Georgia Tech Football: 3 Biggest Takeaways from Depth Chart Ahead of Week 1

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets released their depth chart for their opening game against the Colorado Buffaloes in Week 1. The depth chart gave Georgia Tech fans a look at how the Yellow Jackets are going to game plan against Colorado. We’ll highlight the biggest takeaways for the Yellow Jackets as they near their 2026 debut.

Georgia Tech Football: Biggest Takeaways from Depth Chart vs. Colorado Buffaloes

Alberto Mendoza has been named the starter for a while, with Grady Adamson earning the backup spot. However, there were a few interesting wrinkles involved in the depth chart. Three running backs were listed as starters (Justice Haynes, Malachi Hosley, Trelain Maddox). Joseph Ionata was listed as a starting guard instead of the starting center, and the edge group is going to see a lot of rotation.

Georgia Tech Not Tipping Hand on O-Line

There are a few things to take with a grain of salt, and it comes with the offensive line. Joseph Ionata is probably not going to be the starter at guard: he was brought in to be the starting center. However, that could be a ploy for Key to hide who the starting right guard and right tackle are, since Jameson Riggs also didn’t play center last season.

Ionata, a transfer from Alabama, was brought in to be the center of the team. Key has praised his abilities time and time again in practices.

“I’ve been really pleased with Joe Ionata,” said Coach Key. “Man, I’ve been pleased with him. You know, he’s got a sense of calmness, but also the ability to lead.”

With all of the other positions on the line seemingly set in stone since June, it could just make sense to bring Ionata to center and Riggs to guard, but Key might have something else in store. He’s spoken about the depth of this offensive line before.

“I’ve never had 10. I’ve never had 10 [players] that are game-ready. Never. Eight’s the max I’ve ever been able to have.”

Now, he believes he’s “finally at that point” where he has enough linemen to trust in critical situations. That kind of depth can come in handy Thursday.

Plenty of Options in the Backfield

Georgia Tech listed three running backs as starters on their depth chart: Justice Haynes, Malachi Hosley, and Trelain Maddox. That doesn’t mean they’re all going to be on the field at the same time, or even that they’ll get the same amount of carries.

However, it’s another indication that feels like Coach Key isn’t showing his full hand. By listing them all, it’s unknown how he’s going to use all of them. The fact that he has these three at his disposal is great.

Haynes is my pick to get the line share of carries, considering he came off of an 857-yard, 10-touchdown campaign. However, Malachi Hosley has shown to be a capable starter, taking more carries with Jamal Haynes dealing with injuries last season. Maddox has had a great camp after dealing with nagging injuries last season.

Georgia Tech has a lot of great running backs, but we won’t know until the season starts how Key uses them. He might give Hosley and Haynes a similar amount of carries to avoid burning out either starter. Maybe he gives more carries to other backs like Chad Alexander, Shane Marshall, and J.P. Powell. It appears with him listing three starters, he’s probably going to give them the bulk of carries, but it will be an interesting development like the offensive line.

Plenty of Defensive Line Rotation

The Yellow Jackets listed eight edge rushers and four interior defensive linemen as starters. That once again could be Key hiding his hand, but that could also mean another thing: rotation.

I’ve mentioned it before in another article, but the Yellow Jackets have a lot of depth on their defensive line.

“I think it’s a unique mix,” said defensive line coach Jess Simpson about the defensive line room in his media availability. “There’s some size and girth, some depth that we haven’t had. There’s some twitch with some young guys and some movement ability. So I think what I like about this room, number one, is the depth.”

Simpson is all for rotating this group as well.

“I believe this man, when guys are fresh, their burst looks good and they play really, really fast,” said Simpson. “If I can get a room that’s four or five, six deep, I’m going to fight like crazy to play all those guys and have them fresh.”

That could be what’s in store. Georgia Tech could come out with Noah Carter alongside Jordan Walker, but then they throw another pitch at you with Taje McCoy, Jordan Boyd or A.J. Hoffler. A lot of defensive linemen will get their fair share of snaps in the game.