With less than a week to go until college football’s early signing period begins, Georgia Tech has been able to keep most of its 2024 class intact.
As of Wednesday, Tech and coach Brent Key have 24 high school seniors committed to joining the program. Players can sign national letters of intent Dec. 20-22 and in the spring from Feb. 7- April 1.
Key and his staff have been spread out across the region and the country the past couple of weeks while simultaneously preparing the Yellow Jackets (6-6) for the Dec. 22 Gasparilla Bowl where they will face Central Florida (6-6). Key recently told 680 The Fan that the recruiting pitch this December has been tweaked compared with last.
“The biggest difference is last year you’re selling a vision and what we’re going to do. Now when you walk in somewhere it’s a continued vision that you’re obviously selling, yes, but there’s concrete evidence of what you’re going to do, and it was able to occur in Year 1,” Key said. “So you’ve got proof of what you talk about.”
Tech’s class is led by Troy Stevenson, Luke Harpring and Isiah Canion. Stevenson and Canion are considered four-star prospects in the 247Sports Composite, while Harpring is considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports.
Stevenson, selected to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas on Saturday in Spartanburg, South Carolina, had 32 tackles, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and defended 10 passes as a senior at Phillip Simmons High in Charleston. The 6-foot, 165-pound cornerback also had 14 carries for 172 yards and two touchdowns on offense as well as 15 receptions for 361 yards and seven receiving scores.
Canion, a 6-3, 190-pound receiver from Warner Robins High School, was named Class 5A Region 2 player of the year. Harpring, a 6-3, 210-pound tight end and defensive end (and the son of Tech basketball legend Matt Harpring), was named to the Class 6A Region 4 all-region first team for offense and defense after his standout senior season at Marist.
Tech has continued to add to the class as of late as well. Offensive linemen Kai Greer (6-6, 285) from Waxhaw, North Carolina, and Harrison Moore (6-4, 260) from Southlake, Texas, and defensive lineman Uche Iloh (6-6, 245) from McIntosh High School all recently announced their decision to become Jackets.
Two quarterbacks are committed to the 2024 class – Aaron Philo and Graham Knowles. Philo (6-2, 200) led Prince Avenue Christian to a state championship Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and became Georgia’s all-time leader in career passing yards, while Knowles (6-7, 220) threw for 3,195 yards and 21 touchdowns this season for Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
Of course, there have been some recruiting losses along the way. Mill Creek standout Trajen Greco, a four-star cornerback, Tucker’s C.J. Jackson, a three-star linebacker, and defensive lineman Marcus Downs (Riverside, S.C.) are just a few of a handful of prospects who backed off their initial commitment to Tech.
Tech’s recruiting class ranks 33rd nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite, and seventh among ACC programs. Those rankings do not include four players who intend to transfer to Tech: Yale tight end Jackson Hawes, Louisville linebacker Jackson Hamilton, Tennessee cornerback Warren Burrell and Middle Tennessee offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge.
Should that ranking hold, Key would sign the program’s best class since the 2020 group which was considered the 27th-best nationally. Only three of the players from that class, however, remain on the current roster.
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