A to Z: What to look for in Georgia Tech’s 2020 season (2024)

The 2020 season is here for the Georgia Tech football program, and it’s the second season for Geoff Collins as the coach of the Yellow Jackets.

That season starts Saturday at Florida State as the Yellow Jackets face off with Mike Norvell’s new staff with the Seminoles. Coming off a 3-9 season in 2019, what will the season look like for the Yellow Jackets with a new-look schedule?

Here’s an A-to-Z breakdown of what to look for with the Yellow Jackets:

A: Ahmarean Brown

Brown had a tremendous true freshman season in 2019. He played in all 12 games, including 10 starts, and tied Calvin Johnson’s program record for the most touchdown catches by a freshman with seven. Brown led the team with 396 receiving yards and 21 catches (an average of 18.9 yards per catch), he set the tone for his season in the opener with a 28-yard catch against defending national champion Clemson and he finished the season with seven catches for 25 yards or longer. And he sounds ready for an even bigger role this season.

B: Brooks, Djimon

Brooks, a senior defensive lineman who played in all 12 games last year with four starts, has a new number this season, and it’s a nice round number: 0. Yep, a 305-pound defensive lineman is going to wear No. 0. That should be a fun look.

C: Charlie Thomas

Thomas played linebacker made 11 starts at linebacker the past two seasons, but he has moved to nickel back and adds even more depth to an already deep and talented secondary.

D: David Curry

Curry, a senior linebacker, is one of the true leaders in the program as he enters his sixth year. He has started 24 games the past two seasons and led the defense with 97 tackles (54 solo) in 2019.

E: Ezzard, Marquez

Wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon said Ezzard’s “initial quickness is like no other” when he was talking about getting him on the field this season. Ezzard hasn’t played in a game in some time after redshirting at Miami in 2018 and sitting out last year after transferring to Georgia Tech, but there are high hopes for him. Ezzard was a four-star recruit in 2018 out of Stockbridge High School, about 30 miles south of the Georgia Tech campus.

F: Freshman class

Georgia Tech’s signing class was 27th in the 247Sports rankings, and that was a big step forward in the recruiting rankings. Those freshmen are already making their presence known as the coaches have talked about the boost they have given the program with their length, size, talent and athleticism.

G: Griffin and Gibbs

Jamious Griffin and Jahmyr Gibbs, that is. Griffin saw action in nine games in 2019 and finished second among the team’s running backs with 137 yards on 37 carries, and he appears ready for even more playing time this season. Then there’s Gibbs, who was the star of the Yellow Jackets’ most recent signing class, and he has been the talk of the preseason.

H: Harvin III, Pressley

The senior punter is one of the best in the country and could be headed to an All-ACC season. He ranked 17th nationally and fifth in the ACC with a 44.8-yard punting average in 2019. He has two of the top-10 season punting averages in Georgia Tech history.

I: Interceptions

The Yellow Jackets need more of them. In 2019, they had just seven interceptions, tied for second fewest in the ACC. That’s not going to be good enough this season, not with a secondary that has grown tremendously in talent and experience.

J: Jordan Mason

Mason, a junior, is the focal point of the offense as the starting running back, and he got the job done last year. He had 172 carries and finished with 899 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. There is some dynamic talent behind him on the depth chart, but expect Mason to have another strong year as the offensive line continues to improve.

K: Knight, Demetrius

It’s not often when a former quarterback is playing linebacker. But that’s what Knight is doing, and he’s doing it well. Recruited to Georgia Tech by Paul Johnson’s staff as a quarterback, Knight played in all 12 games last year as a linebacker and finished with 18 tackles. He should have an even bigger role this season.

L: Line depth

The coaches have talked about getting longer, stronger, bigger and more powerful on both lines, and they feel like they have made progress in doing so. As it is with any football team (no matter the scheme), the players up front are pivotal to the Yellow Jackets’ hopes this season. If they can progress, the Yellow Jackets can, too.

M: More growth

Georgia Tech’s coaching staff feels like there has been growth for the program heading into this season, and that makes sense with so many returning players. Offensively, the Yellow Jackets return 77 percent of their passing yards, 81 percent of their rushing and receiving yards and 68 percent of their starts on the line. On defense, they return 87 percent of their tackles, 86 percent of their tackles for loss and 79 percent of their sacks.

