MACON, Ga. — When the crush of inflation became too much to bear a year and a half ago, Rashad James and Justin Williams began hauling their smoker into an abandoned parking lot off Macon’s Route 41, dishing out $10 to $20 platters of pork chops, ribs and chicken four days a week.
Georgia
Black men helped power Biden’s 2020 Georgia win. Some are wavering.
That side hustle formed with family and friends — Smoke’s Grill — has provided a financial safety net for the two commercial truck drivers in an economy that has felt unrelenting. Both men cast ballots for Joe Biden in 2020, hoping he could usher in more opportunity, higher-paying jobs and less expensive health care for Black men like themselves. But this year they are undecided — frustrated by how little has changed nearly four years after Black voters helped Biden flip Georgia and gave Democrats control of the Senate by electing Raphael G. Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the 2021 Georgia runoff elections.
“Nothing’s changing. It feels like the economy is getting worse,” said James, 34, noting that everything has risen in price — from the green peppers and onions at his prep station to the plasticware they serve customers who pull up in pickup trucks during Macon’s lunch rush. Flipping chicken and wings as smoke billowed from the grill, Williams — who juggles a third job as a mobile DJ — said his decision about whom to vote for will come down to whether he concludes Donald Trump can improve the economy if he’s back in the White House.
“I’m kind of like: ‘Give him another chance. Let’s see,’” Williams, 36, said. “Because this is not going to cut it.”
The economy is doing well by many traditional measures. The Biden campaign has pointed to record-low Black unemployment during his administration, as well as policies intended to ease household costs, like ensuring more Black Americans are covered by health insurance and capping the price of insulin at $35 a month for seniors. But pessimistic views of the economy, like those expressed by Williams and James, are widespread even as inflation has cooled — confounding economists and frustrating the Biden campaign because it appears to be a major factor in his softening support.
The openness of some Black men to voting for Trump — despite his history of racist and offensive comments — is often rooted in the belief that the Biden administration has not done enough to ease their economic struggles. A defection by a significant number of them could be disastrous for Biden’s campaign.
Biden won 83 percent of Black men in Georgia, according to exit polls, when his slender 2020 victory made him the first Democrat to win the Peach State since 1992. Black men are a critical constituency this year in this and other battleground states, from Pennsylvania to Michigan, that Biden will need to win to retain the White House. But as polls show softening Democratic support within that voter group, Trump and his allies are courting onetime Biden voters like Williams and James — cognizant that even a small shift in a state like Georgia could mean the difference between winning and losing.
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted in April found that 63 percent of Black men were certain to vote this year, down slightly from 68 percent in June 2020. About 7 in 10 Black men say they will “definitely” or “probably” vote for Biden this fall (69 percent) while 28 percent say the same for Trump, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll of swing-state voters in six key states, including Georgia. Half say they will definitely not vote for Trump.
In Georgia, Black men favored Biden over Trump 76 percent to 20 percent in a head-to-head matchup in a Quinnipiac University poll from late May and early June. But 35 percent of Black men in Georgia said Trump would do a better job handling the economy and 32 percent of Black men said Trump would be better at addressing immigration issues, consistently two of the top concerns for voters in this campaign.
In more than two dozen interviews with Black men in Macon and the surrounding rural counties in middle Georgia, there were many voters like James and Williams who are undecided and conflicted about their choice in November.
They often expressed wariness of Trump — particularly his undeniable thirst for power and the role he played in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But there is also a deeply ingrained belief among many who spoke to The Post that Trump would act more aggressively than Biden to improve the economy. The struggle to keep up with rising prices has intensified many of those voters’ frustration with Biden’s handling of the influx of immigrants into the United States and the amount of money his administration is spending on aid to Ukraine and Israel.
The interviews also were conducted before last week’s presidential debate, where both Biden and Trump made direct appeals to Black voters but Biden also was heavily critiqued for an uneven performance. The president noted the growth in jobs and the number of small Black businesses during his time in office, as well as his efforts to reduce child-care costs and crack down on housing discrimination. He added that he didn’t blame Black voters “for being disappointed” because “inflation is hurting them badly.”
Trump interjected that Biden “caused the inflation — and it’s killing Black and Hispanic families.” But he also drew backlash on social media for claiming that Biden’s “big kill on the Black people” was “the millions of people that he’s allowed to come in through the border,” who the former president said are “taking Black jobs now.” Questions about what constitutes a “Black job” began trending on X, and economists noted there is no data to back Trump’s assertion.
