Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 19, 2024 39 GAME PREVIEW: GEORGIA TECH averaging 44.3 yards per punt to Australian Fight- ing Irish graduate student James Rendell's 41.0. There's a whole lot of "meh" here, with no clear winner. Advantage: Even COACHING Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key is leading his alma mater, having served as its offensive line coach from 2019-22. Previously, he was the offensive line coach at Alabama and UCF, and his teams have taken after his line of scrimmage- driven identity so far with the Yellow Jackets. Key has scored upsets over then-No. 10 Florida State (although that has aged poorly), and back in 2023, then-No. 17 Miami on the road. He has also lost multiple games he shouldn't, such as a home game against Bowling Green in September 2023 and the Syracuse game this season. Still, Key took the Yellow Jackets to a bowl game last season for the first time since 2018. His record of 15-12 is easily outpacing his predecessor, Geoff Collins, who went 10-28. The Florida State win, back when most believed the Seminoles were good, was credited to excellent coaching. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has turned the ship around after it crashed into an iceberg in Week 2, with the loss to NIU. The Irish have played well at neutral sites during his tenure, winning in Las Vegas (2022), Dublin, Ireland (2023) and two bowl games. Still, the stench of the NIU game remains. Free- man will not get another honeymoon phase, but it's important to remember that his long offsea- son of preparation was a significant reason the Irish beat Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, in Week 1. So, if you're a Notre Dame fan, would you trade coaches? Probably not, but you can't make a great case that the Irish have the edge, either. Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES Everyone gives the Irish their best shot, and Georgia Tech will be no different. The Yellow Jack- ets played their best on national TV in Week 0, so they'll be ready to go. But there's also the matter of Notre Dame do- ing well at neutral sites under Freeman. The Irish are always amped to play in NFL stadiums, and even though Mercedes-Benz Stadium is in Geor- gia Tech's home city of Atlanta, it's reasonable to assume there will be a hefty contingent of Notre Dame fans. With the Irish fighting for their playoff lives every week, there will be no lack of motivation from them, either. Take the more talented foot- ball team. Advantage: Notre Dame Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LT 55 Corey Robinson II 6-5 305 R-Jr. or 71 Jordan Brown 6-5 315 R-Jr. LG 67 Joe Fusile 6-6 315 r-Jr. 52 Harrison Moore 6-5 290 Fr. C 72 Weston Franklin 6-4 310 Sr. 50 Tana Alo-Tupuola 6-1 310 Fr. RG 77 Keylan Rutledge 6-4 310 Jr. 58 Brandon Best 6-4 305 R-So. or 70 Jameson Riggs 6-6 310 Fr. RT 54 Jordan Williams 6-6 315 Sr. 74 Benjamin Galloway 6-4 310 R-Fr. TE 9 Avery Boyd 6-3 240 Sr. or 85 Jackson Hawes 6-5 260 R-Sr. WR 8 Malik Rutherford 5-9 170 R-Jr. 87 Bailey Stockton 5-11 185 R-Fr. WR 7 Chase Lane 6-0 195 R-Sr. 1 Leo Blackburn 6-5 220 R-Jr. or 4 Abdul Janneh Jr. 6-3 195 R-Sr. WR 2 Eric Singleton Jr. 5-11 190 So. 0 Christian Leary 5-10 180 Sr. RB 11 Jamal Haynes 5-9 180 R-Jr. 3 Trey Cooley 5-10 205 Sr. or 6 Anthony Carrie 6-0 195 Fr. or 27 Chad Alexander 5-9 185 So. QB 10 Haynes King 6-3 215 R-Jr. 5 Zach Pyron 6-3 220 R-So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 32 Sylvain Yondjouen 6-4 260 R-Sr. 27 Joshua Robinson 6-6 265 Sr. or 90 Jordan Boyd 6-3 260 Fr. NT 88 Zeek Biggers 6-6 320 Sr. 99 Jordan van den Berg 6-3 305 R-Jr. or 95 Jason Moore 6-2 265 R-Jr. DT 8 Makius Scott 6-4 290 Sr. 13 Horace Lockett 6-6 315 R-So. or 59 Thomas Gore 6-0 290 R-Sr. EDGE 9 Romello Height 6-3 240 R-Jr. or 11 Kevin Harris 6-4 245 Sr. LB 44 Kyle Efford 6-2 230 R-So. 2 E.J. Lightsey 6-2 230 R-So. LB 0 Trenilyas Tatum 6-2 225 Sr. 15 Tah'j Butler 6-1 230 Fr. NICKEL 21 Omar Daniels 6-0 176 R-Jr. /SAM or 6 Rodney Shelley 5-11 180 Jr. SS 5 Clayton Powell-Lee 6-2 195 Jr. 24 Jayden Davis 6-2 185 R-Fr. FS 1 LaMiles Brooks 6-2 200 Sr. 7 Taye Seymore 5-11 205 So. RCB 3 Ahmari Harvey 6-0 190 R-Jr. 23 Zachary Tobe 6-2 195 So. LCB 4 Warren Burrell 6-0 195 R-Sr. 14 Nehemiah Chandler 6-1 170 Fr. GEORGIA TECH DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 33 Aidan Birr 6-1 200 R-So. 39 James Whatley 6-2 195 Fr. P 43 David Shanahan 6-2 195 Sr. 39 James Whatley 6-2 195 Fr. LS 46 Henry Freer 6-0 205 R-Sr. 48 Joseph Stoever 6-2 210 R-Fr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. H 43 David Shanahan 6-2 195 Sr. 39 James Whatley 6-2 195 Fr. PR 6 Rodney Shelley 5-11 180 Jr. 87 Bailey Stockton 5-11 185 R-Fr. KR 0 Christian Leary 5-10 180 Sr. 11 Jamal Haynes 5-9 180 R-Jr. Special Teams Redshirt sophomore kicker Aidan Birr has made only 4 of 8 field goal attempts in Georgia Tech's first six games, but he did hit the game-winner versus Florida State in the season opener. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGIA TECH ATHLETICS