Kickoff is nearing for Georgia Tech and Duke, and the Yellow Jackets’ final availability report brings a mix of concern and relief.
Georgia Tech will be without Malachi Hosley, Jordan Walker, Noah Carter, A.J. Hoffler, Ethan Mackenny, Samuel, and Petty. Jaiven Plummer and Trae Stevenson Jr are both game time decisions.
There is better news elsewhere on the report. Jameson Riggs, who had been listed as questionable, is now off the availability report. Kyle Efford and Vincent Carroll-Jackson are also off the report and should be back in the lineup today for Georgia Tech.
The absences at running back and along the offensive line are going to shape how the Yellow Jackets handle this one. With Hosley sidelined, Trelain Maddox is expected to handle the backup running back role, just as he did against Stanford two weeks ago.
Up front, Mackenny’s absence means Jordan Floyd should start again at left tackle. Riggs should take over at center today after missing the Mercer and Stanford games.
Georgia Tech will also have to patch together production at defensive end. Walker, Carter, and Hoffler being out leaves the Yellow Jackets thin at a spot that has already been a concern this season. Carter has been Georgia Tech’s best pass rusher this year, Walker has been one of the team’s leaders since arriving from Rutgers, and Hoffler has been one of the top backups.
That opens the door for others to step in, including Taje McCoy, Brayden Manley, Amontrae Bradford, and Andre Fuller Jr. McCoy has shown flashes this season, while Bradford has played 69 snaps and has not been highly effective. Georgia Tech is going to need someone from that group to make an impact if it wants to bother Duke’s offense.
The Yellow Jackets are short-handed, but they’ll have to make it work today.
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McAfees Georgia support quickly became part of the show, with the pregame banter spilling into a playful physical bit that had the whole crew leaning into the moment. For fans of either side, it was a reminder that this rivalry still brings out the kind of theater that travels beyond the field and into the studio, where every prediction can become part of the spectacle long before the first snap. [Read more 🡒]