Inside The Chart: Seeing Red

Seeing “Red”: OL Keylan “Big Red” Rutledge has shown toughness both on and off the field for Georgia Tech

Inside The Chart | By Andy Demetra (The Voice of the Yellow Jackets)

He never intended for it to become part of his pregame routine. But as much of a nuisance as it can be, Keylan Rutledge at least expects it now.

The offensive lineman has always been susceptible to nosebleeds, but the problem seems to have worsened since coming to Georgia Tech. Sometime during warmups – usually whenever his helmet gets jostled – Rutledge will start to feel the blood leak out from his nostrils. A rivulet will run down his lip. A splotch or two may make its way onto his No. 77 jersey. Tech’s athletic trainers have come to expect it too, always prepared to plug his nose with gauze.

The man known as “Red” (or alternatively, “Big Red”) for his ginger mop of hair seems to have added another meaning to his nickname.

“When it bleeds, it bleeds pretty good,” the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder said. “A little blood never hurt nobody.”

That taste lets him know it’s time to go. These being offensive linemen, though, someone inevitably has to give him grief. Center Weston Franklin usually plays the role of provocateur.

“I’ve got to come off and take my helmet off or fix my helmet or whatever it may be. He’s like, ‘Ah, you’re soft. It’s just a little blood,’” Rutledge laughed.

Franklin says it with tongue planted firmly in cheek – or gauze planted firmly in nostril.  This isn’t a case of the wimpy kid in elementary school who gets chronic nosebleeds. Since arriving at Tech last January from Middle Tennessee, where he earned first-team all-Conference USA honors at right guard, the Royston, Ga., native has blended in seamlessly with the Yellow Jackets’ veteran offensive line. Even for a position group that grades on a steep curve for nastiness, the junior has drawn his share of admirers.

“He’s old school. He’s throwback. And toughness is what matters on the O-line,” said head coach Brent Key.

“That level of physicality he brings, that just takes our offense to another level,” added right tackle Jordan Williams.

“We already knew he was one of us from the first day. He’s got the same sense of humor, the same appetite, and that’s pretty much all you need for the O-line.”

And lest anyone think he’s just a brute force, mastodon offensive lineman, he’s quick to point out that Zach Pyron isn’t the only red-headed quarterback on the Georgia Tech roster. Rutledge had a wildcat package as a junior and senior at Franklin County High School. Mixed among clips of him blocking defenders 20 yards downfield, his high school highlight tape includes an impressive 75-yard touchdown heave. Rutledge has jokingly talked with offensive coordinators Buster Faulkner and Chris Weinke about lining him up under center.

“I’ve had to butter up Coach Faulkner a couple times – ‘Hey, you know the deal,’” he said.

He’ll happily settle for protecting his own quarterback instead. Entering Georgia Tech’s matchup with 5-0 Duke at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (8 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network), the Yellow Jackets are the only Power-4 team in the country that has yet to allow a sack. Contrast that with two years ago, when the Yellow Jackets languished near the bottom nationally in that category.

Versatility was Rutledge’s hallmark in high school, though it was also nearly his undoing on the recruiting trail. He played all over the field at his Class 3-A school 80 miles northeast of Atlanta, lining up at tight end, defensive tackle and offensive line in addition to the occasional snaps at quarterback. He was twice named all-state in basketball, finishing with 1,000 career points and rebounds. He also won a state title in the shot put.

Yet when it came time to evaluate Rutledge, coaches had a hard time projecting his position at the next level. It’s a familiar dilemma for small-school standouts: as the best athletes, they often play all over the field. But that versatility can lead to some murkiness from recruiters.

“They knew I was physical and I was a really good athlete for my size. It’s a business, right? You bring a guy in and he might be really athletic. Well, Year 1 or Year 2, if he doesn’t learn how to play offensive line, you’ve wasted a scholarship. It makes sense now,” Rutledge said.

Key evaluated Rutledge as a junior but stopped short of extending an offer.