Andra Gillespie, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta, said there is no evidence yet that a significant realignment of Black voters is taking place, calling polling data “noisy” with “lots of fluctuations.” But she said she will not be surprised if more Black men vote Republican this cycle, in part because of the masculine tone of Trump’s messaging, as he portrays himself as strong and powerful and mocks Biden as weak. In Gillespie’s own work, she has traced a gender gap between Black men and Black women — showing Black men to be less Democratic in their voting patterns — going back to 1972. The one year that was the exception: 2008, when Barack Obama ran to become the first Black president.
Sensing opportunity, the MAGA Inc. super PAC backing Trump’s bid began running ads this spring voiced by Black narrators on predominantly Black radio stations in the Macon media market — which encompasses the majority-Black Macon-Bibb County, surrounding rural counties, and the historic birthplaces of music greats like Little Richard and Otis Redding.
The radio ads echoed assertions that Trump has long made, claiming Biden’s policies have hurt Black Americans and that his would benefit them. Targeting moderate and conservative Black voters in a heavily Baptist area, the super PAC ads accused Biden of failing to rein in inflation, coddling immigrants and going too far to protect the rights of transgender people. “Keeping men out of girls’ sports and out of girls’ locker rooms is just common sense,” the narrator in one of the MAGA Inc. radio ads said.
MAGA Inc. then aired a TV ad in Macon featuring a Black narrator who tells a fictional Biden campaign worker that he won’t vote for the president again because of inflation and a claim that the administration is helping undocumented immigrants pay rent, which the Biden campaign said is false. (To back up the claim, MAGA Inc. pointed to a Michigan immigrant rent assistance program that relies, in part, on federal grants).
Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager for the Biden campaign, dismissed the MAGA Inc. ads as offensive, charging that they peddle “some of the worst stereotypes” about the views of Black men.
“When you know that you don’t have a record to run on, even to consolidate your own base, you pivot to trying to spread disinformation and lies to their [your opponent’s] base in an effort to suppress the vote, sow doubt and create chaos,” said Fulks, who was Warnock’s campaign manager.
One of Biden’s challenges is that some of the Black men who are paying close attention in Macon are deeply disquieted by the influx of migrants at the U.S.’s southern border and the amount of money that his administration has committed to stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Carling Colbert, a 61-year-old retired warehouse worker from Macon, described the inflow of immigrants over the last few years as his biggest disappointment after voting for Biden in 2020: “There’s too many people coming across the border, getting all the jobs and I don’t like that,” he said. “Trump was better on that. He tried to build the wall.” (Biden administration officials said Wednesday that the number of migrants crossing the southern border illegally has dropped more than 40 percent in the weeks since new restrictions on asylum claims were announced.)
Colbert also admitted with a rueful laugh that Trump’s ambitions remind him of Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader: “He might become a dictator. I worry about that.”
Taylor Budowich, the CEO of MAGA Inc., argued that Biden “spent his first term putting illegals, criminals, and radical transgender activists in front of the issues that matter to all Americans — especially Black Americans.”
“President Trump wants to put Black America first,” he said. During a recent event at a Detroit church, Trump pointed to economic gains for Black Americans during his administration and vowed to reduce crime affecting that community by pushing for a greater police presence in a second term. He also touted his success in pushing through the sentencing reform measure known as the First Step Act.
For months, the Biden campaign has invested heavily in boosting its support among Black voters. Biden recently delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College, the historically Black, all-male institution in Atlanta. Late last month, his campaign launched “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” in Philadelphia to shore up support with more targeted messaging about the administration’s accomplishments. The intensive effort to reach Black voters this summer includes an eight-figure ad buy and voter outreach at summer festivals, concerts and other culturally relevant events that bring out high numbers of Black Americans.
In Macon, the Biden campaign countered MAGA Inc.’s messaging with an ad referencing Trump’s disrespectful language about Black Americans and the 1970s federal lawsuit that his real estate company faced for discriminating against Black families. The ad also argues Trump “stood with violent White supremacists” and notes that he warned of a bloodbath if he loses the next election.
