Georgia Tech’s wide receivers, namely Eric Singleton Jr. and Malik Rutherford, were expected to have big seasons statistically in 2024. In the second year in Tech’s offensive system and starting a second year with returning quarterback Haynes King, that duo, alongside fellow returners Chase Lane, Abdul Janneh and Christian Leary, appeared poised to pose threats all across the field.
But Tech’s passing game hasn’t developed into the robust attack as it was in 2023. And as the Yellow Jackets (6-4, 4-3 ACC) have somewhat altered their attack as the weeks have gone by, the explosive plays through the air have waned as well.
So it would have been somewhat understandable if frustration had begun to mount or buy-in had started to dwindle. Not with these Jackets, though.
“Might be the most unselfish group of players I’ve ever been around in my lifetime. Not only are they good players, they’re good kids,” Tech coach Brent Key said Tuesday. “We were in a situation on Saturday (against Miami) where they knew they weren’t gonna get as many catches. They knew what the game plan was, they bought into the game plan, they believed in the plan. They blocked their tails off. They ran when they had the ball in their hand, made plays when the opportunity was there.
“Really proud of those guys and not only how they’ve played but the unselfishness that they’ve played with.”
One play in that regard stood out above all the others.
With 1:29 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Tech was faced with a third down at the Miami 15. They needed eight yards to reset the chains and virtually seal the victory knowing the fourth-ranked Hurricanes were out of timeouts.
Singleton came in motion from left to right before the snap. The ball was hiked to King in the shotgun who popped the ball forward to a streaking Singleton. The 5-foot-11, 190 pound sophomore, considered the fastest guy on the team, had a lot of green in front of him on the right side of the field and quite easily took have taken the ball into the end zone.
Instead, Singleton slid down at the 4 like a base stealer going into second without a throw. It would officially go in the books as an 11-yard pass play.
“Actually, I asked that question, I believe, the play before just in case,” King said about running out the clock instead of scoring a touchdown. “Different situations calls for different events. You don’t wanna pop one and score and give ‘em another chance. That’s definitely a big question that needed to be answered. We answered it in the huddle. It was a little read play and felt like (Singleton) could get the edge. He got the edge and went down and executed. That’s what we ask of everybody.”
King took two kneel downs after that to end one of the biggest Tech wins in recent history.
In a game full of memorable plays, whether it was defensive end Romello Height’s strip sack of Miami quarterback Cam Ward, King’s 5-yard touchdown run making it a 12-point game early in the fourth quarter or Jamal Haynes’ 65-yard run at the outset, Singleton’s slide may have impressed Tech’s coaches and players the most.
“To have a guy with a profile like Eric Singleton, to take a knee on the last play of the game instead of scoring, there’s not a lot of guys that would have done that even though they knew they should,” Key said on 680 The Fan on Monday.
Singleton’s receiving numbers actually aren’t all that different from a year ago when he burst onto the scene with 48 catches for 714 yards in 12 games as a freshman, averaging four receptions and 59.5 yards per game and 13.1 yards per catch. The Alexander High graduate needs just six catches for 153 yards to surpass his freshman totals and is only averaging one less yard per catch and three fewer yards per game.
Where the drop-off has been is in the scoring department. Tech has just 12 receiving touchdowns and only nine of those have come from wideouts. Singleton has caught just two touchdown passes in 2024 after totaling six in 2023.
Malik Rutherford is having a career year with 54 grabs for 622 yards but has only scored three times. Janneh, the team’s best run blocker by a wide margin, only has three receptions all season. Lane has just two catches for 21 yards and a TD over the last five games. Leary left the team in October.
Yet that quartet of Singleton, Rutherford, Janneh and Lane, under the direction of first-year Tech wide receivers coach Trent McKnight, has stuck it out to become a big part of the Jackets returning to a bowl game for a second season in a row.
“Really it comes from the locker room. It comes from the trust and belief in their teammates,” Key added about the unselfish play of that group. “I think (McKnight) does a really good job with those guys of managing the room and having those guys manage expectations and understand that about the game.
“They’re all-in. It comes from the locker room. When the locker room wants to win more than they want to have individual statistics and individualized praise and glory, that’s a good thing.”
Perhaps on Nov. 21, when North Carolina State comes to Bobby Dodd Stadium, Tech’s receivers can earn some rewards for their patience to this point. The Wolfpack rank 10th in the ACC in allowing 234.6 passing yards per game and have allowed 94 passing plays of 10 yards or more.
Whether Tech’s wideouts get those just rewards or not, though, won’t matter to Singleton who said he will remain committed to putting team above all else.
“A great example would be at the end when I slid down instead of scoring, just putting my team first,” Singleton said after the Miami win. “End of the game right there, I didn’t wanna take no chances, just get the game over with, celebrate with my teammates.”
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