THE FLATS – Georgia Tech place kicker Aidan Birr (Kennedale, Texas/Kennedale H.S.) and offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge (Royston, Ga./Franklin County H.S.) were both named to multiple midseason all-America teams this week. Birr was named second-team midseason all-America by the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated and Athlon, while Rutledge earned second-team honors from The Athletic and Athlon.
Birr is 12-for-13 on field goal attempts this season, with his only miss coming on a block of a 51-yard attempt in the third quarter of last Saturday’s game versus Virginia Tech. He became only the second Yellow Jacket since at least 1982 to make his first 12 field goal attempts of the season, and his 2.0 field goals made per game rank fifth nationally, while his .923 field goal percentage ranks 12th.
Most impressively, Birr’s 12 field goals include two in the waning seconds of games that led to Georgia Tech victories. His 55-yarder as time expired lifted the Jackets to a 24-21 win over then-No. 12 Clemson on Sept. 13, while his 33-yarder with two seconds remaining at Wake Forest sent the game to overtime knotted at 23-apiece (Tech would go on to win, 30-29, in OT). Making both kicks even more impressive is that they came in “Toro” situations – with the clock winding down and the Yellow Jackets having no timeouts.
Rutledge is the leader of an offensive front that has paved the way for Georgia Tech to rank 11th nationally in rushing offense (238.0 ypg), 13th in total offense (476.8 ypg) and tied for fourth with just three sacks allowed through six games. Tech’s right guard has allowed just one pressure and no sacks this season, and ranks among the nation’s top 35 guards in overall blocking, run blocking and pass blocking, according to Pro Football Focus.
With Rutledge leading the way, Georgia Tech’s offensive line was one of 24 named to the midseason honor roll for the 2025 Joe Moore Award, which is presented to the nation’s top offensive front.
Named first-team all-America by Sports Info Solutions in 2024, Rutledge is looking to become the first Yellow Jacket to be named an all-American in consecutive seasons since offensive lineman Omoregie Uzzi in 2011 and 2012.
Birr, Rutledge and the No. 12 Yellow Jackets (6-0, 3-0 ACC) put their unblemished record on the line this Saturday when they travels to Duke (4-2, 3-0 ACC) for a pivotal ACC matchup. Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
2025 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS
With a fanbase that has been reenergized by the Yellow Jackets’ success, attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field is up 24% over this time in 2024. Fans can still be a part of the excitement on The Flats, as tickets remain for the Yellow Jackets’ final two home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2025.
Oct. 25 vs. Syracuse (Homecoming) – Click HERE for tickets.
Nov. 22 vs. Pitt (Senior Day/Military Appreciation Day/Michael Isenhour Toy Drive-25th Anniversary) – Click HERE for tickets.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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