The dueling campaign ads commanded the attention of Macon voters. Eighteen-year-old Jayden Owens, who was keeping an eye on five of his siblings at a Macon playground on a recent afternoon, said he initially believed Trump might be stronger on his top concern: crime. But then Owens heard Trump’s comments referencing a bloodbath: “I’m like, a bloodbath — if you don’t win the election? We don’t need that.”
Walter Smith, a 72-year-old former county commissioner from next-door Peach County, is worried that Trump’s messages are reshaping the views of Black male voters in his state who are not following politics closely: “He is a two-headed snake; he’ll say or do anything to persuade you,” Smith said of Trump, noting he changes the channel in disgust every time the MAGA Inc. television ads come on.
Still, he said Biden needs to be more aggressive: “You cannot forget the elementary things that you do,” Smith said. “Four years went by. You’ve got to go back out there, revisit these people and tell them what changes have been made.”
Johnny Houseworth, a 64-year-old retired bus driver and Army veteran from Macon, said he could never vote for Trump because he “gave the confederacy everything they wanted” and described the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as Trump’s effort “to start another Civil War.” Americans “can’t give him that much power” again, Houseworth said.
But Houseworth, who plans to back independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., described Biden as too ineffectual on the world stage — pointing to Vladimir Putin’s continuing aggression in Ukraine, as well as the civilian death toll in Gaza as examples of Biden’s limited influence on the actions of world leaders like the Russian president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He makes us look weak,” said Houseworth, who supported Biden four years ago. “You give [Ukraine] all this money; but you’ve got homeless people right here — and yet, you want to go over there and help other people?”
Kevin Brown, a 35-year-old who does electrical work and is in school to advance those skills, said he’s noticed more openness to Trump’s arguments this year among Black men — largely because of the attraction to Trump’s “business-savvy” at a moment when it feels difficult to get ahead: “A lot of people feel like he’s racist. I don’t feel like he’s racist. I just feel like he doesn’t go with the bulls—.”
“Sometimes it feels like [Biden] is just talking. It feels like nothing changing — things are getting worse,” Brown said, explaining why there is less stigma attached to supporting Trump in the Black community. “I did vote for [Trump] in 2016 — I didn’t tell anybody, but I did it,” he said.
This year, he said, he’ll probably do it again.
Emily Guskin and Scott Clement contributed to this report.
Georgia
U.S. Supreme Court immunity ruling likely further delays Fulton racketeering case • Georgia Recorder
A U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday establishing a legal standard for presidential immunity could further slow down Georgia’s 2020 presidential election interference case, several legal experts predict.
The nation’s highest court ruling Monday shields U.S. presidents from criminal prosecution while engaging in “official” conduct related to their “core constitutional” presidential acts and removes immunity if the conduct is unrelated to their “unofficial” responsibilities. The ruling is in response to a federal election interference case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against Trump, who is accused of allegedly plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
According to the majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, Trump’s claim of blanket presidential immunity was rejected and a legal test was established as to what type of presidential conduct is protected under the U.S. Constitution.
Several other pending criminal cases against Trump will be affected by Monday’s ruling, including a case in Fulton County Superior Court where Trump and 14 co-defendants are accused of committing felonies while conspiring to rig the 2020 presidential election.
The Supreme Court decision is another blow to the already minimal chances of jury selection in the Fulton election interference case beginning prior to the Nov. 5 presidential election. The fight over immunity is expected to draw out the case into 2025, with multiple court motions and appeals taking place, according to Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University.
The Supreme Court ruling doesn’t directly impact Trump’s co-defendants in Georgia, which include several members of Trump’s inner circle, former Trump attorneys, and other Republican allies. Four of his indicted co-defendants pleaded guilty last year reached agreements with prosecutors that will let them avoid jail time if they cooperate as state witnesses.
Legal experts say two of the eight the acts detailed in DOJ indictment could be significantly impacted by the Supreme Court’s decision.
Kreis also said it’s likely that several of the key Trump’s interactions listed in the Fulton indictment, including a post-election phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, will be considered outside the scope of presidential authority.
“The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity makes state prosecutions of presidents for unlawful acts to subvert a presidential election even more important now because the evidence from state prosecutions will be focused on extra-federal executive conduct,” Kreis wrote on X Monday.
The way in which the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling is applied in the Justice Department’s Washington D.C. election interference case could serve as a template for the Fulton County case, according to legal experts.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee will have to determine whether Trump’s interactions with federal and state officials are protected from criminal prosecution as official presidential duties.
