Georgia Tech Football: Position Previews - Offensive Line

Pretty much since 2014, Georgia Tech has had some troubles with its offensive line. Even back then, I know we were all surprised at how the loss of one guy in Shaq Mason could make Georgia Tech’s offensive line fall back that much.

In 2019, Geoff Collins brought Brent Key in to fix things up, and although Tech got bigger up front, the offensive line still continued to struggle, potentially from some micromanagement out of Key’s control.

With Key the head man now, he had the opportunity to hand pick his coach for the offensive line, choosing Geep Wade, and to run the offensive line with solely his (and Wade’s) vision. As weird as it sounds, that actually gives me some hope. I don’t believe Key just magically become a bad OL coach at Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech loses a few offensive linemen from last year’s roster, but the one of most note is Pierce Quick, who finished the season as a starter at guard last season. Of note, his listed back-up (Paula Vaipulu) also decided to leave the team, entering the transfer portal. That leaves one starting spot open on a line that didn’t feature any upperclassmen.

Assuming that Corey Robinson II (LT), Weston Franklin (C), Jordan Williams (RG), and Jakiah Leftwich (RT), all stick to their starting jobs, let’s focus on that left guard position.

Because there is no telling what could happen with the true freshmen, I’ll leave them out of this and stick with the guys who are on the roster.

Connor Scaglione

Scaglione is probably the most intriguing name here. He comes to Georgia Tech as a grad transfer from Princeton, where he spent time at right tackle and right guard. In his time at Princeton, the offense performed very well (2021: 33.4 ppg, 265.5 passing ypg, and 392.4 ypg; 2022: 274.2 passing ypg, 27.8 ppg). You can watch his full highlight film below, but I noticed that he has a decently quick first step and decent speed to get out of the box to block at the next level.

Paul Tchio

Last season, many (myself included) expected Paul Tchio to quickly earn a starting spot after transferring in from Clemson. Well, that didn’t happen, and I’m not entirely sure why. Injury certainly could have played a factor, but to my knowledge, nothing was ever really reported on that front.

Coming out of high school, Tchio was a very prominent recruit, well-known for his run blocking skills. That’s what earned him a spot at Clemson. Unfortunately, he was never really able to crack the line-up there in a permanent fashion.

Brandon Best

Best is a recruit from last season’s class who redshirted last year. Now a redshirt freshman, he will have an opportunity to compete for a role inside.

Joe Fusile

The last guy I’ll talk about here is Joe Fusile who worked his way into a reserve role last season. As a former walk-on, Fusile performed well enough to garner playing time last season, so it stands to reason he will be competing for the LG spot this season. Of note, his teammates also voted for him to be be awarded the Brandon Adams Outstanding Teammate Award, which is a really cool honor.

If I were a betting man, I think I would probably place my money on Scaglione right now, simply for that experience at the college level. More than anything, though, I am excited to see what Key and Wade can do with the offensive line this season.

What are you expecting from Georgia Tech’s offensive line this season?