The following is the fifth in a series of articles that will preview the coming Georgia Tech football season, which begins Aug. 24 against Florida State in Dublin. In the series, we will examine several of the “Most important” things to watch as the Yellow Jackets’ season approaches. Today: Most important freshman.
Georgia Tech’s 2024 signing class was a good one, and there are plenty of freshmen on the roster who could make an impact at some point during the coming season, but perhaps none are better positioned to do that than running back Anthony Carrie.
Carrie, known as “Scoota” to most, was the last member of Tech’s recruiting class when he both committed to and signed with Tech on signing day in December. As a senior at Carrollwood Day School (Tampa, Florida), where the Yellow Jackets practiced ahead of the 2023 Gasparilla Bowl, Carrie ran for 1,200 yards and scored 12 times.
Considered a three-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite, Carrie was committed to Michigan State for much of 2023 before flipping to Tech at the eleventh hour.
“Coach (Brent) Key is a coach I like a lot,” Carrie told On3. “I like his approach to life, his morals and who he is. Who he is lines up a lot with who I am in my day-to-day life. That is a big thing. Coach Key is a great man outside of the football walls, and that made a big impact on me.”
Why Carrie could come in and make noise as a freshman has as much to do with his talent as it does his position. Tech doesn’t have a wealth of depth at the running back spot, even with starter Jamal Haynes and his backup Trey Cooley returning to the backfield in 2024.
Tech’s propensity to run the ball should mean the opportunity is within reach for Carrie to perform if he can work his way into the running back rotation.
“You always worry about as a freshman, like, how would he grasp the offense, kind of where would he be in pass protection. Is he a physical kid or is he gonna get bullied or whatever?” Tech running backs coach Norval McKenzie said during spring practice. “And right now he is doing really good with the playbook and also doing fine in pass protection as well. There’s still some things he has to learn in terms of where he fits in protection, but when it comes to actually fitting up a guy and protecting, he’s actually showed that he can and he’s more than willing to.
“So that’s the biggest thing, too. Is he a willing blocker? Man, I’m excited about where he is right now and the progression that he’s taken from practice one to practice eight.”
College football analyst Phil Steele ranked Carrie the 19th-best freshman running back in the country. The 6-foot, 195-pound back totaled 3,818 rushing yards and 55 rushing touchdowns during his prep career.
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