In both the DOJ and Fulton cases, Trump is accused of illegally pressuring Raffensperger in January 2021 to overturn Georgia’s election results and of obstructing the certification of the election by arranging for a false slate of Republican electors to meet in December 2020 to vote for Trump.
Previous federal court rulings in Georgia can give some guidance as U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan holds hearings to determine how immunity will be applied in Trump’s D.OJ. case, according to CNN analyst Norm Eisen, who served as legal counsel in the first impeachment trial of Trump.
Last year, Atlanta-based federal Judge Steve Jones rejected requests from Fulton co-defendants, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who wanted their case moved to federal court under claims they were acting in their official roles as federal officers.
Jones ruled Clark and Meadows’ criminal charges weren’t related to their federal jobs, including Meadows’ role in setting up the infamous Trump recorded phone call with Georgia’s election chief several weeks after the 2020 election.
“The issues at play in the Georgia removal proceedings are strikingly similar to the ones Chutkan will be forced to consider with respect to Trump,” Eisen wrote Monday’s opinion column published by CNN. “The Supreme Court has explicitly directed Chutkan to determine whether Trump’s interactions with state officials and private parties were official and left open the door for her to hold hearings over allegations that involved Pence, too.”
”Chutkan can give both parties the opportunity to develop facts supporting their competing positions and then make her ruling on immunity, ensuring that Trump continues to receive due process throughout,“ Eisen said.
The Fulton case is on hold while the Georgia Court of Appeals reviews McAfee’s decision to reject defense attorneys’ arguments that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the case because her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade constituted prosecutorial misconduct. Willis hired Wade to lead the probe in November 2021 and she contends the relationship started after they started working on the case.
In August, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 Georgia presidential election results. President Joe Biden’s win was confirmed by multiple recounts and audits, and all court challenges to the result were unsuccessful.
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A Georgia family of five, including two children, on Sunday died in a small plane crash in a rural area of New York state, according to New York State Police.
They were in a single-engine Piper Malibu Mirage that crashed in a wooded area near Lake Cecil Road in Masonville (about 100 miles southwest of Albany) under unknown circumstances, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Aviation Administration reported the plane had departed from Albert S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta and was slated to stop in Charleston, South Carolina to refuel before reaching its final destination at Cobb County International Airport in Atlanta.
New York State Police confirmed that all five occupants on board were killed when the plane crashed at about 2 p.m. The family was visiting Cooperstown for a baseball tournament. Troopers identified the victims as follows:
- Roger Beggs, 76
- Laura VanEpps, 43
- Ryan VanEpps, 42
- James VanEpps, 12
- Harrison VanEpps, 10
New restaurant chain: Jack in the Box coming to Georgia with 15 new fast food restaurants
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he and his family are praying for the victims’ loved ones, offering their deepest condolences to all who knew and loved them.
An NTSB investigator was expected to arrive at the crash site Monday to start the process of documenting the scene and examining the wreckage. The aircraft’s wreckage will then be removed to a secure facility for further evaluation. Investigators will examine flight track data, aircraft maintenance records, a 72-hour background check of the pilot to determine if there were any issues that could have impacted the pilot’s ability to safety operate the plane and any available surveillance video.
A preliminary report for the accident will be available within the month. A final report including the probable cause takes one to two years to finish.
After not having a Thursday night game last season, Georgia Tech will host NC State for their final ACC game of the 2024 season. This could be a consequential game in the ACC and could determine who gets to the ACC Championship.
After starting the season 4-3, NC State won their final five regular season games and if not for an early season 13-10 loss to Louisville, they would have made the ACC Championship Game. NC State has hit the transfer portal hard this offseason and pair that with a favorable schedule, the Wolfpack seem like a team that could make a run at the ACC title game, giving them a chance to make the new 12-team playoff. NC State is a well coached and talented team, but they have also struggled when there have been expectations before.
Overall, Georgia Tech has a good history when playing the Wolfpack. The Yellow Jackets hold a 20-11 all-time series lead over NC State and have won four of the past six matchups.
So who do these two teams matchup right now? Let’s give this game a way-too-early preview.
Georgia Tech’s Offense vs NC State’s Defense
Georgia Tech’s offense finished as one of the best in the ACC last year and they should be right there again this year. They are also going to be matched up with what should be one of the ACC’s best defenses in this game. NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is one of the best in the country and always has his unit ready no matter the personnel losses.
Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King was one of only two players in the nation with at least 2,700 passing yards, 600 rushing yards, 25 touchdown passes, and five touchdown runs this season (joining LSU’s Jayden Daniels), and one of only six ACC players to achieve those numbers in a regular season since 2000. He led the ACC in touchdown passes and was fourth in passing yards. He is back for another season on The Flats and might be the best quarterback in the conference this year. One reason to buy into the Yellow Jackets is that they might have the best quarterback on the field against many of their opponents. As good as King was though, he had a problem with turnovers and that won’t cut it against some of the teams on Georgia Tech’s schedule, including NC State.
Jamal Haynes was such a great story last season. He made the change from wide receiver to running back during fall camp and that move paid dividends. Haynes earned all-ACC honors as a running back (third team) and was an honorable mention all-purpose performer. He led Georgia Tech with 1,059 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, and six yards per carry ranked second on the team. Those numbers ranked fifth in the ACC in rushing yards and he was tied for sixth in the conference with seven rushing touchdowns and his 6.0 yards per carry ranked third in the league. Haynes had a strong bowl performance against UCF rushing for a game-high 128 yards on 18 carries. He also had a good outing against the Georgia Bulldogs rushing for 81 yards. Haynes was the second highest-rated player on the Yellow Jackets per Pro Football Focus with a 76.9 score and looks primed for another big season in 2024. I think he is in for a huge season and is not getting the recognition he has earned.
This is going to be one of the deepest wide receiver rooms in the ACC and there are some newcomers who could bolster the group.
Eric Singleton Jr was the highest-rated player in the Yellow Jackets 2023 recruiting class according to 247Sports and he looked like he might be a potential superstar last season.
Singleton Jr. ranked fourth among all freshmen nationally (true or redshirt) in 2023 with 59.5 receiving yards per game and was tied for fourth among true freshmen nationally with six touchdown receptions. His 714 receiving yards and six touchdown catches both ranked among the top 10 overall in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while his six TD receptions were the second-most by a freshman in Georgia Tech history. Could he have an even better season in 2024? I think it is certainly possible and the chemistry between him and King was noticeable last year.
Singleton is not the only dangerous receiver for the Yellow Jackets.
Malik Rutherford was the second-leading receiver on Georgia Tech. He caught 46 passes for 502 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 10. 5 yards per catch. His biggest performance came in Georgia Tech’s big win over North Carolina. Rutherford caught six passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns. He was a reliable player and could stretch the field with his speed. He is also a player who can get the ball in a variety of ways.
Christian Leary was the fourth-leading receiver for Georgia Tech this season, catching 25 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns, while also returning kickoffs.
Chase Lane had a good start to the year, but injuries cost him some time. I think he could have a really good 2024 season if he stays healthy. Duquesne transfer Abdul Janneh had six catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He will once again provide depth for Georgia Tech next year.
Leo Blackburn is one of the most physically impressive players on the Georgia Tech roster at 6’5 220 LBS and if he is able to stay healthy this season, he could add a whole new element to the Yellow Jackets offense.
The offensive line is going to be one of the best in the ACC as well.
In just one season, head coach Brent Key and first-year offensive line coach Geep Wade turned Georgia Tech’s offensive line from its biggest weakness to perhaps the best unit on the entire team. Georgia Tech went from one of the worst rushing teams in the ACC to leading the league in rushing. It was a pretty stunning turnaround if you had watched the line in 2022 and the good news for the Yellow Jackets is that the offensive line returns four of the five starters and added an All-Conference transfer this offseason.
NC State is going to be missing linebacker Payton Wilson, but they should still be a really good defense.
On the D-Line, Davin Vann is back after getting five sacks last season, good for third on the team. Brandon Cleveland, Travali Pricem and Colorado transfer Chazz Wallace are the other guys to know on the D-Line as well.
The linebackers might be the biggest question mark on the Wolfpack defense heading into next season. Devon Betty, Caden Fordham, four-star freshman Elijah Groves and Wyatt Wright are the names to know at this position. Fordham had 53 tackles last season for the Wolfpack.