N: New-look home

Georgia Tech revealed a new-look Bobby Dodd Stadium last week. It includes an LED lighting system; an upgraded stadium-wide sound system; a full rebrand of all stadium signage, highlighted by tributes to Clint Castleberry’s retired No. 19 and Georgia Tech’s College Football Hall of Famers in the seating bowl; and a prominent, backlit “Georgia Institute of Technology” sign affixed to the Wardlaw Building in the south end zone. The field now has an artificial turf surface and includes the traditional white-and-gold interlocking GT logo at midfield; two background colors in the end zones (the north end zone with a Tech gold background and the south end zone with a navy blue background, both featuring the Georgia Tech athletics wordmark); tributes to Atlanta, with an “ATL” logo on the 30-yard lines and the “404” representing Atlanta’s area code painted on both sidelines; and four trophies under each goal post, representing Georgia Tech’s four football national championships.

O: Opener

The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets open the season Saturday afternoon. While Norvell (Memphis) and Collins (Temple) coached in the American Athletic Conference, their teams did not face against each other when they were there. The Seminoles are coming off two difficult seasons in which they went a combined 11-14 during the Willie Taggart era, and Taggart didn’t even make it through the second season.

P: Position changes

There are several players who have switched positions and they’re getting their chance to have key roles. Bruce Jordan-Swilling switched from linebacker to running back and Jerry Howard went the other way to end up at linebacker. Thomas moved over from linebacker and is in the mix to get plenty of time at nickelback. And Tobias Oliver, a former quarterback and wide receiver, is now at cornerback.

Q: Quarterback race

Collins doesn’t like to talk about the quarterback race during the preseason. But it’s the key to this season, and we’ll see who takes the first snap of the season Saturday. My bet would be sophom*ore James Graham, but it has been a true competition with redshirt freshman Jordan Yates and true freshmen Jeff Sims and Tucker Gleason. It certainly feels like Sims has made a strong impression during the preseason, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets the call. Could we see the competition turn out like it did last year when several players get their shot before the coaching staff settles on someone? Well, all four were listed “Above The Line” this week, so don’t be surprised if that happens.

R: Running back depth

Last year, Mason was the workhorse for the running game and the offense overall. With Gibbs and Griffin behind Mason, the coaches have a lot of options at running back, and they can use them all to give the offense a new look in Year 2. Even with an evolving passing game and more weapons on the outside, those running backs are just too good to not use.

S: Strong secondary

The entire starting secondary is back: Tre Swilling and Zamari Walton at cornerback and Tariq Carpenter and Juanyeh Thomas at safety, along with nickelback Kaleb Oliver. And that’s just the start for a talented and experienced secondary. As good as the running backs are, the secondary is even better, and it’s Tech’s best position group.

T: Tariq Carpenter

Carpenter has grown into one of the Yellow Jackets’ best players and one of their leaders. He has started 22 games the past two seasons, including all 12 last year. He has 103 tackles the past two seasons — 55 in 2018 and 48 in 2019.

U: Under pressure

As a secondary and defensive line are tied together, so are a secondary’s interceptions and a defensive line’s pressure. Just as the Yellow Jackets need more interceptions, they need more pressure to help cause those turnovers. Last year, Georgia Tech finished last in the ACC with 17 sacks. Antonneous Clayton’s addition should help with that.

V: Victories

Collins needs more of them this year, but they could be hard to come by against the new-look ACC schedule. When the ACC announced the new schedule, Tori McElhaney and I made our predictions for the season, and our readers did as well. I’m sticking with four or five, and while that’s not many more than last year, it does feel like it would be a good step forward. It was encouraging this week to hear one of The Athletic’s national writers, Matt Fortuna, give his thoughts on the Yellow Jackets.

W: Walton, Zamari

Swilling gets a lot of attention at one cornerback spot and with good reason. But don’t overlook Walton, who really came into his own last year. He made 11 starts and finished with 29 tackles and three pass breakups. Look for another step forward for Walton this season.

X: eXperience

OK, so I had to cheat a little with “X” there. Georgia Tech still is a young team (check the “Y” entry next), but it’s not an inexperienced team. Last year was a tough season, for sure, but the experience gained for those players can only help the program continue to grow. That should pay off this season and in the seasons to come with even better recruiting.

Y: Youthful group

“Above The Line” is Georgia Tech’s version of a depth chart, and it’s a witty reference to Atlanta with the ATL. This year’s “Above The Line” includes a lot of young talent entering the opener with six freshmen and eight sophom*ores on offense and four freshmen and 11 sophom*ores on defense sitting “Above The Line.”

Z: Zoom

Haven’t we all had enough of Zoom calls and meetings? Maybe, but that’s the way media members will continue to meet with the Yellow Jackets’ coaches and players for the foreseeable future.

(Top photo of Jordan Mason, top, and Tobias Oliver: Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Daniel Shirley is a senior college football editor for The Athletic. He has previously worked at newspapers in Anderson, S.C., Valdosta, Albany and Macon and served as the sports editor in Albany and Macon for a combined 18 years Follow Daniel on Twitter @DM_Shirley