As always I like to look back at former Georgia Tech players and see how they are doing. I'm going to focus on the kids who left the program for this past offseason only. We are pretty far removed for the Jordan Yates, Jared Ivey, and Jamious Griffin types of the world playing that extra covid seasons at other schools.
GREAT
DT- D'Quan Douse (Michigan State) Douse wanted a change of scenery for his final year after graduating from GT and got a nice offer to go to Michigan State. He has been the Spartans starting DT like he was here and is playing pretty well 71.8 PFF score overall and has one sack. GT basically traded two years of Jordan van den Berg for one of Douse so I think that worked out better for GT.
Edge- Kyle Kennard (South Carolina) thanks to outbidding a lot of teams allegedly, South Carolina landed Kyle Kennard way above market value. He has been the same guy who makes plays for both teams there with two critical mistakes that helped the Cocks lose to LSU and some highlights as well. He has equaled his sack total from a year ago 5.5 in just four games with a PFF of 75.3 but he was also the most penalized DL in the country with 4 in the LSU game already. Kennard had six last year that wiped out multiple sacks and were drive-killers. He has to figure out how to avoid those mental lapses because he has NFL potential.
S- Kenyatta Watson II (Georgia State) Kenyatta has played well enough at Georgia State, I kind of thought he might be an All-Sun Belt type dude moving down to that level but so far that hasn't been the case. He has started two of three games with a 79.2 PFF score in 130 snaps. Hopefully, he can keep it up.
GOOD
S- Sirad Bryant (UAB) Bryant was a headhunter who struggled to play within the confines of the defense and didn't get to play a lot because of that here. He is playing a lot with one start at UAB and a PFF of 65.5 and 26 tackles playing a box SS for the Blazers. He is a guy who is from a different era IMO and would've been a helluva safety back in the 80s/90s. GT tried him at LB and he couldn't figure that out either so he made the right choice to move down a level.
Edge- Noah Collins (Arkansas State) Collins was Kyle Kennard and Kyle Harris's backup last year here, and he is still in a backup role in Jonesboro. However, he has one sack and a 66.9 PFF score in 71 snaps in limited action off the bench for the Red Wolves.
WR- Juju Lewis (FIU) He wasn't in the mix here, but has become a solid backup WR for a bad FIU team. He has 5 catches for 93 yards and two TDs this season in 72 snaps over four games off the bench.
DT- Etinosa Reuben (UMass) The former Clemson player was not very good here and he moved down essentially two levels to fringe FBS at UMass and he is playing well off the bench for the Minutemen with 7 tackles in 84 snaps and a PFF just under 80. He finally found the right level for himself.
NB- K.J. Wallace (UCLA) Like Douse, he did his time at GT/ND and wanted to cash in for a fun SR adventure opting to go to the West Coast. Wallace has been solid enough 61.1 PFF in three games starting at nickel for the Bruins. He has 12 tackles and 4 passes defended.
OKAY
DE- Jack Barton (UConn) transferred in this winter from Furman and left after not making the two-deep at DE for UConn. He has started all 4 games, 9 tackles, He has a couple of QB pressures and hurries, but a PFF score of just 53.0 this season.
WR- James BlackStrain (Missouri State) he moved down to the FCS and has stayed healthy but is a backup WR, he has 6 catches for 81 yards this season in just 89 snaps over four games. His PFF score is 60.7.
OT- Wing Green (Campbell) Green stayed and finished up his degree at Tech not playing football last year before transferring to Campbell and he is a backup OL playing decent snaps with a 58.9 PFF in the FCS.
LB- Ashton Heflin (Marshall) Heflin was a victim of staff changes and Kevin Sherrer wasn't a big fan and they wanted to get bigger at LB so he left for Marshall where he is playing well in a backup role with a high PFF 84.2 in just 24 snaps with his primary role similar to GT on special teams.
LB- Tyson Meiguez (Murray State) Meiguez was hampered by injuries his whole time here impacting his development. He is starting for the Racers in the FCS and playing well 57.3 PFF in just under 200 snaps as a starting LB.
CB- Eric Reed Jr. (Southern University) he is another guy who had all the skills, but couldn't put all together. He is playing well at Southern University in the FCS with a 67.1 PFF in 184 snaps as a starting CB.
NOT PLAYING MUCH
OL- Gabe Fortson (Tulane) Fortson was the odd man out in the Harrison Moore/Tana Tupuola-Alo battle for center spots in the spring behind Weston Franklin and he didn't fit in at guard either so he opted to transfer to Tulane. He has played 11 snaps this year as a backup for the Green Wave in a blowout win against Southeast Louisiana.
OL- Tyler Gibson (Charlotte)- Tyler lost his backup OT job last season and barely played after showing some potential as a true freshman. He isn't starting at Charlotte who are terrible so that is a bad sign for a guy in his third year of college. He has played 16 snaps on a team that is getting blown out regularly.
