THE FLATS – Georgia Tech wide receiver Eric Rivers (Chattanooga, Tenn./McCallie School) and offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge (Royston, Ga./Franklin County H.S.) have both been named second-team preseason all-Americans by Phil Steele College Football Preview.
Rivers, a graduate transfer from Florida International, caught 62 passes for 1,162 yards (18.9 avg.) and 12 touchdowns as a redshirt junior at FIU last season. He became the first Associated Press all-American in FIU history when he received third-team recognition in 2024, and was also a first-team all-Conference USA honoree.
Rutledge is also coming off an all-America campaign, having received first-team honors from Sports Info Solutions as a junior in 2024. He earned the recognition on the strength of ranking in the top 10 nationally among offensive linemen in SIS’s Total Points metric, including a top-five national ranking in run-blocking Total Points. In pass protection, the junior had only two “blown blocks” in nearly 400 regular-season attempts, according to SIS. He also helped anchor a Georgia Tech offensive front that ranked third nationally in fewest sacks allowed (nine in 13 games) and paved the way for the Yellow Jackets to rank second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing offense (187.0 ypg).
In addition to their second-team all-America honors, Rivers and Rutledge were also among nine Jackets that earned preseason all-ACC recognition from Phil Steele:
First Team
WR Eric Rivers (r-Sr., Chattanooga, Tenn./McCallie School)
OG Keylan Rutledge (Sr., Royston, Ga./Franklin County H.S.)
DL Jordan van den Berg (r-Sr., Johannesburg, South Africa/Providence Christian Academy (Ga.))
Second Team
RB Jamal Haynes (r-Sr., Loganville, Ga./Grayson H.S.)
LB Kyle Efford (r-Jr., Dacula, Ga./Dacula H.S.)
Third Team
WR Malik Rutherford (r-Sr., Miami, Fla./Champagnat Catholic School)
Fourth Team
QB Haynes King (r-Sr., Longview, Texas/Longview H.S.)
CB Ahmari Harvey (r-Sr., Tallahassee, Fla./Florida State University School)
P Marshall Nichols (Sr., Atlanta, Ga./Holy Innocents Episcopal School)
Georgia Tech is coming off consecutive winning seasons for the first time in a decade and returns 18 players that made at least one start and 14 that made multiple starts in 2024. The Yellow Jackets open the 2025 campaign in a highly anticipated, nationally televised tilt at Colorado on Friday, Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
2025 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS
2025 Georgia Tech football season tickets are on sale now and include the best seats for the Yellow Jackets’ six-game home slate, which features Atlantic Coast Conference showdowns versus Clemson, Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech season ticket members also have elevated seating priority for tickets purchased for the 2025 edition of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” versus archrival Georgia, set for Nov. 28 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Season ticket prices remain unchanged from 2024, with packages beginning at just $225. For more information and to become a season ticket member today, visit ramblinwreck.com/footballtickets.
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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