Georgia Tech’s Week 10 availability report arrived with a familiar look: long, crowded, and packed with names the Yellow Jackets would rather not be juggling this late in the season.
With Louisville coming to town Saturday and Georgia Tech sitting in a rough stretch after three straight losses, the injury situation remains a major part of the story. The Jackets are coming off a 22-point home loss to Boston College and a 23-point road loss to Pittsburgh, and they’re now on the brink of becoming ineligible for a bowl game for the first time under Brent Key.
The first report ahead of the Louisville matchup listed the following players:
RB #0 Malachi Hosley
WR #3 Rahkeem Smith
CB #6 Kelvin Hill
S #13 Savion Riley
S #31 Fenix Felton
S #39 Will Kiker
LB #44 Kyle Efford
OL #52 Kevin Peay, Jr.
OL #65 Courtney Heard
OL #71 Markell Samuel
OL #78 Ethan Mackenny
WR #82 Kentrell Davis
DE #88 A.J. Hoffler
DT #96 Shymeik Jones
DT #97 Landen Marshall
It’s the same kind of injury report Georgia Tech has been dealing with all season, and that has put the roster under constant strain. The Yellow Jackets have had to keep adjusting, especially up front.
That offensive line situation got even thinner last week when Key said Ethan Mackenny and Kevin Peay Jr. would miss the rest of the season. Against Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech started Josh Petty at left tackle and Will Reed at left tackle, but Petty’s workload is being managed. He’ll continue splitting reps with Jordan Floyd.
Key explained earlier this week that Petty is still being brought along carefully.
“He's on a pitch count and will be for, you know, probably the remainder of the season. Um, and you know we’re up in the first half, and no, he’s, you know, the speed of the game picked up, right?
I mean, the speed of the game picked up; the varying looks on the defensive side picked up. He learned a lot from that game, and he’ll be better the next game for it now, and that was his first career start, and I think I said that last week.
I know I told him this, like, you know, make a lot of big deal about him coming back, but he's a very inexperienced guy right now. He's an extremely talented guy that’s still very inexperienced, and there are a lot of things in that first half where he won’t do him again.
But no, him not playing the second half had nothing to do with performance or anything. IIt had to do with just the pitch count, rep count that he was on,” said Key.
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Taje McCoy Is Setting The Tone For Georgia Techs Biggest Test Yet
Taje McCoy has become one of the steadier voices on Georgia Techs defense as the Yellow Jackets head into a bigger test. The edge rusher spoke about his leadership role and the responsibility that comes with helping younger players settle in, including freshman Christian Speakman, while also acknowledging the reality of where the team stands right now.
The challenge ahead is a familiar one for any defense facing a well-schooled offense: stay disciplined, communicate cleanly and avoid giving away easy answers. McCoy said Georgia Tech will need sound execution to keep key offensive players from taking over, and that makes his presence even more important as the Jackets try to tighten things up at the point of attack. [Read more 🡒]
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After the game, Stevenson Jr. talked about handling the moment with maturity and keeping his focus on the bigger picture. Even with the team working through its share of challenges, he sounded like a player intent on staying steady and building week by week, which is part of why he is viewed as such an important piece for Georgia Tech moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Ole Miss Injury Swings Could Reshape A Huge SEC Showdown
Georgia heads into its matchup with Ole Miss in a much better spot on the injury front than it did earlier in the week. The Bulldogs have only linebacker Amaris Williams officially ruled out, while several important names, including running back Chauncey Bowens and wide receiver Isiah Canion, are listed as probable or questionable as kickoff approaches.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, is dealing with a far longer list of absences and will be without nine players for the game. The biggest blow is at running back, where Kewan Lacy is out with a separated shoulder, leaving the Rebels to adjust their plan in a game that already carried plenty of weight in the SEC race. [Read more 🡒]