen Penson, who was out today, Dalen has been a really good addition. Evan made some plays out there today.  Everybody's focused on developing the other guys. You kind of forget about Jordan sometimes. Then we got Koi still to come in. He'll be here in the summer. So I think we'll be fine there at that position. think Jafar's done a nice job of developing those guys. There's a couple out there today, I thought, if we come down with them, have been a big day for those guys. But I think I said that last week too. I did, I know I did. So that tells you we got a long way to go. But they've made progress. All right, I'm pleased with the coaching of them, but we still have a ways to go there. again, the good thing is, we have who we have,” said Key. 

Gatling and Haynes did a lot to raise their stock, and with so much turnover in the room, the Yellow Jackets could potentially see a lot of playing time in 2026, if they continue to build on a great spring. Building the chemistry with quarterback Alberto Mendoza will be important moving forward, and both guys could be those difference makers when offensive coordinator George Godsey rotates guys in. One thing is for sure: don't sleep on Gatling or Haynes in the fall.