Georgia Tech Football: The State of the 2024 Recruiting Class

Now that he is firmly in his first full season as the head coach, Brent Key is directly responsible for all recruiting efforts. Let’s dive in and look at how he’s doing so far.

Class Overview

This is an updated version of the table that I used on Wednesday, with the Class of 2024 data added. The first thing that jumps out to me is that the concern I mentioned on Wednesday about an over-reliance on the transfer portal probably no longer needs to be a concern. The football season hasn’t even started yet, and Tech already has 26 committed high school seniors. The best way to build the team is by bringing in these types of players and developing them.

In general, I think Key has done a great job of putting together his first class. It’s still early, so I don’t put a lot of stake in the Class Rankings, but the average ratings seem really promising, especially the 247 Sports Composite. It’s not just the rating that’s high, either. Consistently, the players in this class are rated highly. There is a higher percentage of players rated at 0.8600 or better in this class (69.23%) than in any other class listed aside from the 2021 class (81.25%). The 2020 class is the only class to have as many players rated at 0.9000 or better (3).

I find it interesting that the Rivals ratings are not as kind to this class, but there’s also a reason why the Rivals ratings aren’t the end-all, be-all of recruiting rankings. Rankings and ratings also don’t directly correlate to how successful a team can be. You can look at that table above and tell that. Those classes had a lot of 3-win seasons. But good recruiting can be used to moderately predict success. For instance, you don’t see teams like UGA and Alabama recruiting classes in the 10-15 range.

Another good example of this is Clemson. I don’t know their average ranking over the last several years, but they are generally seen as a successful recruiting team. Yet, Clemson has started to fall off a bit, in terms of in-season success. And I think that falls solely on the developmental abilities of the coaching staff. Anyway, that’s an article for another day. The point I’m trying to get at is that Tech’s coaches are getting talent, yes, but they will need to develop that talent once it arrives on campus in order to determine how successful the team can be.

Positional Review

Now, I want to take a closer look at each position group and the players that Tech has recruited to come join the team. These players will be listed in their position group in alphabetical order by last name. Since there are so many, I’m just going to add bulleted thoughts under each one.

Quarterback

Graham Knowles

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8689 | On3 Industry: 86.10 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/18

• Good ball placement/touch
• A bit awkward as a runner, but at his size, he can knock some guys over. I’m not sure how that will translate to the next level, though.
• Didn’t seem to go through progressions, just stared down the first receiver
• Tough to gauge pocket presence because his highlights show him in a clean pocket most of the time. The few times the pocket did collapse, he did a good job of getting rid of the ball.

Aaron Philo

Rivals: 5.7 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8728 | On3 Industry: 87.24 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 5/11

• Impressive numbers (70% completion, 54 TDs, 4598 passing yards), but in 1-A Private
• First play: pocket broke down, good awareness to get out and still get the ball down field
• The ball flies out of his hand more than Knowles
• Throwing motion is awkward at times. Sometimes it’s long, sometimes the angle is weird.
• Not going to outrun many, but he has good vision in the passing and running game
• Doesn’t just throw to his first read

Running Back

Khamani Alexander

Rivals: 5.5 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8489 | On3 Industry: 82.98 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/24

• Bounces off defenders
• Doesn’t have runaway speed, but has a good burst through the hole
• Good moves in space

Jaedon Matthews

Rivals: 5.5 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8625 | On3 Industry: 85.27 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/17

• Good speed/acceleration. Several of the highlights show him exploding through a hole that should be closing up
• Shifty, but can also break through weak arm tackles

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Isiah Canion (WR)

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.9219 | On3 Industry: 90.14 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 7/3

• Also plays QB and DB
• Can use his size to block
• Tough to gauge his receiving skills because most of his highlights are at QB
• Good speed, long arms, but not a lot of contested catches in the highlight film

Luke Harpring (TE)

Rivals: 5.5 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8592 | On3 Industry: 85.09 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/18

• Listed as a WR in high school, not TE
• Offensive highlights start at 3:20
• Can go up and make contested catches and hold onto the ball
• Not a guy that’s going down without being wrapped up
• Simple route tree

Trey Horne (WR)

Rivals: 5.7 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8769 | On3 Industry: 87.33 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/6

• Good vision to run through chaos
• Good speed
• Ran routes that required his speed or shiftiness, not a lot of getting off of defenders

David Prince (TE)

Rivals: 5.5 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8492 | On3 Industry: 83.69 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/13

• On the slower side
• Strong hands, can catch away from his body
• Wish he was a little tougher to bring down

