The following is the eighth 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 X-factor.
No team is immune. How a team handles it and has a plan for it often separates quality programs.
Injuries are the great X-factor for any team, and Georgia Tech’s 2024 squad is no different. If the Yellow Jackets stay healthy in key positions with their key players, they have a chance to put together a quality season. But if some of those players go down to injury, Tech indeed may be in a world of hurt.
Here’s a look at some position groups and how injuries could affect them:
Quarterback: There is a lot of preseason hype around quarterback Haynes King. What if the junior were to be lost for a series, quarter, game or stretch of the season?
Backup Zach Pyron does have quality experience, playing on 215 snaps over his first two seasons in white and gold. The majority of those came in 2022 when he came off the bench in a loss at Florida State, led Tech to a win at Virginia Tech and then started a game against Miami in which he ultimately left with a season-ending injury.
Pyron was in on only 28 plays last season.
Tech’s offensive coaches have expressed the utmost confidence in Pyron, but should he be forced into action, there undoubtedly would be a major adjustment for the entire Tech offense.
Tight end: Two of Tech’s better tight ends from the 2023 squad, Dylan Leonard and Luke Benson, exhausted their eligibility. So coach Brent Key went out and got three transfers to fill depth at the position in Ryland Goede (Mississippi State), Jackson Hawes (Yale) and Josh Beetham (Michigan). That gives the Jackets three quality players at the position after the loss for the season of the injured Brett Seither, but any significant setback to one of those three would be a notable development for the Tech offense.
Safety: Tech has two quality safeties in LaMiles Brooks and Clayton Powell-Lee, two men who have more than 2,000 defensive snaps played combined. Behind them? A lot of inexperience and youth.
Brooks is a veteran of the Tech program and somewhat of a quarterback of the Tech defense. Powell-Lee discussed this preseason adjusting to the in-helmet communication system and how he relays calls and checks to his defensive teammates. Thus, Brooks and Powell-Lee are two strong voices that would be hard to replace should they go missing.
Kicker: That’s right. Kicker.
Aidan Birr seemingly came out of nowhere in 2023 when he took over for Gavin Stewart early in the season and went on to make 17 field goals and 37 of 38 extra-point attempts. Tech can ill-afford to be without his services.
Tech has only two other kickers on the roster — and both are freshmen.
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