“I think he was, like, 230 [pounds] at the time – 230, 240. Guys develop at different rates. You can’t predict that. We can try all we want in the evaluation of recruiting, but we can’t predict how guys are going to grow,” he said.

Rutledge signed with Middle Tennessee, where his body filled out and his toughness carried over. He started 17 games across two seasons for the Blue Raiders and was voted a permanent team captain as a sophomore. When he entered the transfer portal at the end of the 2023 season, he formed a fast bond with Key and Tech offensive line coach Geep Wade.

“The first time I talked to him, I knew he was my type of guy,” said Wade, a former offensive line coach at Middle Tennessee (2013-15). “Guys that love football, guys that are tough, guys that it means something to. He’s just a good-old tough country boy.”

For Rutledge, getting coached by a former offensive lineman had its perks, too. Key started 44 games at right guard for Georgia Tech from 1997-2000.

“You could tell getting recruited by him, he wants to establish the trenches. He wants the program to work through the trenches. That’s music to my ears with the way I play. The way I want to be coached is hard. I want to be held to a standard,” Rutledge said.

He had to show his toughness and fortitude earlier than expected at Tech. In early December, Rutledge was driving from his recruiting visit at Georgia Tech to another scheduled visit. After dropping off his, mom, Miranda at their home in Royston, he continued his journey through a rain-slicked construction zone on I-85 north near Commerce. Rutledge was driving beside a concrete divider on the left side of the highway when a car swerved in front of him.

“I didn’t have anywhere to go left. So I kind of jerked right, and just because of the rain, I hydroplaned and flew off into a ditch,” he recalled.

Rutledge’s 2007 Nissan Frontier flipped twice and landed upside down. He still counts his blessings that he dropped off his mom before the crash happened. Rutledge smashed the driver’s-side window with his elbow, crawled out and flagged down a motorist for help. Remarkably, he escaped with only a fractured bone in the big toe of his left foot.

“When something like that happens… the first thing you [think] is gratitude, just being grateful to breathe. That could have gone a lot different. Out of all that happened, you’re beat up and bruised, but the only major injury is a toe. We can figure this out,” he said.

Rutledge underwent emergency room surgery, but the bone didn’t quite set properly.  He also developed an infection in his toe that required another surgery. For a while, amputation wasn’t out of the question.

“There was a time there where it was tough. [The doctor] basically said if that second surgery didn’t go successfully, the way it was going, it might have to come off. Luckily, by prayers of God, the second surgery went really good,” he said.

Rutledge missed Georgia Tech’s spring practice as he recovered. It may seem like an inconsequential injury, but Rutledge quickly learned how much the big toe controls his balance, an invaluable, if underrated, trait for an offensive lineman.

“Every play, you dig your toes in the ground. Your toe might not want to bend like it used to. You’ve got to find a way around that and strengthen that up,” he said.

Rutledge says he credits his mom, a single parent, with instilling toughness in him from an early age. He admits to still feeling out his mobility post-injury, though his athleticism was on full display during his series-saving fumble recovery in the third quarter of Tech’s 24-21 season-opening win over Florida State in Dublin.  As his teammates can attest, his ruggedness hasn’t shown any signs of rustiness.

“He’s a headbanger, for sure,” said Williams. “It’s always ‘be the hammer and not the nail.’ He’ll never be the nail.”

Collectively, though, the Georgia Tech offensive line is eager to its best account of itself. The Yellow Jackets’ next opponent, Duke, ranks second nationally with 52 tackles for loss. The Jackets’ spotless sack streak may come under fire as well: The Blue Devils also rank fifth in the nation with 17 sacks.

Rutledge says Tech’s offensive line spent its bye week cleaning up technique-driven details, like hand placement, second steps and hitting the landmarks of blocks.

It won’t come easy against Duke. But Rutledge says the offensive line is ready for the challenge.

“We’ve known that we haven’t played to the standard in a lot of ways that our group can play to, and are going to play to. So I think the main thing is to get that boat back rowing. We’ve got to go get it and just set the tone early and be dominant,” Rutledge said.

Just look for the small trickle of blood during warmups first.

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