Georgia Tech fans have made their support for new coach Brent Key clear, with a season-ticket renewal rate greater than 95% and a significant amount of new season-ticket sales, according to numbers reported at the athletic association’s quarterly board meeting Thursday.
They’ll have another opportunity to make clear their enthusiasm Saturday, when the Yellow Jackets will close spring practice with the annual spring game at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The White and Gold game will kick off at 1 p.m. and will be livestreamed on ACC Network Extra. (Replays will be broadcast on ACC Network.)
Fans will have plenty to look for, including the following five things.
Quarterback competition
There can’t be many better draws for a spring game than an unsettled quarterback situation. Tech’s scrimmage holds that allure, as Zach Pyron, Zach Gibson and Texas A&M transfer Haynes King are competing to be the starter for the season opener against Louisville on Sept. 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Key said at his media availability last week that it is a competition “for sure” between the three.
“I think all three have strengths, all three have things that they’ve got to continue working on,” Key said. “But all three have shown, in different times and different situations, the poise and ability to take control of the offense and execute what we want them to do.”
Key said he wants to see the quarterbacks play with composure as the offense picks up its tempo.
Transfer-portal arrivals
King is but one of several new Jackets who have arrived through the portal who could be impact players this fall. Among others – defensive lineman Etinosa “E.T.” Reuben (Clemson), linebackers Braelen Oliver (Minnesota) and Andre White (Texas A&M), wide receivers Christian Leary (Alabama) and Chase Lane (Texas A&M) and tight end Brett Seither (Georgia). Lane will not arrive until after the semester.
Leary has impressed with his speed – he ran the 100-meter dash in 10.5 seconds in high school. Key mentioned Seither having been productive catching the ball in a scrimmage earlier in the spring. Reuben is competing with Sylvain Yondjouen and Josh Robinson to get playing time at the defensive end spot performed effectively last season by Keion White.
“They have raw talent, and they have a nose for the ball, good side-to-side speed trying to track the ball, things of that nature,” safety Jaylon King of Oliver and White, who are trying to succeed former Jackets linebackers Ayinde Eley and Charlie Thomas.
Another newcomer of sorts fans will be eager to see – defensive line coach Marco Coleman, the Tech Hall of Famer who coached the defensive ends from 2019-21, left to coach at Michigan State and then returned this offseason.
New offensive scheme
New offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner’s offense will get its first public review. Key has raved about his new play-caller and his ability to use different personnel groupings, formations and pre-snap motion to unsettle the defense. Another plaudit that Key has handed out is Faulkner’s ability to get the ball to playmakers in space. Swift-footed wide receiver Malik Rutherford may be a centerpiece of the offense next season as the Jackets seek to replace three of the team’s top four receivers from last season.
Rutherford said that he has lined up at the outside receiver position, in the slot and next to the offensive tackle.
“Coach Faulkner, he wants to use me in all kinds of ways,” Rutherford said. “Getting me the ball on the perimeter, quick pitches, deep balls, everything. I’m really loving this offense. It’s really dynamic. We’re going to throw the ball a lot.”
Experience on defense
Depending on how the roster is split, the defense could have a chance to shine Saturday. The Jackets lost key starters in cornerback Zamari Walton, defensive end White and linebackers Eley and Thomas – all key playmakers – but return the other seven starters.
“I feel like we’re just going to come out there, we’re going to go out and we’re going to try our hardest to perfect our technique, our adjustments on and off the field, try to run some (defensive-line strategies), just get our chemistry together,” defensive tackle Akelo Stone said.
Tech’s secondary should be a strength of the team. There is competition at the cornerback spot vacated by Walton (now at Ole Miss), with Kenyatta Watson and Kenan Johnson among the competitors.
“Every day is an interview, every practice is an interview for those guys,” secondary coach Travares Tillman said. “They know that.”
Changes afoot
Fans may notice that the game may resemble an actual game more than recent iterations. Last year, for instance, in part because of injuries, some of the event essentially was a standard practice and not an 11-on-11 scrimmage, and the south end of the field from the 20-yard line was cordoned off for fans to watch from the field.
The format for Saturday will mirror a standard game, albeit with 12-minute quarters instead of the regulation 15, including special-teams play. There will be a running clock in the second half.
That the spring game is being held on a Saturday also is a change. The last time that it was played on a Saturday was in 2011, being scheduled mostly on Friday nights since then.
Less noticeable – but significant to players – is that the turf on Grant Field has been tweaked. The infill in the artificial grass has been replaced – it was previously made from coconut husks and fibers – to address problems that players have had with traction on the field.
One additional novelty – players will be available for a free autograph signing on the stadium’s north concourse 30 minutes after the end of the game. It is being staged by The Tech Way, a recently formed name, image and likeness collective in support of Jackets athletes. Every scholarship player on the team has been signed to the collective, which has the support of the athletic department.
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