Inside The Chart: Major Achievement

Major Achievement: He isn’t just snapping footballs. Georgia Tech center Jameson Riggs aspires for a career as an aerospace engineer.

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

“That can’t be true.”

For the first time in – well, maybe forever - Sean Bedford was stunned by some simple math.

Since Bedford's senior season in 2010, the Yellow Jackets haven’t had another starter who majored in aerospace engineering (AE). After 16 years, the pipeline from the Daniel Guggenheim School to Bobby Dodd Stadium has finally been reignited. A pair of Georgia Tech starters – center Jameson Riggs and wide receiver Dalen Penson – are both currently majoring in AE, the No. 2 Aerospace Engineering undergraduate degree program in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report.

In Riggs, the Jackets not only have an AE major, but one that plays the same position that Bedford starred at for the Yellow Jackets from 2006-10.

“You know, optimization takes a long time,” Bedford quipped.

In his first season playing center, Riggs has used his mass and force to record four starts, missing only the Mercer and Stanford games due to injury. The junior from Douglasville, Ga., has done it this fall while taking breezy courses like system dynamics and vibration, mechanics of bodies, and aerospace vehicle performance.

Upon hearing that the Jackets have another AE man at center, Georgia Tech’s patron saint of blocking and rocketry couldn’t help but share his pride.

“I think it's been widely recognized and documented, but offensive linemen are the smartest people on any team. And the center is the valedictorian of the offensive line, so in that regard, I don't think it's terribly surprising,” Bedford said.

Penson, whose great-great uncle Guion Bluford was the first African-American astronaut to go into space, says he wants to get into the business side of the field after graduation. Considering Bedford now works as the senior director of business development at Voyager Technologies, a defense and space solutions company, that gets a hearty co-sign from him as well.

But an AE major and a center? Riggs’ path is nearly identical to Bedford’s, even if Jameson is a bit nonchalant about it. Having only switched to center during preseason camp, he’s more focused on improving each week.

“It has definitely been a bit of a learning curve. If you look back and watch Colorado, there were some struggles,” he said. “I feel like I’ve definitely grown. I feel comfortable out there now making the calls, getting everyone in the right spots. I’m still working on some of the technique stuff. That’s a little different from tackle, but I definitely feel a lot more confident.”

That Riggs would land at Georgia Tech isn’t surprising. His dad, Jason, graduated from Tech with a computer science degree. Growing up in Douglasville, 20 miles west of Atlanta, Riggs always had a fondness for math, science and “figuring out how things work.”

A Boy Scouts trip to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., in the fifth or sixth grade sealed his passion for good.

“That was like the coolest thing in the world. And I’ve pretty much been interested in that ever since. That really sparked that sort of passion in me and has been something I wanted to do since,” Riggs said.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder signed with Tech after a decorated career at Hiram High School in which he was twice named all-state and graduated as an AP Scholar with Distinction. Riggs didn’t play as a freshman at Georgia Tech, then logged 196 offensive snaps as a reserve in 2025. He was also named to the all-ACC academic team for his performance in the classroom.

As he competed for the starting right tackle job last spring, his film study overlapped with other, equally important viewing. On the evening of April 1, Riggs and his line mates were wrapping up a film session with offensive line coach Allen Mogridge and offensive quality control assistant Robbie Bell.

The end of the meeting started to infringe on the launch of the Artemis II spacecraft for its historic 10-day voyage around the Moon. Riggs took out his phone to sneak a watch.

“That was like the Super Bowl for aerospace, going back to the Moon. It was awesome,” he recalled on “Tech Talks.” “We pulled it up on the projector to watch it on the big screen and everything. It was really cool.” Along the way he broke into an impromptu lesson on the mechanics of the launch and the significance of the event.

His hard launch at center happened more unexpectedly. Midway through fall camp, with Joseph Ionata and Will Reed temporarily felled by injury, assistant offensive line coach Brandon Torrey pulled Riggs aside with a suggestion.

“He’s like, ‘You need to ask ‘Mo’ to play center. I need you to do this for me.’ I’m like, oh man, I don’t want to play center [laughs]. But as I’m walking out at the end of the night, we’re getting a little extra film in. I stick my head back in the door and I go, ‘Mo, are you going to play me at some center tomorrow or what?’

“And he’s like, ‘Oh man, I thought you’d never ask. Let’s go!’”’

He may have been reluctant at first, but he hasn’t relinquished the starting job since. Not surprisingly, Bedford believes his aerospace-wired brain makes him perfectly suited to the assignment.

“You’re responsible for getting everybody lined up, making sure the calls are right on the defense. It’s a very demanding position to play. So, I think the people who sign up for that are likely the same people who would sign up for the rigors of balancing aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech,” he said.

Halfway through his first season at the position, Riggs can relate.

“You’re used to complex systems and things going on all around,” he explained. “You’re just used to having to process things quickly and deal with a lot of information. It definitely translates to playing center.”

As Bedford can attest, the rewards are great, but the demands are many for Tech student-athletes in AE. Riggs says he can’t remember the last time he watched TV. Between practice, film study, rehab, homework and his 300-level course load, his days leave room for little else.

After graduation, though, he plans to explore a frontier far more vast than the tight quarters of an offensive line.

“It’s a bright future right now for space exploration with the return to the Moon and (travel to) Mars in the coming decades. I’d love to be a part of that and hopefully help that dream come true,” he said.

But first there are goals to accomplish with Georgia Tech, starting Saturday when the Yellow Jackets face Boston College at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (3:30 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network). In spite of a loss to Virginia Tech, head coach Brent Key believed his offensive line had its best game of the season, holding a Hokies defense that led the nation in tackles for loss to a season low in that category.

The Jackets will try to build off that performance against the Eagles, who rank 2oth  nationally in tackles for loss. Riggs’ growth continues as well, forging a path not many starters at Georgia Tech besides he, Penson and Bedford have been courageous - or crazy - enough to try.

Yet for as much admiration as he’s drawn, aerospace engineers always have to account for friction. In Riggs’ case, it’s the tongue-in-cheek barbs of his head coach.

“With Jameson, I’m like, ‘What spaceship are you going to fit into?’” Key said.

Riggs has heard that line from Key a few times before. And the junior, doing something not seen in 16 years at Georgia Tech, is always ready with a riposte.

“I just tell him, ‘That’s why I’m building them, Coach.’”