Georgia Tech Recruiting Reset: Jackets Enter Recruiting Season with Plenty of Work to Do

With the National Championship game on Monday, college football's on-field season will come to a close. At the same time, its off-field season will be revving up the engines for a stretch run as coaches look to put the finishing touches on their recruiting classes for the class of 2016.

For Georgia Tech, January projects to be a little more busy than most would have hoped. At the moment, they only have 12 commitments (including 3 enrolled), and have enough open scholarships to add another 7, not counting any further attrition or walk-on players being awarded scholarships. (Click the link to view the current scholarship breakdown.) That said, let's take a look at where things currently stand and where the Jackets are likely to look in order to fill out their recruiting class.

Current Recruiting Class

Position	Player	Status	Rivals	247Sports Composite
LB	Emmanuel Bridges	Enrolled (1/11/2016)	3-Star (5.7)	3-Star (0.8634)
BB	Dedrick Mills	Enrolled (1/11/2016)	3-Star (5.6)	3-Star (0.8535)
DE	Desmond Branch	Enrolled (1/11/2016)	2-Star (5.4)	3-Star (0.8348)
AB	Xavier Gantt	Committed (2/11/2015)	3-Star (5.7)	3-Star (0.8606)
LB	Jakob Brashear	Committed (3/19/2015)	2-Star (5.4)	3-Star (0.8339)
DT	Chris Martin	Committed (5/9/2015)	3-Star (5.5)	3-Star (0.8454)
DB	Jarrett Cole	Committed (7/30/2015)	3-Star (5.5)	3-Star (0.8473)
OL	Parker Braun	Committed (8/29/2015)	3-Star (5.7)	3-Star (0.8712)
WR	Steve Dolphus	Committed (10/21/2015)	3-Star (5.5)	3-Star (0.8410)
OL	Kenny Cooper	Committed (12/8/2015)	2-Star (5.3)	2-Star (0.7852)
WR	Jalen Camp	Committed (12/9/2015)	2-Star (5.2)	3-Star (0.7986)
ATH	Jair Anderson	Committed (12/26/2015)	2-Star (5.4)	3-Star (0.8456)
Total Commitments: 12

As it stands, Georgia Tech has a rather pedestrian 12 commitments, few of which came with much fanfare in terms of recruiting rankings. That said, with several weeks yet to go until Signing Day, the coaches have not yet been pushed into "desperation" mode and wouldn't have given out scholarship offers or accepted commitments from players that they hadn't evaluated and approved of.

The current class consists of:

• 2 A-Backs (including Anderson)
  
• 1 B-Back
• 2 Wide Receivers
• 2 Offensive Linemen
• 1 Defensive Tackle
• 1 Defensive End (a transfer)
• 2 Linebackers
• 1 Defensive Back

With that in mind, the likely path forward for Georgia Tech is as follows:

• 1 Quarterback
• 1 Offensive Lineman (potentially a Center)
  
• 1 Defensive Tackle
• 1 Defensive End
• 1 Cornerback
• 1 Athlete (Defensive Back/A-Back)
• 1 Best Available

So, considering the needs to fill out the class, let's look at the current potential to accomplish those goals.

Big Board

Position	Player	Status	Visit Date	Rivals	247Sports Composite
ATH	Demetris Robertson	Uncommitted	1/29/2016	5-Star (6.1)	5-Star (0.9839)
OL	Donavaughn Campbell	Committed to LSU	1/29/2016	4-Star (5.9)	4-Star (0.9369)
DT	Michail Carter	Uncommitted	1/22/2016	4-Star (5.9)	4-Star (0.9346)
DB	Romeo Finley	Uncommitted	1/15/2016	4-Star (5.8)	4-Star (0.8927)
DE	Jordan Woods	Uncommitted	1/15/2016	4-Star (5.8)	3-Star (0.8869)
OL	Jordan Johnson	Uncommitted	1/29/2016	3-Star (5.7)	3-Star (0.8647)
CB	Baylen Buchanan	Committed to Tennessee	1/15/2016	3-Star (5.7)	3-Star (0.8568)
QB/ATH	Jay Jones	Uncommitted (No Offer)	1/15/2016	3-Star (5.7)	3-Star (0.8515)
QB/ATH	Deshaunte Jones	Uncommitted	1/22/2016	3-Star (5.5)	3-Star (0.8578)
DT	Brandon Adams	Committed to Vanderbilt	1/15/2016	3-Star (5.5)	3-Star (0.8309)
QB	Lucas Johnson	Committed to San Diego State	1/15/2016	3-Star (5.5)	3-Star (0.8162)
ATH	Arkeem Byrd	Uncommitted	1/29/2016	3-Star (5.5)	3-Star (0.8144)

As you can see, there's an awful lot of potential left on the board for holes in the class to be filled. Also, keeping in mind that several of the higher-rated prospects are relatively unlikely to end up at Georgia Tech, the fact that they'll be taking an official visit at all means that the Jackets have a chance. So, what do those chances look like?

