Will Moving Players Around & Emphasizing Depth Make A Major Difference For Georgia Tech In The Fall?

One of the marks of a good team is one that has a lot of depth and versatility. It looks like head coach Brent Key has made that a priority this season with multiple players playing different positions and making the change to a new position. One of the main guys is Dalen Penson, who made the permanent change from cornerback to wide receiver.

"Yeah, there's no cross-training right now. He's a receiver. He started the first part of practice at DB. We needed another guy that could burn and take the top off. We moved him over. Practiced him there a couple of times, a couple practices, and then went ahead and made the move full-time with him. And he can go. Made a couple really good plays today. A couple of really nice catches. He's gaining more and more confidence every day. But, I mean, from the first day he stepped in there, I mean, he doesn't have issues getting aligned. He's an aerospace engineering major,” said Key.

“He can go. He's electric. He's going to be a huge, huge asset for us this year on the offensive side. Now, does that mean we're not going to have packages on the other side? Once the season gets here, I don't know. I have, we're not going to have packages on the other side? Once the season gets here, I don't know. I have no issue playing guys both ways. I don't. But you have to master one side before you can do both. And we're banged up a little bit on the back end of the corner. And those guys pushed through and played today. I mean, they love football.”

In addition to Penson, Will Reed played offensive tackle primarily when he was with Princeton and a little bit of guard. He has now moved primarily to the center position and will be backing up Joseph Ionata and learning various things from him to play the position at a high level. Christian Garrett is another player for the Yellow Jackets who made a permanent change from outside defensive end to the defensive tackle position. Garrett is another who has stood out and is standing out since making the change.

“Yeah, it's been fun. Christian is probably really 100% healthy. First time, he's been at Georgia Tech, coming off a high school injury. I think that's a big deal. Christian's body has completely changed in the last four or five months. I think a year ago this time, he was in the 250s, and he's gained a lot of muscle, man. He's a good-looking kid. Obviously, he's had a position change. We're playing him inside, and he is a big man who's an athlete, and those are the guys that I like. I love his athleticism,” said defensive line coach Jess Simpson.

Coach Key has made it an emphasis and chimed in on why he is taking that approach with his team and moving players around throughout the spring.

“Yeah, he's playing guard. We're working him some at center. during the practice, he's just playing a guard. Move Jaedyn over. Look, I said that back in January. I was gonna take guys and move them around this year. We moved Devontae Smith to corner during spring ball one year to develop the depth on the team. You don't know how the season's gonna play out. None of us do. We might need another running back. We might need another corner. You don't know those things; you might need another offensive lineman or defensive lineman,” said Key.

“This is the time to do that. My comfort level in sitting in this chair and confidence in the program have allowed those things to be easy to do now. I'm not really worried about what guys want to do; I'm worried about what's best for the football team and building the depth. People have the best depth in November and December, the ones who will continue to play the longest, too. So you never know when you're gonna need those. It might be depth position on a scout team where you're a little bit better on that scout team in November, and you're making that other guy cross from that much better, right? It all matters.”

We are also seeing that versatility carry over to the secondary, with multiple guys playing various positions. Namely, Elgin Sessions and Tae Harris, who are playing multiple positions in the secondary. That versatility will be huge in the fall, especially later in the season.

"We got some other guys in those positions that are doing a nice job. I think Kelvin's been one of the most consistent best players of the entire spring at Nickel. Developing depth there with Tae playing it. Elgin, have a couple of corners down. So you have to move guys around. But Elgin's got us moving around right now. But he's also been here for a year. He settled into what he's doing at the spot he's at. Tay's been here for a year, so we can move him around a little bit,” said Key.

It feels like the Yellow Jackets want to be a team that is playing past December and are developing depth, versatility, and growth among its players this spring. Will it pan out in the end? The answer will be revealed in the fall.