Georgia Tech Football: App State’s Geep Wade is Tech’s Next OL Coach

Although we all thought an offensive coordinator hire would come first, it appears that Brent Key has found his replacement as the offensive line coach in Appalachian State’s Geep (pronounced like “Jeep”) Wade, according to Rivals’ Russell Johnson.

The initial report is behind a paywall, but Johnson shared the name in a later tweet.

Geep Wade most recently served as Appalachian State’s offensive line coach this past year. It’s tough to judge an OL coach on just one season since it can take several years for an offensive line unit to gel, but behind Wade’s line this season, App State rushers gained 5.2 yards/attempt. Rushing plays also saw a success rate of 44.7% (27th percentile). Their OL also allowed half as many sacks this year (17) as they did in 2021 (34), though quarterback Chase Brice also had about half as many attempts this season.

Prior to coming to App State, Wade served as the offensive line coach for several schools, including Middle Tennessee State (2013-2015), East Carolina (2016-2017), UT Martin (2018, where he also served as the offensive coordinator), and Georgia Southern (2021), most recently. He also served as the offensive line coach for Tulane for about a month in 2022. He was hired by Tulane in February and then by App State in March.

While it seems like Wade has a lot of experience, it all comes from lower levels, and I will say that I am a bit concerned that he has not spent more than a year at a single school since he was at ECU.

I am very hopeful for this hire (and very encouraged that he’s already on the recruiting trail), especially given that Brent Key is a former offensive line coach, but I am concerned that he seemingly has more money for assistants and wasn’t able to secure a bigger name, such as Ole Miss’s Jake Thornton, who accepted a job at Auburn last week.

How do you feel about Georgia Tech’s new offensive line coach?