2019 ACC Football Recruiting Breakdown: Georgia Tech

On November 28th, 2018, Georgia Tech announced that long time football coach Paul Johnson was retiring. It was one of the best parts of the 2018 football season for Virginia Tech.

Johnson's Yellow Jackets had won three consecutive contests against the Hokies with the "Triple Option" (it's not a triple option, it's a wishbone option thingy from hell), and Bud Foster, quite frankly, had no clue how to stop it.

Now, in comes former Temple coach Geoff Collins with a playbook from the 21st century. He's in one of the best areas for high school football in the country, at a program that has had success in the past, albeit limited in recent years. It'll be a tough climb to the top, but GT is a sleeping giant that might have just hit the snooze button for the last time...

2019 Class:
ACC Rank: 9
Top Recruit: Jamious Griffin, RB, Rome GA (0.8917)
At 5'10" 205lbs, Griffin can be the prototypical two-down back. He can run inside, run outside, catch out of the backfield, and showed decent blocking. He benefitted greatly in high school from a dominant offensive line, but he can make guys miss and get yards after contact. But, Griffin's decision to become a Yellow Jacket goes beyon the football field. He comes from one of the premier powerhouse programs in north Georgia (Rome HS). The formula is simple for the new GT staff. Get guys from the ATL area to sign, and they follow each other.

Biggest Need: WR/QB
This is one of those hindsight things. If you're going to run any sort of spread offense, you need:
A) 5-6 solid, dependable receivers. At least.
B) Someone to throw the football.

GT picked up Marquezz Ezzard (0.8939) from Miami via the Portal, but he'll sit out a year.
In the 2019 class, they signed 3-stars Kalani Norris (0.8709), Ahmarean Brown (0.8709), Zach Owens (0.8581), and Nazir Burnett (0.8457). At this point for Geoff Collins, it's about bringing fresh guys in to learn the system.
As far as the QB situation, it looks like Lucas Johnson is the guy who will take the first snap against Clemson on August 29th. No QB's were signed for the 2019 class.

Most Exciting Recruit: Antonneous Clayton, DE, Vienna GA (0.9823)
Georgia Tech grabbed Clayton from the Portal this offseason. Clayton showed promise at Florida, but injuries, illness, and a loaded defense made it tough for him to break through. As far as I can tell, he'll be able to play in the fall. He'll add instant talent to a defense that, for the most part, struggled last season. Whether he can live up to potential is to be seen, but GT is basically adding a 5-star talent that has been in a college weight room for 4 years.

Early Contributor: Jordan Huff, CB, Madison GA (0.8671)
Listed as a 6'2" "Athlete" by 247, Huff has worked as a corner in GT's spring practices. There's still an open spot at the corner position, and Huff is right in the battle for it.
Huff was a surprise pickup for the Yellow Jackets, with programs like Tennessee and Michigan State being the favorites.

Huff is also an example of one of the major shortfalls in grading recruits. He's just a big, really fast guy. If he primarily works at corner in high school (mostly played WR), he'd be a 4-star.

Sam's Grade: B
Let's face it. Georgia Tech needed to find a way to grab a quarterback, either in the transfer portal or as a late signee. It's gonna be tough for this offense to run in year 1, and it might even be ugly. But, they added a lot of talent to this roster. They're also winning at the transfer portal game (minus the quarterback position). CB Myles Simms (from Michigan) was a major pickup. He'll be sitting a year. Overall, the Rambling Wreck is slowly making it's way to a Coastal contender a couple years down the line.