QB- Zach Gibson (Ga State) Zach Gibson had a nice redemption arc in the 2022 season after struggling as the starter to help beat UNC and hanging with UGA in his last two games of real action. He was QB3 a year ago behind Haynes King and Zach Pyron and he went to State hoping to start, but couldn't beat out Pitt transfer Christian Veilleux. His lone snap this season came against GT when Veiileux had to leave the game for a play.
DE- Eddie Kelly (Missouri) unfortunately I called this one, Eddie allegedly got lured into the portal by some teams looking for DE depth and is second-string at Mizzou now but is getting paid well. He has just six tackles this season in 70 snaps. He would likely be a potential starter here.
OL- Jakiah Leftwich (UNC) Leftwich left the Tech program looking for a bigger role after starting some games and being the backup right G/T last year. He has played just 58 snaps this year at UNC with a 52.3 PFF score at LT and RT.
BAD
OL- Elias Cloy (Alabama A&M) this was a pretty quick parting of ways as he didn't fit into GT's future plans and ended up down two levels. He is starting but not playing well as the center for the Bulldogs with a 35.8 PFF score through two games.
Edge- Ezra Odinjor (UAB) Odinjor is one of the backup pass rushers for the Blazers and is playing a lot but has not been very good. He has six tackles and a PFF of 42.6 in 68 snaps.
DT- Ayo Tifase (Charlotte) Came to GT from FSU with high hopes and he did not last six months on the Flats before bailing to Charlotte. He has played only 12 snaps this season in one game for the 49ers who are desperate for talent.
NOT PLAYING
S/WR- Justin Brown (WKU) He left Miss State to transfer to GT and then hit the portal again this offseason ended up at WKU where he has not played yet this season.
DT- Bryston Dixon (South Alabama) He was a late take and one that did not make a ton of snaps once he got on campus and was compared to other players on the team so he left. He hasn't played yet for the jaguars.
CB- Steven Jones Jr. (Murray State) Jones is a big CB who couldn't crack the Jackets rotation and left for the FCS.
DE- Malcolm Pugh (LaTech) The young DE hasn't played yet for the Bulldogs.
OL- Paul Tchio (UMass) the former Clemson and GT OL hasn't played yet for the Minutemen.
INJURED
CB- Kenan Johnson (Utah) Kenan had some major non-football personal things that impacted his time at Georgia Tech and hopefully he is in a better mental place now in Salt Lake City, but unfortunately for him he got hurt in the open game of the season for the Utes and played just 13 snaps as a starting corner before going down for the year with a lower leg injury.
GREAT
DT- D'Quan Douse (Michigan State) Douse wanted a change of scenery for his final year after graduating from GT and got a nice offer to go to Michigan State. He has been the Spartans starting DT like he was here and is playing pretty well 71.8 PFF score overall and has one sack. GT basically traded two years of Jordan van den Berg for one of Douse so I think that worked out better for GT.
Edge- Kyle Kennard (South Carolina) thanks to outbidding a lot of teams allegedly, South Carolina landed Kyle Kennard way above market value. He has been the same guy who makes plays for both teams there with two critical mistakes that helped the Cocks lose to LSU and some highlights as well. He has equaled his sack total from a year ago 5.5 in just four games with a PFF of 75.3 but he was also the most penalized DL in the country with 4 in the LSU game already. Kennard had six last year that wiped out multiple sacks and were drive-killers. He has to figure out how to avoid those mental lapses because he has NFL potential.
S- Kenyatta Watson II (Georgia State) Kenyatta has played well enough at Georgia State, I kind of thought he might be an All-Sun Belt type dude moving down to that level but so far that hasn't been the case. He has started two of three games with a 79.2 PFF score in 130 snaps. Hopefully, he can keep it up.
GOOD
S- Sirad Bryant (UAB) Bryant was a headhunter who struggled to play within the confines of the defense and didn't get to play a lot because of that here. He is playing a lot with one start at UAB and a PFF of 65.5 and 26 tackles playing a box SS for the Blazers. He is a guy who is from a different era IMO and would've been a helluva safety back in the 80s/90s. GT tried him at LB and he couldn't figure that out either so he made the right choice to move down a level.
Edge- Noah Collins (Arkansas State) Collins was Kyle Kennard and Kyle Harris's backup last year here, and he is still in a backup role in Jonesboro. However, he has one sack and a 66.9 PFF score in 71 snaps in limited action off the bench for the Red Wolves.
WR- Juju Lewis (FIU) He wasn't in the mix here, but has become a solid backup WR for a bad FIU team. He has 5 catches for 93 yards and two TDs this season in 72 snaps over four games off the bench.
DT- Etinosa Reuben (UMass) The former Clemson player was not very good here and he moved down essentially two levels to fringe FBS at UMass and he is playing well off the bench for the Minutemen with 7 tackles in 84 snaps and a PFF just under 80. He finally found the right level for himself.
