College Football Classic: Who Are The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets?

By Simon Carroll

College Football returns to Ireland on Saturday for the ninth time, as Georgia Tech takes on Florida State. The Aer Lingus College Football Classic brings two teams to the Aviva Stadium to kick off the season – and The Touchdown will be there relaying all the action as it happens. As we build up to the event, Simon Carroll takes a look at the two ACC programs going to battle in Dublin – beginning with The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:

The Georgia Institute of Technology: A History

Established in 1885 as ‘The Georgia School of Technology’, Georgia Tech has grown into a highly respected seat of learning both in the United States and worldwide. Revered for its engineering programs (ranked 4th in the USA and 12th internationally), the institution has come a long way from its early roots, where for sixteen years it only offered a degree in one discipline. Today, Georgia Tech has 31 different departments spread between six different colleges, with satellite campuses in France, China and Singapore. Despite the diversification, the university is primarily known for it’s proficiency in engineering, science and technology.

Seven years after its creation, Georgia Tech fielded its first football team in a 12-6 loss to Mercer. But it was, interestingly enough, the year before in 1891 where the team adopted their famous colours of ‘Old Gold (sometimes called ‘Tech Gold’) and White’ – after a group of Tech students were invited to Auburn to cheer on the Tigers against the University of Georgia. Old Gold was actually a colour their in-state rival Bulldogs had recently discarded; the Tech students all decided to wear matching white and gold clothes for the trip in an attempt to insult and upset their neighbours, and it was there that the original ‘Yellow Jackets’ were born.

The new nickname was wholly adopted, with a wasp first introduced onto an alternative logo to the standard ‘GT’ in 1938. On the back of that, plush mascot ‘Buzz’ was welcomed to the family in 1972 and has entertained fans on the sidelines – and sometimes on the field when he’s being really mischievous. But the primary tradition of the Georgia Tech football team – and one that endures to this day – is of course the ‘Ramblin’ Reck’, a 1930 Ford Model A Sports Coupe that leads the football team onto the field at every home game.

A Football Program With Tradition

Georgia Tech are probably considered Georgia’s ‘noisy neighbours’ by most modern-day casual college football fans – a team that lives in the shadow of the dominant Bulldogs from Athens. But history tells a different story – one of a football program steeped in success throughout the twentieth century. This is a school with no less than four claimed national titles – the last coming in 1990 – and could theoretically lay claim to another three. They have 16 conference titles to their name too – including three since they joined the ACC. Perhaps more impressively, they won the SEC five times in the space of fourteen seasons, before switching to the conference in which they now reside.

The Yellow Jackets have also had some of the biggest names in the game leading their football team. Stop me when you haven’t heard of one of these; Bobby Dodd, Bud Carson, William Alexander, Chan Gailey, Bobby Ross, George O’Leary, and of course John Heisman – who the most prestigious prize in college football is named after. And they’ve presided over some serious talent too – NFL standouts such as Derrick Morgan, Shaq Mason, Michael Johnson, Maxie Baughan, Keith Brooking, Par Swilling, Billy Shaw and of course Calvin Johnson have all donned the famous gold and white and graced Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Georgia Tech aren’t an FBS afterthought; they’ve contributed richly to the great tapestry of college football history.

A Sleeping Giant?

Despite their past successes, it’s fair to say that Georgia Tech have not maintained their status amongst college football’s elite. In the 33 seasons since their last national title, the Yellow Jackets have won the ACC just twice, appearing in four other conference title games. They’ve only been ranked eight times, their highest placing being #8 back in 2014 when they won the Orange Bowl. Outside of that they have only tasted victory in a bowl game seven times in that period – not totally irrelevant in the wider pantheon of FBS football, but certainly not competing with the likes of Florida State and Clemson in their own conference.

This gradual decline towards mediocrity isn’t only surprising considering their history, it’s also evidence that Tech haven’t been able to protect their ultra-fertile recruiting turf – Atlanta is one of the hotbeds of high school football talent, but in recent years you’ve seen the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Florida State make inroads. With all those programs making National Championship games since 2000, perhaps it’s a vicious cycle – the best want to play for the best, and that’s a level Georgia Tech have fallen away from.

Things hit a low point under the tutelage of Geoff Collins, who won just ten games over a four year spell (2019-2022), never once finishing with a better win total than three in any campaign. But things are looking up under third-year HC Brent Key, who has won more games than his predecessor in half the time. Could he be the one to take Tech back to previous heights?

Georgia Tech: A 2024 Outlook

Key courted some attention in this offseason’s coaching merry-go-round, with his name floated for various vacancies. That’s a testament to the quick turnaround he’s presided over in Atlanta, culminating in a bowl win and winning season in 2023. Considering he’s at his Alma Mater, it would have had to have been a hell of an offer to pull him away from Georgia Tech, and so it proved – Key returns for year three of the rebuild, and it seems he’s making his mark on the recruiting trail…

The foundations for future success for the Yellow Jackets look like they’re being set. A former o-lineman himself, Key has already secured commitments from 5-star tackle Josh Petty and 4-star guard Justin Hasenhuetl, both from in-state. Currently ranked #20 for the class of 2025, it’s encouraging to see Tech assert themselves in recruiting – particularly within the Peach State.

However, those progressions won’t make 2024 any easier. Kicking off the season against Florida State in Dublin is a tough season opener – not to mention hosting both Notre Dame and Miami, with the rivalry trip to the Bulldogs to round out the year. In fact, 11 of the 12 teams they face this season made it to a bowl game in 2023. That’s a grueling schedule no matter how you slice it – if Tech are to be playing in the postseason again, they’re going to have to do it the hard way.

What they do have to lean on is an explosive offense. Coordinator Buster Faulkner enters year two after overseeing a big improvement last term, no doubt aided by the transfer addition of QB Haynes King, who returns. King, along with a strong run game and stout o-line, give the Yellow Jackets a fighting chance in every game. They’ll need to be a lot better on defense, and have moved on from Kevin Sherrer in favour of Tyler Santucci, who has had success coaching both Texas A&M and Duke’s defenses the last two years.

Georgia Tech are a feisty team. A fun team. And definitely have the power to spring a surprise. Whether they have enough to shock Florida State is another question, but what better time and place to do it than at the Aviva Stadium in Week 0?

Mock Draft

SIMON CARROLL

Lead Writer, Head Of Content

PREVIOUSLY THE FOUNDER OF NFL DRAFT UK, SIMON HAS BEEN COVERING COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE NFL DRAFT SINCE 2009. BASED IN MANCHESTER, SIMON IS ALSO CO-CREATOR & WEEKLY GUEST OF THE COLLAPSING POCKET PODCAST.

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