Georgia Tech spent its offseason doing the kind of roster surgery that can change a season. The Yellow Jackets had departures through the transfer portal, players running out of eligibility and moving on to the NFL Draft, and both coordinators had to be replaced. That’s a lot to absorb in one stretch, and it left Brent Key with a roster that needed answers in a hurry.
Now, with ACC media days in the rearview and fall camp next, Georgia Tech is still being overlooked heading into 2026. But the work the Yellow Jackets did over the offseason gives this team a very different look than the one it had before.
The biggest coaching change came first. Buster Faulkner left for Florida early in the offseason, and Key turned to former Georgia Tech quarterback George Godsey to take over the offense.
Godsey had been in the NFL since 2010 and most recently coached tight ends for the Baltimore Ravens. The question now is simple: can he keep the same level of production Faulkner delivered?
Under Faulkner, Georgia Tech had one of the best offenses in the country and one of the top rushing attacks on a regular basis. That makes the shift from Faulkner to Godsey one of the defining storylines for the Yellow Jackets this season.
On the other side of the ball, Georgia Tech also made a major change with its defensive coordinator hire. Semore is the fourth defensive coordinator for the program in as many seasons, and he already knows the place well from a previous stint as an assistant.
His track record at Marshall and Southern Miss was built on havoc: sacks, turnovers and disruption. Those are exactly the things Georgia Tech has struggled to generate over the past three seasons.
If Semore can lift the defense enough, the Yellow Jackets could put themselves in the ACC conversation.
The front line was another clear priority. Georgia Tech has had individual standouts up front, including Jordan van den Ber and Zeek Biggers, but the unit never really came together as a whole.
This offseason, the Yellow Jackets aimed to get bigger and stronger in the trenches, and they added several transfers to do it. Noah Carter, Taje McCoy and Jordan Walker were brought in at edge to help pressure the quarterback, while Tawfiq Thomas, Vincent Carroll-Jackson and Tim Griffin are expected to help shore up the run defense in the middle.
Key has said the team is starting to look the way he wants it to up front, and Georgia Tech is hoping that shows up in a big way.
At quarterback, the final transfer addition was Mendoza, who is set to open the season as Georgia Tech’s starter. He has never started a college game, but he is still the most experienced quarterback on the roster after getting backup snaps at Indiana last season. The Yellow Jackets have built around him with what they hope is a strong running game and a better defense, giving him a chance to settle in and become a solid ACC starter.
And then there’s Haynes, the transfer that stands out even in a busy offseason. It’s not often that a running back transfer gets ranked ahead of a quarterback addition, but Haynes is that kind of player for Georgia Tech.
He is stepping into an offense that should fit him perfectly, and he is expected to be the centerpiece of the Yellow Jackets’ attack this season. Of all the moves Georgia Tech made, Haynes’ arrival looks like the biggest one.
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Kyle Efford Is Setting The Tone For Georgia Tech's Defense
With summer workouts winding down, Kyle Efford has become one of the steadier voices on Georgia Techs defense as the Yellow Jackets turn toward preseason practice and a Sept. 3 home opener against Colorado. The redshirt senior linebacker is helping set the tone for a group that knows the next step has to come before the games start counting, with Efford and the staff keeping a close eye on how the roster is shaping up physically and how the defense can play with more consistency.
Effords role goes beyond just lining up at linebacker. Georgia Tech wants its front to be bigger and quicker, and there has been noticeable movement there as several linemen have trimmed down and look faster off the ball. For Efford and the linebackers behind them, the emphasis is on filling gaps, running sideline to sideline, communicating cleanly and tightening up every part of the unit before the season opener arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Tech Faces One Huge Quarterback Fear Entering 2026
Georgia Tech heads into 2026 with a fresh face under center and plenty of moving parts around him. Alberto Mendoza, the former Indiana backup, put together a strong spring and now has the job of steering an offense that is also breaking in a new coordinator and three new starters on the offensive line. For a program trying to keep momentum, the challenge is not just whether Mendoza can settle in, but how quickly the rest of the unit can grow up with him.
The bigger worry is what happens if the transition at quarterback gets bumpy. Georgia Tech is thin behind Mendoza, and the other options on the roster have little to no game experience, which makes the position feel even more fragile than usual. After Haynes King gave the Yellow Jackets a high-level standard at the spot, the question entering the fall is not simply who starts, but how steep the drop-off might be if Mendoza needs time to find his footing. [Read more 🡒]