Georgia Tech offensive line has strong debut but not a polished product

The Georgia Tech offensive line deserved a lot of credit in helping the Yellow Jackets knock off Colorado on Friday night. But it also was clear that the unit is not a polished product one game into the young season.

Tech threw seven offensive linemen into the mix in its opener, and while that septet helped the Jackets gain 320 yards on the ground, average 6.8 yards per carry and keep quarterback Haynes King from getting sacked on 20 pass attempts, there also were some issues that will need to be rectified sooner rather than later.

Overall, though, new Tech offensive tackle Malachi Carney considered it a step in the right direction.

“What stood out was everybody was ready to go, everybody had that same mentality, like, ‘We gotta go in here and just ball-out and show these people who we are, show ‘em that we physical.’ This is a dominant offensive line — we can be one of the best,” he added.

In its 2025 debut, Tech started Harrison Moore at center, a 6-foot-5, 300-pound sophomore from Southlake, Texas, who played more than 180 offensive snaps in 2024. Moore tied with King and left tackle Ethan Mackenny for a game-high 71 snaps, but Moore was the team’s poorest graded pass blocker, according to Pro Football Focus, and had the second-worst run-blocking grade.

On Tech’s sixth offensive play, Moore’s snap to King, who was lined up in the shotgun, was too high. When King tried to reach up with one hand to grab the ball, it caromed back to the line of scrimmage, and it was recovered by Colorado.

“They’re not young. They’ve been in the program. The expectation is, we put you on the field, it’s to be able to go out and do your job,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “When you’re at that (center) position, you touch the football every play. That (position) and the quarterback. We talk about the ball, the ball, the ball. When someone touches it every play, we gotta make sure we’re taking care of it. I thought (Alo-Tupuola) settled in as the game went on, but then at the end of the game, the crowd noise got going and you start hearing ghosts in your head and had those two (bad snaps) at the very end.

“We’ll continue to work on it, continue to improve it, tweak a few things here and there, but I have full confidence in those guys being at center. Full, 100% confidence. And my confidence comes from their willingness to work and know that they have to fix something.”

Mackenny, returning as a starter at left tackle after missing much of the 2024 season because of injury, was Tech’s best pass protector, and Carney graded as the best run blocker.

Left guard Joe Fusile played 27 snaps and was better in pass protection than on run plays. Fusile, a senior, moved to right guard on the game-winning drive when Keylan Rutledge left the game with a leg cramp.

Jameson Riggs (6-5, 310), a redshirt freshman, also logged six snaps at right tackle.