Positive Outlook

DB Romeo Finley

Finley has long been a Georgia Tech lean, and his only other scheduled official visit at the moment is to Clemson the weekend after his visit to the Flats. Don't be surprised to see him commit during (or shortly after) his official visit next weekend.

QB/ATH Jay Jones

The Yellow Jackets are a bit of a late addition to the recruitment of Jones after he spent several months surveying Auburn, Florida, and Mississippi State, but they may well end up with him anyways. Jones was on campus and in attendance for Georgia Tech's huge win over Florida State, and his only reported visit for January is to the Flats.

DT Brandon Adams

Georgia Tech badly needs to add a big body at defensive tackle in this recruiting class, and at upwards of 300 pounds, Adams would be a big get for the Jackets in multiple ways. He's been committed to Vanderbilt since July, but will make a final decision following his visit to Georgia Tech this weekend.

QB Lucas Johnson

While Johnson is a native of San Diego, distance may not be an issue (or could even be a plus) for Georgia Tech in his situation. In addition, the ability to play at the Power-5 level may be enough to entice Johnson away from his commitment.

Neutral Outlook

OL Donavaughn Campbell

The long-fabled brother of Georgia Tech QB Christian Campbell, Donavaughn has made several visits to Atlanta throughout the fall and seemed to enjoy his time on the Flats when there. Campbell has long been a commit to LSU, and kids from southern Louisiana with offers from LSU are nearly impossible to pull away. However, with his brother in Atlanta and the relative instability of the coaching staff in Baton Rouge, the Jackets may well have a shot at pulling off the recruiting coup of the decade were the younger Campbell to join his brother in Atlanta.

DE Jordan Woods

Another higher-rated prospect that Georgia Tech could very realistically end up signing, Woods will visit the Yellow Jackets before visits to West Virginia and Miami, in that order. Of those two, the Hurricanes pose the biggest threat to the Jackets for the Florida native, although the 'Canes already have three defensive ends committed. Woods has also officially visited Tennessee and South Florida, although neither of those appear to be major threats. Chances are that we won't find out about the final verdict from Woods until closer to Signing Day.

OL Jordan Johnson

Yes, the very same. Johnson, the long-time Georgia Tech commit who decided to decommit after a well-publicized disagreement between his family and the GTPD at the georgia game back in November, is lined up to make an official visit, and may end up on the Flats after all. It's unclear if anything has changed between him and the coaching staff, or what might have changed during that time, but Johnson is undoubtedly a talented football player who could help out the Yellow Jackets' offensive line immensely.

QB/ATH Deshaunte Jones

The Cincinnati native would appear to be something of a backup plan for Georgia Tech, in case they don't get one of the quarterbacks listed above. Most of Jones' reported offers are from non-Power-5 schools, and it may be difficult to pull him away from more local suitors Cincinnati and Louisville.

Negative Outlook

ATH Demetris Robertson

The consensus five-star prospect would be the biggest signing in Georgia Tech's history. His pending visit to the Flats is a good thing, but there are thought to be multiple programs ahead of the Jackets on Robertson's list, including Stanford. Don't hold your breath -- this one's probably just a pipe dream.

DT Michail Carter

Although he's still in play to a degree, Georgia Tech is up against some awfully tough competition. His visit is sandwiched in between visits to Clemson and georgia, although each program does have multiple highly-rated commitments at the same position already. Although signing him would be a major recruiting win for the Yellow Jackets and it's possible that they do so, don't get your hopes up for this one just yet.

CB Baylen Buchanan

Even through a long commitment to Louisville, the Jackets continued to recruit Buchanan -- son of the legendary Falcons CB Ray Buchanan. When he renounced that commitment, Georgia Tech had its window open. Since then, Buchanan committed to Tennessee and received an offer from Ohio State. He's still reportedly due to visit Georgia Tech, but the chances of even that happening might be slim at this point.

ATH Arkeem Byrd

One of this year's late bloomers, Byrd added an offer in early December from Georgia Tech, and has since added offers from Tennessee and Louisville. The Volunteers are thought to be the leaders for Byrd, who can play on either side of the ball and would fit the "Defensive Back/A-Back"-type of athlete that the Jackets will look to add before Signing Day.

What's Next?

From a recruiting standpoint, it's pretty tough to say. The month of January tends to be fairly crazy with regards to recruiting, and the major coaching carousel last month only figures to intensify the nonsense. I can almost guarantee that there will be names in play beyond those listed above, but only time will tell who that might be.

What I can promise you, though, is that FTRS will be covering this final month of recruiting very closely. We'll be updating the big board as recruits move in and out of the picture and posting updates from the official visits to come. Keep your browsers tuned here during the lead up to National Signing Day for any and all commitments, news, and developments!