The play of the offensive line is Georgia Tech’s biggest preseason question
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
How good will the offensive line be for Georgia Tech? That’s one of, if not the biggest questions facing the Yellow Jackets this preseason.
For a team that has created an identity as a tough-nose, run-heavy offense with a personality that mimics its head coach, Brent Key, a former offensive lineman himself, finding a starting front five is a major point of emphasis this month before the Yellow Jackets play at Colorado.
Tech has pieces to fill out the lineup card, no doubt. But which pieces fit the best, and which can play at a dominating level to give Tech’s bevy of skill players room to operate, is a work in progress.
“Bottom line, we’re gonna try to get the best five on the field, and that’s our job this year,” Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade said. “That could change week to week. That’s a good problem to have. We’ve got some options for the top five. There’s a lot of competition left in the camp, and even when school starts before we go play.”
Some spots on Tech’s offensive line are virtually set in stone. Keylan Rutledge (6-4, 320) will start at right guard, and Joe Fusile (6-6, 320) will be his opposite on the left side, providing the Jackets two veteran anchors.
But youth and newcomers surround that duo.
Left tackle Ethan Mackenny (6-4, 305) played 526 snaps as a true freshman in 2023 but was slowed by injury in 2024 and logged only 176 snaps in five games, which included a start in the Birmingham Bowl in December. Mackenny is being pushed by true freshman Josh Petty (6-6, 285) and redshirt-freshman Jordan Floyd (6-6, 325).
The right tackle spot, one held by Jordan Williams for 53 starts over five seasons before this year, has the most intrigue behind it with South Alabama transfer Malachi Carney (6-4, 320) and redshirt freshman Jameson Riggs (6-6, 310) battling for that spot. Will Reed (6-6, 305) transferred from Princeton to provide more depth there, too.
“I bring a lot of physicality,” said Carney, an Alabama native who played in 24 games for USA. “I’m a headfirst guy. I’m trying to get my head in something and just knock ‘em back as far as I can until I just can’t no more, until they blow the whistle. So I just bring a lot of physicality, a lot of dominance.
“I’m just ready to play, just continue to fight for a spot. Ain’t nothing given to you, so I’m still fighting for a spot. I just wanna be one of them guys.”
Then there is the center position where sophomores Harrison Moore (6-5, 300) and Tana Ala-Tupuola (6-1, 310) are Tech’s top two choices. Moore took reps at center, left tackle and, mostly, left guard last season and proved himself as one of the Jackets’ more versatile linemen. Ala-Tupuola logged 24 snaps at the position in 2024 and was in every game on special teams, having played 67 snaps.
Moore began his prep career by playing tight end and created a name for himself inside the Tech locker room in 2024 by continuing to play after having a tooth knocked out.
“It’s a great competition, and guys, honestly, it’s a great problem to have from the standpoint of you got two centers and they’re very position flexible, too,” Wade said. “Right now, honestly, they’re just going back and forth. ‘You got this series, you got this series. You got this series, you got this series.’ There’s no, like, rhyme or reason right now to it.”
In 2024, Tech’s offense allowed just nine sacks, making the Jackets one of only three FBS teams to not surrender at least 10 sacks. In the run game, the Tech offense managed to average 187 yards per contest, a 16-yard-per-game decline for the year from 2023 before but still second (and less than two yards per game) behind Miami for best mark in the ACC.
If the 2025 new-look offensive line can help Tech’s offense reach those types of numbers, everything will be where it should be offensively.
“As a whole, I feel like it’s shaping up really good. We’ve had more depth than we’ve had in past years. A lot of talented guys. Right now, I guess we’re in that mode of trying to figure out which one is the best five,” Tech quarterback Haynes King said. “Same as the quarterback competition, the O-line has competition as well, and it’s good. It’s just gonna make everybody better. And it also goes back to the depth. Whoever wins the job, that’s good, hats off, but it also improves our depth. I feel really solid on our two deep. We have 10 guys, and really even more than 10 guys, that can actually play and get in there and operate.”
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