Lane Wadle (TE)

Rivals: 5.4 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8304 | On3 Industry: 83.05 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 7/29

• On the slower side, but good hands
• Stays on one block too long

Koby Young (WR)

Rivals: 5.8 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8867 | On3 Industry: 88.32 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/20

• Good speed
• Can shake off weak arm tackles and take a couple hits

Offensive Line

Santana Alo-Tupuola

Rivals: 5.5 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8533 | On3 Industry: 84.13 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 3/19

• Very quick off the snap
• Drives defenders in run blocking, but can get too focused on one defender

Jordan Floyd

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8767 | On3 Industry: 86.78 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/16

• Quick feet
• Long arms
• Will sometimes get off one defender to keep the play going

Jameson Riggs

Rivals: 5.7 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8793 | On3 Industry: 88.21 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 7/27

• Can move from one block to another
• Plays inside and outside
• Surprisingly quick for an OL

Defensive End

Jordan Boyd

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8739 | On3 Industry: 87.13 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 3/19

• 10 sacks and 23 TFL is a lot. Also 23 QB hits.
• Mainly using speed and shiftiness in pass rushing, but he’s able to change directions quickly
• Good eyes in the backfield

William Depaepe

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8619 | On3 Industry: 85.72 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 5/15

• He has good speed, but doesn’t need it to get off blocks

Trashun Griffin

Rivals: 5.5 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8450 | On3 Industry: 83.89 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/25

• Good closing speed
• Does more than just speed rush, has the size to push blockers

CJ Jackson

Rivals: 5.8 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.9242 | On3 Industry: 91.67 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/25

• Developed pass-rushing moves
• Insane closing speed

Defensive Tackle

Marcus Downs

Rivals: 5.7 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8811 | On3 Industry: 88.12 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 8/5

• Violent inside pass rusher
• Gets off of blocks (even double teams) pretty well

Landen Marshall

Rivals: 5.7 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8669 | On3 Industry: 86.28 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/7

• Not as explosive as Downs, but able to get off blocks, especially on run plays
• Needs to work on wrapping up when tackling
• Good vision in the backfield

Linebacker

Tah’j Butler

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8500 | On3 Industry: 84.84 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 4/20

• Solid tackler
• Good vision on run plays
• Would like to see more in pass coverage

Demontrae Gaston

Rivals: 5.5 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8617 | On3 Industry: 84.39 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 4/1

• He hits hard! But I want to see him wrap up more often
• Very good pursuit and eye for the action

Secondary

Nehemiah Chandler

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8628 | On3 Industry: 85.64 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/18

• Has a nose for the ball
• Able to turn his hips quickly in man coverage
• Doesn’t always take the best angles in space

Trajen Greco

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8948 | On3 Industry: 88.21 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/26

• Bit of a ballhawk, but does he go for the interception too much?
• Tight man coverage

Trelain Maddox

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8689 | On3 Industry: 85.82 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 6/13

• Listed as an Athlete on every page, but Travares Tillman was his primary recruiter, so DB makes sense
• Needs to work on tackling skills, doesn’t wrap up

Christian Pritchett

Rivals: 5.6 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.8547 | On3 Industry: 84.59 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 7/10

• Really good in space (good pursuit, good angles, good closing speed)
• Seems fine in coverage as well

Troy Stevenson

Rivals: 5.8 | 247 Sports Composite: 0.9094 | On3 Industry: 90.34 | Hudl Link | Commitment Date: 7/9

• Great in man coverage
• Doesn’t let bigger receivers win the jump balls
• Great speed

Final Thoughts

On just about every player, the On3 Industry Rating seemed to find a bit of a middle ground between the Rivals and 247 Sports Composite ratings. I think that is very indicative of this class. There are certainly some really good players. A couple of guys that I walked away pretty impressed with are OL Jordan Floyd and DT Marcus Downs. It’s nice to see two big guys in the trenches who play as aggressively as these two do.

As the class is currently sitting at 26, I don’t see Key adding much more, at least in terms of high school guys. But that’s not to say that this is the class that will be signing in December. The high school season is just starting for these guys, so I’m interested to see how Key maneuvers that as bigger teams try to poach some of these guys. Some of them already had pretty impressive offer lists.

In order to keep this up, Key is going to have to win games, but if he can do that, I am starting to feel really good about his recruiting prowess. He’s done a pretty good job thus far in bringing these guys together. Now, he’s just got to land the plane come December.

How are you feeling about Key’s inaugural class?