Yellow Jacked Up
Fansided

Georgia Tech vs Pittsburgh: Five Storylines to Watch

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 1: A member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team holds his helmet up at the beginning of the fourth quarter during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field on November 1, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia Tech beat Florida State 31-28. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 1: A member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team holds his helmet up at the beginning of the fourth quarter during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field on November 1, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia Tech beat Florida State 31-28. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FL – SEPTEMBER 08: KirVonte Benson #30 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets rushes during a game against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – SEPTEMBER 08: KirVonte Benson #30 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets rushes during a game against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Potentially the biggest storyline for Saturday’s game depending on who you ask is how the Yellow Jackets going forward will replace the player pictured above. Last weekend against USF, starting b-back KirVonte Benson who rushed for over 1,000-yards in 2017 suffered a knee injury. On Tuesday, Tech head coach Paul Johnson announced Benson would be sidelined for the rest of the season.

For the Yellow Jackets, the loss of Benson is a big one as he was arguably their most consistent player on offense all of last season and was poised to have another great year. That being said, the Yellow Jackets will need to use the “next man up” mantra going forward at the position.

In Benson’s absence, redshirt freshman Jordan Mason will be the starter going forward. Mason started the Jackets season opener when Benson was suspended for the first quarter and took over as the primary b-back last week against USF. So far through the first two games, Mason has been impressive totaling 180-yards and a score on 24 carries.

Behind Mason will be sophomore Jerry Howard and true freshman Christian Malloy. Benson saw snaps in 2017 about has yet to be used a whole lot in 2018. With Benson out, Howard should see an increase in snaps going forward. It wasn’t planned for Malloy to be thrown into the heat so fast this year, but the coaching staff’s hand may be forced at playing the true freshman this season.

If the b-backs can pick up the slack that is left by Benson, the Yellow Jackets offense shouldn’t really miss a beat, but if they struggle, it may turn into a tough year offensively for the Jackets, or at least one of inconsistencies.