Georgia Tech signs 22, but top recruit Josh Petty remains unsigned

There were reports Wednesday afternoon that Petty might not sign until later in the week, and that other schools still were pursuing him. However, Petty’s father, James Petty, confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier Wednesday Josh was planning to sign with Tech on Wednesday.

The 22 high school seniors who did sign Wednesday included five four-star recruits and are among a group, with Petty included, that is ranked inside the top 20 nationally and second among ACC programs.

“I’m really excited about this class. It’s one we’ve been working on, really, for several years,” Key said. “That’s the way it is now. They’re two, three years, sometimes four years out, as far as recruiting guys.”

Petty still could become one of the highest-rated signees in Tech history by eventually putting pen to paper. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound 17-year-old would join an offensive group that includes fellow offensive linemen Peyton Joseph of Houston County, Xavier Canales of Douglass, Kevin Peay of Lancaster, South Carolina, and Jimmy Bryson of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Another offensive lineman, Damola Ajidahun of Duluth, flipped his commitment from to Tech to South Carolina on Wednesday afternoon. Running back Isaiah Groves, a Tech commitment from Cross Plains, Tennessee, did not sign with Tech on Wednesday.

“The best rosters are built from the inside out,” Key added about the makeup of his class. “There’s the old saying of the closer to the ball you play, the longer it takes for you to be able to get on the field and play because it becomes a position of strength and maturity and development. It was important to continue to build ourselves in the trenches to be able to play with anyone that’s on our schedule.”

Tech will bring in one quarterback from the ‘25 class, Oklahoma’s Grady Adamson, who threw for nearly 2,000 yards this past season at Deer Creek High School in Edmond. Key also inked running backs JP Powell of Miller County and Shane Marshall of Irwin County.

Marshall was committed to Minnesota before flipping to, and signing with, Tech on Wednesday.

“Just because someone commits somewhere, it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, let’ ‘em go.’ But we ain’t having that here. That’s not the type of staff that we have, that’s not the type of program that I wanna have,” Key said. “If you believe in something as strongly as we believe in Georgia Tech and the future of the Georgia Tech football program, you’re gonna continue to recruit the right players for your school, for your program.”

Wide receivers Jamauri Brice (Cartersville), Jordan Allen (Buford) and Cal Faulkner (Lumpkin County) all joined the program as well. At the tight end position, Tech added Connor Roush from the Wesleyan School and Kevin Roche out of Connecticut – Roche stands 6-foot-9.

The defensive signees included four-star cornerbacks Tae Harris (Cedartown) and Dalen Penson (Sandy Creek) and four-star defensive lineman Christian Garrett (Prince Avenue Christian). Harris previously had been committed to Georgia and then Clemson and Penson flirted with Southern California, reportedly visiting the Los Angeles school in late November.

Tech signed five linemen and five defensive backs, but no linebackers.

Of the 22 players who signed with Tech, Key said about a dozen are expected to enroll at the institute in January. The class does not include any transfers who may join the program before the start of the 2025 season.

“My belief has been, in building a roster, is to build it through the high school ranks, to be able to supplement through the transfer portal and free agency to really build a foundation for the long-term success of the program,” Key said. “At the same time, you might sign some really good high school guys, and they’re not quite ready to play so you wanna supplement it. But you wanna have it dispersed evenly with the amount of seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen, so that’s part of it as well.”