The following is the seventh 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 new hire.
In the span of three months, Brent Key cycled through three defensive coordinators. He’s hoping the third of those three turns out to be the home-run hire for Georgia Tech’s immediate and long-term needs.
Key didn’t really have any prior personal connection to Tyler Santucci, a 36-year-old former linebacker at Stony Brook before Key hired him as defensive coordinator in January. But Santucci’s name kept bubbling to the top of Key’s shortlist and new Tech defensive line coach Jess Simpson, who had worked with Santucci at Duke, continued to sing Santucci’s praises.
With a no-nonsense, yet educational and positive demeanor, Santucci has gone to work over the past eight months trying to fix and improve Tech’s defense — a unit that couldn’t stop the run, gave up way too many chunk plays and couldn’t get off the field on third downs in 2023.
Santucci’s mission in 2024 is clear, and one he’s not shying away from.
“That’s why I got hired,” Santucci said during preseason practice. “That’s not pressure, that’s my job. That’s just what you sign up for.”
Santucci began his coaching career at his alma mater where he was until joining the Wake Forest staff in 2014. He made stops at Texas State, Notre Dame and Texas A&M, respectively, before returning to Wake Forest in 2019 to be the linebackers coach. Then it was back to A&M in 2020 where he was eventually promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2022.
The Aggies had the nation’s top pass defense in ‘22 and allowed a respectable 21.2 points per game.
Last year with the Blue Devils, Santucci’s defense gave up just 19 points per contest which led the ACC. It also led the league in fourth down stops, was second in red zone stops and fourth in team passing efficiency defense.
Tech would be thrilled with similar statistical results in 2024.
“(Santucci) is a great teacher,” Key said during an interview on 680 The Fan. “He has a great ability to inspire learning out of his group and then they play really hard for him. He’s got relationships with ‘em that are real, he’s honest with ‘em, he doesn’t ask them to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. He’s a tireless worker. Excited about the progress we’ll be able to make this year.
“There’s only one way to go but up. It’s real. It’s honest. We’re not trying to sugarcoat things. That’s our job, is to get better.”
One thing Santucci won’t be doing is reinventing the wheel. Tech will still generally line up with four linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs. That could morph into a 3-3-5 look or even a 2-6-3 formation depending on the down and distance.
The primary players who will fit into those alignments are generally known going into 2024, but Santucci indicated he won’t hesitate to make a change in personnel if necessary.
“Competition is king, it’ll bring out the best in everyone. We’re trying to find guys that can help us win,” Santucci said. “If they show they can help us win, they will be on the field. If 30 guys can help us win, 35, 40 guys, great. If it’s 25? Great. Whoever can help us win, we will find ways to put them on the field.”
About the Author
