Georgia Tech didn’t send its quarterback to media days. Instead, Brent Key brought two running backs, and that choice says plenty about where this offense is headed.
The Yellow Jackets are leaning into the backfield, and for good reason. They enter the season with what looks like one of the strongest running back tandems in the ACC and maybe the country: Michigan transfer Justice Haynes and returning standout Malachi Hosley. Both are expected to be central figures for Georgia Tech in 2026, and the buzz around them feels earned.
Hosley arrived from Penn and quickly became Georgia Tech’s most productive back in 2025. He piled up 697 yards on just 98 carries, averaged over seven yards per attempt, and scored seven touchdowns.
Even without being the clear No. 1 option - he shared work with quarterback Haynes King and Jamal Haynes - he still flashed as both an explosive runner and a physical one. Pro Football Focus gave him a 79.5 overall grade, the highest of any returning offensive player, along with an elite 86.2 rushing grade across 370 snaps.
On a lot of Power Four rosters, that profile would make him the lead back without question.
But Georgia Tech added a player who raises the ceiling even higher.
Justice Haynes began his college career at Alabama, where the former Buford High School star chose the Crimson Tide and Nick Saban over Georgia. In two seasons there, he ran for 616 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry.
He then transferred to Michigan and was poised to take over as the Wolverines’ top back. That move started fast: Haynes ran for at least 104 yards in each of his first five games and had 857 yards through seven games before a season-ending foot injury cut his year short.
After that, he entered the transfer portal and returned home to Georgia to join the Yellow Jackets.
Key made it clear at ACC media days that the staff sees the duo as a major piece of what Georgia Tech wants to be offensively.
"Very, very fortunate to be able to have these running backs with us on our team, the depth we have at that position, the unselfishness that they have. But also, we have a lot of experience on our offensive staff and within the whole staff of how to play these guys, how to practice these guys, how to train them, how to prepare them so that they're just as fresh in the fourth quarter in November as they were in the first quarter in September.”
The players already have a name for themselves, too.
“Yeah, we call each other bad boys. You know, it was just something, you know, we were just talking about one day, you know, when we were on that field, like we have bad intentions like for the other team, you know, um, and we're the baddest boys out there. We know that, and we are confident in that because of the preparation we put in, and we are going to go out there and just do what we do,” said Haynes.
With a new starting quarterback and an inexperienced group of receivers, Georgia Tech may need that running game to carry the offense early and maybe all season. If the Yellow Jackets hit their projection or climb above it, the ground game figures to be a big reason why.
That fits the way Key’s teams are built: physical, tough, and committed to running the football. With Haynes and Hosley, Georgia Tech has what looks like the ACC’s most dangerous one-two punch. The hype makes sense.
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