Georgia Tech owes part of its success, especially on offense, this season to a pair of, that’s right, former Georgia Bulldogs.
The transfer portal has allowed college football players to switch wardrobes at ease. And while it may not be too incredibly uncommon for a young man to go from one in-state school to another, or to even join a conference foe, suiting up for the hated archrival can be a little rarer.
But Tech coach Brent Key and his staff signed two former Georgia players in the offseason in wide receiver Dominick Blaylock and tight end Brett Seither. That duo hasn’t necessarily filled up the stat sheet in 2023, but their contributions have been undeniable for a Jackets’ team going to a bowl game for the first time since 2018.
Blaylock (6-foot-1, 203), a junior, ranks fourth among Tech wideouts with 21 receptions and third on the team with 337 receiving yards. He caught a 3-yard touchdown pass Sept. 9 against South Carolina State at Bobby Dodd Stadium and hauled in a 53-yard touchdown Saturday against Syracuse.
The former Walton High star also has been consistently dependable on punt returns, having not lost a fumble or muffed a catch on 29 punt-return snaps this season. Blaylock has eight returns for 89 yards, and his 23-yard return at Virginia on Nov. 4 set the Jackets up in plus territory before a touchdown-scoring drive.
“It’s been great to have him, but, look, (Blaylock’s) a great kid, too,” Key said Tuesday. “He’s a guy that comes in and doesn’t say anything, doesn’t say if he had a mouthful of it. Just goes to work. And to see what he’s overcome in his career and to have some success now that he’s having, really happy for him.”
Blaylock transferred to Tech from Georgia in June. He had 18 catches for 310 yards as a UGA freshman in 2019 before tearing an ACL in the SEC Championship game that season. Blaylock reinjured the same knee in the preseason of 2020 and missed that entire season.
Over the next two seasons Blaylock would make only 17 total catches, although many were memorable and significant for Georgia and its fans.
“Selflessness is probably the No. 1 thing that stands out. Toughness. He’s such a great competitor,” UGA coach Kirby Smart said Monday. “(Blaylock) is one of those who never says anything. He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t moan. He goes to work every day. He made some really, really big, critical plays for us over the years, in terms of the stretch run. Going back to his freshman year, touchdown catches, all the way to last year, making plays.
“He’s just very dependable. You’ve seen the same thing (at Tech). They’ve got him returning punts and doing things offensively. You can see his value as a football player.”
On Oct. 28, with less than five minutes to play and Tech trailing North Carolina 42-39, Seither made one of the catches of the season when he kept his toes inside the right side of the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Haynes King. The score put the Jackets up 46-42, a score they would win by.
That TD reception was one of two that night for Seither and one of four on the season for the 6-5, 233-pound Seither. Only receiver Eric Singleton has more touchdown receptions for Tech this season.
“We’re just going to work every day trying to get better,” Seither said earlier this season about being a part of Tech’s offensive success. “We trust in the coaches, going out there to do what they say and execute when we can.”
Seither has played more than 200 offensive snaps for the Jackets, nearly 100 special-teams plays (mostly on field-goal protection) and in all 11 games. He transferred to Tech in January after making four catches for 54 yards in his Bulldogs career, only one of which went for a score (in 2021 against Charleston Southern).
From Clearwater, Florida, Seither is still held in high regard in Athens.
“He was always with me. Kind of brought me in under his wing when I first got here,” current Georgia tight end Oscar Delp said Monday. “Still one of my good friends to this day. We talk all the time. He really just showed me how to manage school and football and workouts and everything and just becoming that college student out of high school.”
Something more that both Seither and Blaylock, who face their old team at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium, brought to the Tech locker room was some experience in seeing what it takes to win and win at a high level, perhaps an overlooked bonus to their respective additions to Key’s roster. Georgia went 49-5, won two bowl games and two national titles while that duo was on campus.
The Jackets went 14-32 over that same period.
“Something that’s big on this team is having leadership, always communicating when we’re down,” Blaylock said earlier this season after a Tech loss. “When we’re up just making sure we’re all staying focused. Having good leadership is always a main key for a team.”
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