The secondary is where NC State is the strongest. Aydan White is one of the best cornerbacks in the country and safety Devan Boykin had three interceptions and 54 tackles last season. Sean Brown is also back after putting up 66 tackles and two interceptions and Brandon Cisse should be the starting corner opposite of White. This is also an area of the team where Dave Doeren added some pieces through the transfer portal. Ja’Had Carter (Ohio State), Kerry Martin (Akron), Corey Coley (Maryland), Donovan Kaufman (Auburn), Tamarcus Cooley (Maryland), and Devon Marshall (Villanova) are going to help make up one of the deepest secondaries in the ACC.
While the defense is missing some key pieces from last year, you can always count on the Wolfpack having a good defense. It is the other side of the ball that is going to have questions.
NC State Offense vs Georgia Tech’s Defense
NC State had one of the worst passing attacks in the country last year, but they are hoping some personnel changes will fix that.
One of the most interesting transfer portal additions this offseason was former Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall leaving to go play his last year at NC State. McCall had a tremendous career at Coastal and has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country, but one question I have is how he operates outside of Jamey Chadwell’s system. After Chadwell left to go to Liberty, McCall only had 10 touchdowns compared to six interceptions last season before he got hurt. I think he will do fine, but it is a question worth asking. This is also a big step up in competition for him. He should be an upgrade over what they had last year, but it is not a slam dunk he is an All-ACC caliber quarterback.
NC State made one of the best additions at running back this offseason, getting Duke transfer Jordan Waters to be the lead back for them this season. Waters had 819 yards and 12 touchdowns last season and should be the lead back for NC State this season. Kendrick Rapheal and Oklahoma transfer Hollywood Smothers should be the depth options at running back for NC State.
NC State is going to have perhaps the ACC’s best receiver on their team this year. Kevin Concepcion had 71 catches for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns last season en route to winning ACC rookie of the year. He was also the second leading rusher on the team with 320 yards. He is one of the best all-purpose threats in the country and he might have a more talented group around him this year. Ohio State transfer Noah Rogers has been praised a lot this spring and Dacari Collins is also a potential breakout candidate. UConn transfer tight end Justin Jolly is also someone to watch this season, as is Wake Forest transfer Wesley Grimes.
Four starters are back for the Wolfpack on the offensive line. NC State also added two transfers in Val Erickson (Missouri) and Zeke Correll (Notre Dame) should provide depth as well.
New Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci is hoping to have Georgia Tech’s defense turned around this season in order to help them contend in the ACC. In one season at Duke (2023), Santucci directed the ACC’s top-ranked scoring defense, allowing just 19.0 points per game, which was good for 16thnationally. The Blue Devils also ranked among the nation’s top 50 in rushing defense, passing defense, total defense, tackles for loss, third-down defense, fourth-down defense, and red-zone defense. Duke allowed a total of just 10 points in a pair of wins over teams that finished the season in the top 25 – No. 20 Clemson (28-7) and No. 21 NC State (24-3) – and finished 8-5 overall after a 17-10 win over Troy in the 2023 Birmingham Bowl.
Georgia Tech’s defensive line might be their biggest question mark on the defense, especially at defensive end. On the inside, Zeek Biggers, Miami/Georgia State transfer Thomas Gore, Penn State transfer Jordan van den Berg, and Horace Lockett have potential, but will Georgia Tech have enough at the edge rusher spot? USC transfer Romello Height should help, but Georgia Tech will need production from this unit.
At linebacker, Kyle Efford is looking to lead a group that includes veteran starter Trenilyas Tatum, Georgia transfer E.J. Lightsey, Louisville transfer Jackson Hamilton and freshman Tah’j Butler.
Georgia Tech is returning a strong duo at safety with LaMiles Brooks and Clayton Powell-Lee, while Ahmari Harvey could be ready for a breakout season in 2024. The biggest question in the secondary will be who starts at corner opposite of Harvey. Tennessee transfer Warren Burrell might be the favorite on the outside while Rhode Island transfer Syeed Gibbs and Rodney Shelley might be the guys at nickel.
Overview
This is going to be a tough game for Georgia Tech, but playing in Atlanta instead of Raleigh is huge and the Yellow Jackets get time to prepare for this Thursday night showdown.
NC State is a team that can challenge for a spot in the ACC title game, but how good they are likely depends on how the new transfers impact the offense. If McCall, Waters, and Rogers all bring more explosiveness to the passing and running game, NC State is going to be dangerous. If they don’t see a big improvement, they are likely going to hover around the 7 or 8 win mark. This is going to be an interesting matchup on Thursday night.
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