Brent Key is a former star offensive lineman and offensive line coach, and his Georgia Tech teams have usually embraced the ground-and-pound, smashmouth style one may expect from a team coached by someone like Key.
But several key contributors to that successful approach last season have departed the Yellow Jackets. Quarterback Haynes King and guard Keylan Rutledge are both now in the NFL, and no, they won’t be suddenly returning to college (Rutledge, for one, was a first-round draft pick by the Houston Texans).
Also on that list of departures is offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who took the same job at Florida under new Gators head coach Jon Sumrall.
Key dipped into the transfer portal to replace King with a notable name — Alberto Mendoza, who backed up his Heisman Trophy-winning brother Fernando on Indiana’s national championship-winning team last year. Key also added former Alabama and Michigan running back Justice Haynes and Alabama transfers Noah Carter, Jaylen Mbakwe and Joseph Ionata to the defensive line, cornerback group and offensive line, respectively.
To replace Faulkner, Key hired his former Georgia Tech teammate George Godsey, a one-time Yellow Jackets quarterback who was most recently the Baltimore Ravens’ tight ends coach.
