Georgia Tech still has a few unanswered questions to sort through before it opens against Colorado on Sept. 3, but the outline of the Week 1 lineup is starting to take shape.
At quarterback, Mendoza looks like the clear choice. He came over from Indiana as the favorite to win the job, and nothing from spring ball or from what Brent Key has said since has suggested otherwise. It would be Mendoza’s first season as a starter, and a chunk of Georgia Tech’s upside rests on how well he handles that role.
The backfield should be built around Haynes. He’s one of the most talented running backs in the country and is set up for a full season as the lead guy.
He brings big-play juice and should be in the mix for first-team All-ACC honors, while Malachi Hosley and J.P. Powell are also expected to get touches and help form one of the better running back rooms around.
Even so, Haynes is the one who should open the year as the primary ball carrier.
Georgia Tech’s receiver rotation may change depending on whether it opens in 11 or 12 personnel, but Allen and Fuhrmann feel like constants. Allen is the top returning wideout after a strong freshman season, while Fuhrmann arrives as one of the program’s most important transfers after producing at Elon. The depth chart behind them matters, but those two should be the main snap-eaters at the position.
The Yellow Jackets may actually be strongest early on with their running backs and tight ends. Harris and Mermans should both be heavily involved, with Chris Corbo and Kevin Roche Jr. also in the mix.
Harris offers more as a receiver, while Mermans brings the kind of blocking ability that made him one of the best at the FCS level last season. Together, they give Georgia Tech a tight end group that can do a little of everything.
Up front, Mackenny is back at left tackle and remains one of the leaders of the offensive line. The other side of the line has more uncertainty, but Peay Jr. looks like the best bet to win the job after a spring in which the coaching staff kept pointing to his progress.
Ionata, the Alabama transfer, is the favorite at center after rarely seeing meaningful snaps with the Crimson Tide, and Carney is expected to slide from right tackle to right guard. Carney had an uneven year at tackle, but the move inside could suit him and help stabilize the unit.
The other big offensive line battle is at right tackle, where Riggs and Oklahoma State transfer Markell Samuel Jr. are the main names to watch. Riggs gets the nod here, though that spot could still shift depending on how camp unfolds.
On defense, Walker and Carter stood out in the spring and look like the top two pass-rushing options heading into the season. Carter, a former blue-chip recruit, showed flashes at Alabama, while Walker brought solid experience from Rutgers. Neither is likely to play nearly every snap, but both look like upgrades from what Georgia Tech has had there in recent seasons.
The defensive front should also get help from Christian Garrett, Cincinnati transfer Tim Griffin, Christian Speakman, and Derry Norris. Griffin and Garrett, in particular, should make the front bigger and better against the run. Both are back for another year on The Flats, and Georgia Tech needs a bounce-back season from them if the defense is going to turn the corner.
At cornerback, the competition includes Zachary Tobe, Jon Mitchell, Daiquan White, and Elgin Sessions, but Mbakwe and Duclona were clearly brought in with a purpose. Mbakwe is another former blue-chip recruit Georgia Tech is betting on, while Duclona comes in after a strong G-5 season and will have to adjust quickly to a higher level of competition.
There’s a similar lean at the other corner spot. Fenix Felton could push Riley and maybe even win the job next to Harris, but for Week 1, Riley’s experience gives him the edge.
Safety is young, but not short on talent. Omar Daniels and Clayton Powell-Lee logged most of the snaps last season, and Tae Harris looks primed for a breakout. Freshman Kealan Jones is also a name to remember for depth and special teams.
In Other News...
Scott Cross May Be Building More Recruiting Momentum Than Fans Realize
Scott Cross is only in his first year running Georgia Tech, but the early signs on the recruiting trail suggest the reset is already taking hold. He has spent the opening months building relationships with prospects and putting together a 2026 class that already has three top-125 players in it, a notable start for a staff still trying to establish its footprint in a new era.
The bigger point for Yellow Jackets fans is that the work is not stopping with the current class. Cross and his staff are already digging into 2027 evaluations, extending offers and lining up official visits as they keep laying groundwork well ahead of schedule. In a sport where momentum can turn quickly, Georgia Tech appears to be stacking some of it before most people have fully noticed. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Tech Enters Fall Camp With One Huge Position Group Question
Fall camp opens with Georgia Tech carrying real optimism into the 2026 season, but the roster turnover has left a few spots needing to sort themselves out quickly. The offensive line still looks like the unit fans can feel best about, even with three new starters and some shuffling under Brent Key and Allen Mogridge, and the Yellow Jackets also have reasons to feel good about linebacker play and special teams as they start building toward the fall.
The bigger concern is out wide, where the receiver room enters camp as one of the clearest question marks on the roster. Georgia Tech has limited returning production there, plus a mix of transfer additions and freshmen trying to carve out roles, so the competition will be worth watching from the first practices on. With so many new faces around the program, how that group comes together could end up shaping the offense more than anyone wants to admit in August. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Is Facing A Georgia Debate He Never Used To
Kirby Smart arrived at SEC media days with the kind of rsum that usually ends the argument, not invites it. Georgia has spent the last few seasons living with the standard Smart built there, including back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, but the conversation around the Bulldogs has shifted from trophies to the one hurdle they have not cleared lately. After three straight years without a College Football Playoff win, the usual preseason chatter around Georgia now comes with a different edge.
That is why the debate around Smart has become more interesting than the typical summer talk circuit. Paul Finebaum and Jordan Rodgers both weighed in on whether Smart still sits alone at the top of the sport, and the fact that the question is even being asked says plenty about how high the bar has been set in Athens. For Georgia, the issue is not whether Smart can still coach. It is whether the rest of college football has started to see the opening that recent playoff exits created. [Read more 🡒]