With spring football over across the country and the spring transfer portal window closed, the roster for next season is mostly set. Georgia Tech added defensive personnel during this period, adding defensive tackle Jordan van den Bergh from Penn State, cornerback Zachary Toube from the University of Illinois, safety Jaden Davis from Cincinnati, and University of Southern California defensive end Romello Hite all joined the program. Defense is probably the biggest question mark for the team heading into the season, and how the defense performs could determine this team’s ceiling.
Now that spring football is over and the portal has closed, how does Georgia Tech stack up against the rest of the ACC? According to Chip Patterson of CBS Sports, the Yellow Jackets sit at No. 9 in the post-spring ACC Power Rankings. He is ranked No. 1 and is said to be in the middle of the pack in the ACC. Georgia Tech follows Florida State University, Clemson University, University of Miami, North Carolina State University, Virginia Tech, University of Louisville, SMU and California State. The Yellow Jackets are ahead of Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Boston College, Pitt, Virginia and Stanford.
Here’s what he had to say about Georgia Tech.
”I really like Georgia Tech’s offense heading into 2024. Haynes King returns for his second season as the Yellow Jackets’ starter, joined by 1,000-yard rusher Jamal Haynes and three of last year’s top four receivers. King, who led the ACC in both touchdowns (27) and interceptions (16), needs to get better at avoiding costly mistakes, but it’s a group that could be very prolific. But we’re not doing offensive power rankings here, and the Yellow Jackets were last in the ACC last season in both yards allowed per game and yards allowed per play. If Georgia Tech wants to improve on last year’s seven-win season, there are obvious things to start with cutting down on mistakes and getting stops. ”
You can make an argument that Georgia Tech is better than Cal or SMU, but I think it’s fair to be No. 9 heading into the season. If the offense can cut down on turnovers, it has a chance to be one of the best teams in the conference again this year, and could be an even better group than last year. Defense is the biggest question mark. Georgia Tech had one of the worst defenses in the nation last year, but they changed their defensive staff and added talent through the portal to change that. The schedule is once again grueling, but Brent Key has shown the ability to pull off unexpected wins.