Nearing the end of the third quarter Saturday, in a 14-14 game inside Aviva Stadium, Georgia Tech got a little luck of the Irish.
On a third-and-3, at the Florida State 34, Tech quarterback Haynes King and running back Jamal Haynes muffed a handoff exchange. The ball hit the turf. In the mad scramble that followed, King frantically swatted at the loose ball, only to see it roll away.
Tech guard Keylan Rutledge was on the spot, falling on the ball to keep possession in the hands of the Yellow Jackets.
Three plays later, Haynes scored on a 2-yard run to put Tech up 21-14 early in the fourth quarter.
“I was glad (Rutledge) did that,” Tech center Weston Franklin said. “I actually spun around on the field and saw him running backward. I was trying to figure out what was going on. I saw him huddled up with (the ball) on the field and was like, ‘Yeah, we’re good to go now.’”
Added King: “I tried to recover it, and then I don’t know what happened. Glad we got the ball back.”
Rutledge’s play, not only on that fumble recovery but throughout the game, was a big storyline for the Jackets (1-0) coming out of the 24-21 win over the No. 10 Seminoles. Rutledge is the new piece of a front five that had high expectations coming into the season and lived up to that billing against a stout FSU defensive front.
A Middle Tennessee transfer who recovered from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in the spring, Rutledge (6-4, 310) played 52 snaps at right guard in his Tech debut. He fit right with Tech’s other four linemen, all starters at some point during the 2023 season, as the Jackets rushed for 190 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per rush.
Tech’s front also didn’t allow a sack.
“(Rutledge) fit in perfectly,” Franklin said. “He’s wired the right way. Just a blue-collar mentality, just go to work. He’s a little bit more talkative than I am, but I don’t mind it. He gets on the field and gets rolling, and he’s fun to play with. Definitely glad he’s in the (group).”
Rutledge was at right guard alongside right tackle Jordan Williams, Tech’s highest-graded offensive player, according to Pro Football Focus, and Franklin at center. To Franklin’s left was veteran guard Joe Fusile — the quartet of Williams, Franklin, Fusile and Rutledge played every offensive snap of the contest.
But then there was the left tackle spot, a position which saw a unique in-game rotation between juniors Corey Robinson (6-5, 305) and Jordan Brown (6-5, 315). Robinson, graded as Tech’s best pass blocker during the win, played 28 snaps and Brown 24.
Brown came to Tech in 2023 from Charlotte and redshirted last season. Robinson signed with Kansas out of Roswell High School, then transferred to Tech and started 12 games at left tackle in 2022. Robinson made five starts out of the 12 games he played in 2023.
“I think they both did some things really well, I think they both did things they gotta work on,” Key said about the left tackle duo. “To be able to get in the game to work together like that, it’s hard to do at every position, but we’ve been practicing that way for the majority of camp. (Robinson) got banged up early on in camp. Jordan Brown, I thought he played in the game the same way he’s practiced. He’s just Steady Eddie now. Just consistent.”
This week Tech’s front will be tested again, but in a different way. Playing in its season opener, Georgia State has a roster full of newcomers inside coordinator Kevin Sherrer’s system, especially on the defensive line. Key said Tech will plan to attack that GSU front at 8 p.m. Saturday (ACC Network) with the same duo of left tackles for the time being.
“We’re gonna play guys that have earned the opportunity, and they deserve to play,” Key said. “Both those guys deserve to play.”
