Georgia Tech’s wide receiver lineup underwent a makeover in between the team’s Birmingham Bowl loss in December and the start of spring practice in March.
Four new wideouts have joined the mix in what Tech coaches hope will give added depth and versatility to a group that lost leading receiver Eric Singleton, who transferred to Auburn, and Chase Lane and Abdul Janneh, who exhausted their eligibility.
“I think right now we’ve got a good two-deep that’ll compete, and we’ll be able to get some rotations in there,” Tech wide receivers coach Trent McKnight said Tuesday. “Part of that is some guys that have been here developing in some of the plans that we’ve had for them. Then, part of it will be from the newcomers that we’ve brought in.”
Tech’s new foursome includes former Florida International teammates Eric Rivers (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) and Dean Patterson (6-2, 205), former South Carolina wideout and Milton High School graduate Debron Gatling (5-11, 195) and freshman Jamauri Brice (5-10, 190) from Cartersville.
Rivers hauled in 62 catches for 1,172 yards and scored 12 times for Florida International in 2024, while Patterson had 50 receptions for 685 yards and seven touchdowns. Gatling redshirted at South Carolina in 2024 after catching 77 passes for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior at Milton in 2023, and Brice totaled 732 receiving yards and five TDs last year at Cartersville High.
All four have been wading their way through spring practice trying to master Tech’s offense and build a rapport with Tech’s quarterbacks.
“I think the greatest part about this place is that anybody that comes in here from the outside is coming into a great environment,” Tech QBs coach Chris Weinke said, noting that Rivers has been limited because of injury. “(Rivers and Patterson) came and fit right into our group. They both know how to work; they both approach it like a pro.”
Although Tech has some new weapons to deploy in 2024, it also has some familiar ones in veteran Malik Rutherford and sophomores Isiah Canion and Bailey Stockton. Rutherford, who briefly went into the transfer portal in December before opting to stick with the Yellow Jackets, is closing in on 1,500 career receiving yards.
Canion and Stockton are expected to have increased roles in Tech’s offense, and that especially could be true for Canion, whom McKnight is very high on when speaking of the Warner Robins High School product.
“I think he gives you something with size and speed that you don’t see a whole lot many times,” McKnight said. “And his play speed is really good. When he came in and played last year, he’s able to play fast, he’s able, for a bigger guy, to run routes which you don’t always see. You don’t see a 6-3 guy that can run routes, that can sync his weight, that can get in and out of breaks.
“He was mature when he got here, and that’s kind of what got him on the field last year. I think he’s got a chance to be a complete receiver because he can stretch the field vertically, but he’s also a physical presence in our run-blocking stuff of what we wanna do in perimeter blocking. And he’s got the ability the run every route in the route tree.”
Tech offensive coaches also have been complimentary of sophomores Chris Elko, who was given a scholarship Friday, and Zion Taylor. Cal Faulkner of Lumpkin County and Jordan Allen from Buford are expected to join the team over the summer.
The Jackets in 2025 will be looking for their first 1,000-yard receiver since 2009 when Demaryius Thomas finished with 1,154 yards.
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