Georgia Tech transfer portal announcements open depth questions ahead of bowl matchup

Eleven days after Georgia Tech’s regular season finale, and 17 days until Tech takes the field for the Birmingham Bowl, the roster has already begun to go through its offseason transformation.

Four key Yellow Jackets were among the handful of Tech players who entered the NCAA’s transfer portal this week. More could depart, and those who have announced their intentions to leave could return.

Either way, coach Brent Key said Sunday he isn’t dwelling on the uncertainty.

ExploreGeorgia Tech’s top receiver enters transfer portal

“We’re planning on having the 2024 Georgia Tech football team (at the bowl game). That’s our plan,” the second-year coach said. “You control what you can control, and you don’t worry about things you can’t control. If you worry about that, there’s gonna be no time during the day to get done what you have to get done. We took the measures and worked to build our team that’s best for our team. But I can’t predict the future.”

Tech (7-5) will face Vanderbilt (6-6) on Dec. 27 in the Birmingham Bowl in Alabama, and his starting lineup will have a different look with top wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. and starting left tackle Corey Robinson II having declared their intentions to play elsewhere in 2025. Backup quarterback Zach Pyron and defensive back Taye Seymore were also among the nine Jackets who have entered the transfer portal so far, though it’s not out of the question for Singleton, Robinson, Pyron or Seymore to play in the bowl game or return for 2025.

“There’s so many things that go with that,” Key said Monday on 680 The Fan. “You used to take the stance of saying, ‘Well, once they go in, they can’t come back.’ But it’s a different reality now. What’s the old saying? ‘They’re all treated the same but differently.’

“Each individual makes an individual decision when it comes to those things. But at the end of the day, I gotta do what’s best for the team and look out for Georgia Tech and the entire football team and everyone here.”

The loss of Singleton is perhaps the most significant for Tech ahead of the bowl game. The sophomore is the team’s fastest player, had a team-high 754 receiving yards, caught 32 passes that resulted in first downs and had seven receptions of 25 yards or more.

Tech, however, still has its other top pass catchers available in receivers Malik Rutherford, Chase Lane and Bailey Stockton, along with tight ends Avery Boyd and Jackson Hawes.

Pyron’s departure from the quarterback room is also notable. Although the sophomore played just one snap over Tech’s final three games, Pyron served as the team’s backup for much of the season and started two games.

Should Pyron stay in the transfer portal, Aaron Philo would slide into Pyron’s role behind starter Haynes King for the Birmingham Bowl. King has been nursing a shoulder injury for almost two months, an injury that caused him to miss two games and limited his ability to throw in the team’s final three games.

ExploreGeorgia Tech defensive back Taye Seymore to transfer

King gave all he had in the Jackets’ 44-42 loss in eight overtimes Nov. 30 at Georgia, and Key was asked Sunday how the senior was holding up after that performance.

“(I asked him) how you feeling?” Key said. “He said, ‘Everything but my shoulder hurts.’ ”

If King can’t go against Vanderbilt, Tech would have only Philo, junior Brody Rhodes and freshmen Graham Knowles and Ben Guthrie as quarterback options.

On the offensive line, the departure of Robinson and backup offensive lineman Jordan Brown leave a hole at left tackle. Sophomore Ethan Mackenny, who made eight starts in 2023 and was named a freshman All-American by ESPN, has played an average of 32 snaps during the last three games.

On the defensive side, Seymore did not play the final two games of the season but still finished in the top five on the team for tackles in 10 games.

ExploreBrent Key gets ‘full circle’ moment with Georgia Tech’s bowl selection

If there is a silver lining to the holes in the two-deep roster, it’s that Key and his staff will be able to further evaluate who is ready to step into the spotlight and if those players can make an impact in 2025.

“It’s a great connecting point between the ‘24 season and ‘25,” Key said. “If you don’t make it to a bowl game, you’re sitting around the month of December and the first couple weeks of January, and you’re so far removed from everything with the players. That’s when you lose a lot of things that were important in that season.

“The extra practices, the extra work to really begin the development of the team for next season. But the No. 1 goal is to win and to prepare and put a plan together and go out and win a football game. And to win a game for the seniors.”