Familiar faces await for Georgia as Bulldogs take on Tech

ATHENS, Ga. — There’s going to be familiar faces for Georgia fans on opposite sides of the field Saturday when the Bulldogs take on in-state rival Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have a pair of former Georgia players suiting up for them this season and a couple of coaches that have spent time in Athens too.

It all starts on the offensive side of the ball. Wide receiver Dominick Blaylock is third on the team for Georgia Tech in receiving with 337 yards on 27 catches. After starting his career at Georgia where he was bitten by the injury bug, Blaylock transferred to Tech this offseason for a fresh start.

“Selflessness is probably the number one thing that stands out. Toughness. He’s such a great competitor,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about Blaylock. “Dom is one of those who never says anything. He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t moan. He goes to work every day. He made some really, really big, critical plays for us over the years, in terms of the stretch run. Going back to his freshman year, touchdown catches, all the way to last year, making plays. He’s just very dependable. You’ve seen the same thing there. They’ve got him returning punts and doing things offensively. You can see his value as a football player.”

Blaylock’s former teammates are looking forward to seeing him. Georgia defensive back Javon Bullard described his skillset as “nonchalant” yet talented. He’s had to match up with him in practice over the years and knows the kind of challenge that’ll await on Saturday.

“Shoutout my boy Dom. We used to sit and make jokes with Dom all the time at practice. Dom was so nonchalant and so skilled. Me and Tykee (Smith), we would say all the time, ‘Dom doesn’t really care, and he’ll still mess you up at practice.’ Dom’s a great player, and I’m excited to face off with him this weekend.”

“I don’t know that it adds anything. Doesn’t matter who’s over there, we want to win,” he added. “Those are our guys, they’ll always be our brothers, but at the end of the day, they’re on a different team this year. We’ll try to come out with a victory.”

On top of Blaylock, former Georgia tight end Brett Seither has contributed to the Yellow Jacket passing game. All he seems to do is catch touchdown passes with four trips to the end zone on six grabs. He too entered the portal and ended up at Tech this past offseason after spending 2019-2022 at Georgia.

“He was always with me. Brought me in under his wing when I first got here,” Georgia tight end Oscar Delp said of Seither. “Still one of my good friends, to this day we still talk all the time. He really just showed me how to manage school, football, workouts, everything. Just becoming that college student out of high school. Because he did the same thing that I went through. He just really showed me the ropes.”

Both Blaylock and Seither ended up at Georgia Tech for a reason. Buster Faulkner, who was on staff as an offensive analyst under Todd Monken the last three seasons, was hired as the new offensive coordinator on the staff of first-year full-time head coach Brent Key back in December.

Everybody asked about Faulkner had nothing but nice things to say ahead of the rivalry game. Kirby Smart pointed to the fact that being hired by a school like Georgia Tech accomplished exactly what Faulkner wanted when he arrived at Georgia. He was hopeful that working on a Power Five staff could turn into something just like the opportunity he’s gotten, a testament both to his ability and the quality of coaches Georgia brings in as analysts.

“He’s done a phenomenal job,” Smart said of Faulkner. “He would be the first to tell you that it’s not he who gets all the credit. He has a great staff of offensive coaches with him. They do a great job. Their offensive line is dirty, nasty, physical, play hard — Everything you want in your offensive line. You can tell they’re a unit. Like I said, your head coach is an offensive guy, that’s what you’re going to get.”

“Buster’s done really well offensively everywhere he’s been statistically. The reason he came here is he wanted to get an opportunity at a bigger Power Five school, and he got that opportunity,” he continued. “He came here and did good things. He helped us tremendously. He helped the coaches. He brought ideas to our staff. I think he and Mike (Bobo) both played a major support role for Todd (Monken) last year, and Todd would be the first to say they were both idea guys. They brought ideas to the table. They were great to bounce ideas off of. It’s always great to have an extra set of eyes. The thing about Buster is he never cared really who got the credit or what the role was. He played a key part in helping Coach Monken with Stetson (Bennett) in terms of developing him.”

Previewing the Yellow Jackets, Smart pointed to quarterback Haynes King, a Texas A&M transfer, as one of the biggest reasons why they are bowl eligible. Just as he did with Bennett at Georgia, Faulkner has been involved in the development of King – who ranks four in the ACC in passing yards with 2,597 and first in touchdowns with 26 – at Tech.

But wait, there’s more. Even on the defensive side of the ball there’s some crossover as Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer, who was promoted into that position midseason, was on Smart’s first staff at Georgia as the outside linebackers coach, leaving for the co-defensive coordinator job at Tennessee after the 2017 season in Athens.

Smart says he’s not concerned about Tech having any sort of an advantage, even with the amount of crossover knowledge they have of Georgia’s tendencies. That’s what tape is for: to watch a team throughout the season and identify things about them.

Kickoff time for Saturday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. It’s the first night game between Georgia and Georgia Tech since 2010 and the first non-noon kickoff in the series since 2013. The Bulldogs hold an all-time series advantage of 70-41-5, have won 18 of the last 21 including five in a row (2017-present) over the Yellow Jackets, have not lost in Atlanta since 1999 and open as a 23-point favorites for this year’s 117th edition of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.”