After the best season that the program has had since 2016, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and head coach Brent Key have put a sense of faith in Yellow Jacket fans throughout this season and heading into next season. The moves that the team and players have made in the program have made over the past month have been all over the place, from prominent players leaving to soon-to-be key contributors coming in, there is still a bit of optimism keeping the offseason interesting for Yellow Jacket fans.
For starters, Key hit the transfer portal hard and focused on key areas that were needed to sustain the success from last season. Perhaps the biggest ones were three receivers that the Yellow Jackets needed because the position group got thinned out after Eric Singleton Jr. hit the transfer portal and Chris Lane graduating. Bringing in receivers Debron Gatling, Eric Rivers, and Dean Patterson bolstered the position up a bit.
The running game for the Yellow Jackets should be a strength for the team again, after finishing second in the ACC in rushing yards per game last season. Returning quarterback Haynes King and running back Jamal Haynes will be huge for the team, as the duo combined for over 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground last season. Add in junior transfer running back Malachi Hosley, and you make a rushing attack that was already one of the best in the country even better.
But, Key addressed the biggest problem that the team had when he went out and got EDGE rusher Brayden Manley from the transfer portal. It's a position that the Yellow Jackets have struggled in under Key's first two seasons, combining for just 38 sacks in the past two seasons.
It has been a roller coaster of an offseason for a team trying to break through and prove themselves, but overall the Yellow Jackets have to feel optimistic heading into the 2025 season.