NB- K.J. Wallace (UCLA) Like Douse, he did his time at GT/ND and wanted to cash in for a fun SR adventure opting to go to the West Coast. Wallace has been solid enough 61.1 PFF in three games starting at nickel for the Bruins. He has 12 tackles and 4 passes defended.
OKAY
DE- Jack Barton (UConn) transferred in this winter from Furman and left after not making the two-deep at DE for UConn. He has started all 4 games, 9 tackles, He has a couple of QB pressures and hurries, but a PFF score of just 53.0 this season.
WR- James BlackStrain (Missouri State) he moved down to the FCS and has stayed healthy but is a backup WR, he has 6 catches for 81 yards this season in just 89 snaps over four games. His PFF score is 60.7.
OT- Wing Green (Campbell) Green stayed and finished up his degree at Tech not playing football last year before transferring to Campbell and he is a backup OL playing decent snaps with a 58.9 PFF in the FCS.
LB- Ashton Heflin (Marshall) Heflin was a victim of staff changes and Kevin Sherrer wasn't a big fan and they wanted to get bigger at LB so he left for Marshall where he is playing well in a backup role with a high PFF 84.2 in just 24 snaps with his primary role similar to GT on special teams.
LB- Tyson Meiguez (Murray State) Meiguez was hampered by injuries his whole time here impacting his development. He is starting for the Racers in the FCS and playing well 57.3 PFF in just under 200 snaps as a starting LB.
CB- Eric Reed Jr. (Southern University) he is another guy who had all the skills, but couldn't put all together. He is playing well at Southern University in the FCS with a 67.1 PFF in 184 snaps as a starting CB.
NOT PLAYING MUCH
OL- Gabe Fortson (Tulane) Fortson was the odd man out in the Harrison Moore/Tana Tupuola-Alo battle for center spots in the spring behind Weston Franklin and he didn't fit in at guard either so he opted to transfer to Tulane. He has played 11 snaps this year as a backup for the Green Wave in a blowout win against Southeast Louisiana.
OL- Tyler Gibson (Charlotte)- Tyler lost his backup OT job last season and barely played after showing some potential as a true freshman. He isn't starting at Charlotte who are terrible so that is a bad sign for a guy in his third year of college. He has played 16 snaps on a team that is getting blown out regularly.
QB- Zach Gibson (Ga State) Zach Gibson had a nice redemption arc in the 2022 season after struggling as the starter to help beat UNC and hanging with UGA in his last two games of real action. He was QB3 a year ago behind Haynes King and Zach Pyron and he went to State hoping to start, but couldn't beat out Pitt transfer Christian Veilleux. His lone snap this season came against GT when Veiileux had to leave the game for a play.
DE- Eddie Kelly (Missouri) unfortunately I called this one, Eddie allegedly got lured into the portal by some teams looking for DE depth and is second-string at Mizzou now but is getting paid well. He has just six tackles this season in 70 snaps. He would likely be a potential starter here.
OL- Jakiah Leftwich (UNC) Leftwich left the Tech program looking for a bigger role after starting some games and being the backup right G/T last year. He has played just 58 snaps this year at UNC with a 52.3 PFF score at LT and RT.
BAD
OL- Elias Cloy (Alabama A&M) this was a pretty quick parting of ways as he didn't fit into GT's future plans and ended up down two levels. He is starting but not playing well as the center for the Bulldogs with a 35.8 PFF score through two games.
Edge- Ezra Odinjor (UAB) Odinjor is one of the backup pass rushers for the Blazers and is playing a lot but has not been very good. He has six tackles and a PFF of 42.6 in 68 snaps.
DT- Ayo Tifase (Charlotte) Came to GT from FSU with high hopes and he did not last six months on the Flats before bailing to Charlotte. He has played only 12 snaps this season in one game for the 49ers who are desperate for talent.
NOT PLAYING
S/WR- Justin Brown (WKU) He left Miss State to transfer to GT and then hit the portal again this offseason ended up at WKU where he has not played yet this season.
DT- Bryston Dixon (South Alabama) He was a late take and one that did not make a ton of snaps once he got on campus and was compared to other players on the team so he left. He hasn't played yet for the jaguars.
CB- Steven Jones Jr. (Murray State) Jones is a big CB who couldn't crack the Jackets rotation and left for the FCS.
DE- Malcolm Pugh (LaTech) The young DE hasn't played yet for the Bulldogs.
OL- Paul Tchio (UMass) the former Clemson and GT OL hasn't played yet for the Minutemen.
INJURED
CB- Kenan Johnson (Utah) Kenan had some major non-football personal things that impacted his time at Georgia Tech and hopefully he is in a better mental place now in Salt Lake City, but unfortunately for him he got hurt in the open game of the season for the Utes and played just 13 snaps as a starting corner before going down for the year with a lower leg injury.
