Georgia Tech is nearing the end of fall camp, and the focus is about to shift to Colorado and the season opener. But before the Yellow Jackets move on, camp has already given Brent Key’s fourth team a better idea of which players are pushing their way into bigger roles in 2026.
The biggest gains have come from a few players who entered camp with questions around their roles and left it looking a lot more likely they’ll matter when the starting jobs are sorted out next year.
At tight end, Georgia Tech still appears headed for a committee approach. The Yellow Jackets have leaned on multiple tight ends over the last three seasons, and that doesn’t seem likely to change even with a new offensive coordinator and three new portal additions at the position.
But second-year tight end Kevin Roche Jr has made a strong case that he’s more than just a red-zone option. He has shown he can handle a little bit of everything, which has only boosted his chances of getting on the field.
Chris Corbo and Spencer Mermans have also stood out, but Roche Jr looks positioned for a real breakout in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech also got a promising answer at wide receiver from an unexpected place. Penson arrived as a Top 100 recruit and played cornerback as a freshman, but Brent Key moved him to receiver during the spring.
That switch has gone well. Georgia Tech needed someone to step up at a spot with little experience, and Penson has done that.
He may not end up leading the team in receiving, but he looks like a dangerous deep threat who can be moved around in different ways, similar to how Jordan Allen has been used as a rusher.
Up front, Riggs has kept building toward this moment. He has spent the last couple of seasons developing and getting spot work, and since spring he has been the starting right tackle.
Last season’s starter, Malachi Carney, has been competing at right guard, while Riggs has handled the tackle job well in camp. There may be some growing pains because this would be his first time starting, but he has earned the opportunity and looks set to get it.
On defense, Harris entered camp with a real path to a starting job, and he has only strengthened it. He already played more than 200 snaps last season, so his rise wasn’t exactly a shock, but he has had an excellent camp and looks like a player ready to break through.
Georgia Tech needs him because the safety group is young and a lot of snaps are gone. The fact that the Yellow Jackets didn’t bring in a safety through the transfer portal says plenty about how they view him.
Garrett may not open the season as a starter, but he has put himself in position to force the issue sooner rather than later. An injury cut into his snaps last year, yet he still finished as one of Georgia Tech’s highest-graded defenders. He can line up inside or outside on the defensive front, and he’s the kind of young player who gives Yellow Jackets fans reason to believe the defense can improve.
Fall camp is almost over, but these five players have clearly made themselves part of the conversation.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Still Has Two Big Concerns Heading Into Week 1
Georgia Tech has wrapped up fall camp and now turns its attention to a season opener at home against Colorado, a rematch of last years game that should offer an early read on how far the Yellow Jackets have come. Brent Key enters the year with a roster full of new faces and new coordinators on both sides of the ball, which makes Week 1 feel less like a clean slate and more like the first real test of how quickly the pieces are coming together.
For all the offseason movement, the biggest questions still sit in the same familiar places, especially on defense and along the offensive line. Those are the spots that usually decide whether an improved offseason translates into an improved season, and Georgia Tech will find out quickly with Deion Sanders Colorado team coming back into the picture. The Jackets do not just need to be ready, they need to start fast and begin answering the lingering concerns right away. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Tech Camp Buzz Points To A Different Defensive Outlook
Fall camp is in the books, and Georgia Tech is heading into its season opener against Colorado with a noticeably different tone on the defensive side. Coaches have sounded encouraged by the way the unit has come together, and the optimism is tied less to outside additions than to the growth of players already in the program.
Amontrae Bradford has emerged as one of the names to watch, while Outlaw, Harris and Garrett are also expected to take on bigger roles this fall. With the Yellow Jackets not turning to the transfer portal for linebackers or defensive backs, the bet here is on internal development, and the early camp buzz suggests that approach may give this defense a new look when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Techs New Tight End Signals A More Physical Offensive Plan
Spencer Merman arrives at Georgia Tech with a profile that fits a team looking to lean into a more physical identity. The Yale transfer has played in 24 games over three seasons and brought a strong Pro Football Focus grade with him, but his value has been built more on blocking than on piling up catches. Even so, he showed a little more pop as a receiver in 2025, when he found the end zone twice.
Now comes the adjustment to an offense that asks its tight ends to line up in different spots and put a premium on helping the run game. Merman is working through that transition while taking on the challenge of Georgia Tech's defensive linemen in practice, which should help him understand exactly what kind of physical tone this staff wants from the position. For the Yellow Jackets, it is another sign that the offense may be shifting toward a heavier, more rugged approach. [Read more 🡒]