Georgia Tech has a lot of new faces, with coaches and players, as it enters its first full season under Brent Key.
Among the new coaches who addressed the media Monday: running backs coach Norval McKenzie and receivers coach Josh Crawford. They provided insight on a few individuals who have developing roles on the offense.
Crawford mentioned transfer Christian Leary as an individual standout. Leary is the biggest name of the three receiver transfers as a former top-100 recruit from Alabama. He had only three catches over two seasons with the Crimson Tide, which led him to pursue greater opportunities for playing time.
Leary was a notable acquisition for Key. The Orlando native was previously leaving Alabama for UCF, but he flipped to Georgia Tech in January. New offensive coordinator Buster Faulker will emphasize speed in space, as most OCs claim to do, but he’ll have the personnel to achieve it with Leary and speedster Malik Rutherford (whom Crawford called “really special, electric”). Those players’ speed and potential yards-after-catch abilities should be beneficial for whomever is under center.
Asked about Leary, Crawford said he’s impressed and feels there’s more to unlock.
“I’m not necessarily concerned with ‘Well, I need to see a guy have 60 catches for 700 yards,’ right? I know that may seem backwards. But I think as a coach, what you always have to try to do is to project,” he said. “So of the body of work that he did have, what we try to do is to project. ‘Hey, if this player is given an opportunity to catch X amount of balls, could he be as productive as – I don’t know all the factors of where he was.
“Now, I will tell you this. We did our due diligence on him. Both his position coach (Holmon Wiggins) and coordinator (Bill O’Brien), where he came from, were very, very, very high on him. Not only as a player, but as a person. And since he’s been here, he’s been one of the guys that has stood out making plays.”
Leary could be relied upon heavily in this new offense. The Yellow Jackets already lost some receiver depth when Leo Blackburn, who was competing for starting reps, tore his ACL last week.
At running back, the Yellow Jackets have mostly new or unproven options beyond mainstay Dontae Smith (a sixth-year senior). The group includes newcomers Trevion Cooley (Louisville transfer) and Evan Dickens (IMG Academy). But one intriguing individual is Antonio Martin, who redshirted last year but was Tech’s top-ranked recruit in the 2022 class. He’s made a strong early impression on McKenzie.
“One of the biggest things I’ve seen from Antonio is he’s a great kid,” McKenzie said. “We have tests in our room, in terms of a paper tests, in terms of a Kahoot! quiz. I do a lot of call and response in my room, and he’s a kid that if I call on 10 times, he probably has answered nine out of 10 times. So I think that’s a start.
“When it comes to the field, he’s progressing. I think he’s doing well in some regards. He’s a try-hard kid. He’s very conscientious to everything. I tell the guys all the time, the game is played from the neck up. If you have a great grasp of what you’re supposed to do from a mental standpoint, then the physical aspects will come soon after.”
Kaleb Edwards, a former defensive back, is experiencing his first spring since shifting to running back. He already drew praise from Smith, who noted his passion for physicality. McKenzie said Edwards has undergone a mostly seamless transition.
“I think he’s coming along quite well,” he said. “I think the transition has actually been smooth for him. I think from a mental standpoint, he’s excited about the opportunity. I think, from a physical standpoint, he’s going to bring a little bit something different than what we have in the room because he’s a bigger back and close to six feet. He’s 222 pounds. So he’s the biggest one in the room.
“But he’s also a kid that’s very cerebral in a sense of, he understands ball. He’s been on the defensive side. He has a defensive perspective. Now he’s on the offensive side, kind of learning that perspective, which had been an advantage for him. So I’m extremely excited about him and his potential and the growth I’ve seen in the first seven practices.”
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