Newlywed Georgia Tech guard has sights set on another all-conference season

Of course, being a married man doesn’t come without a little fallout in the Georgia Tech locker room.

The senior said he’s had to endure his fair share of good-natured ribbing about having a little extra “grown man” or “old man” strength during summer weightlifting sessions.

But don’t make any mistake about how Rutledge, or “Red” as he’s known to teammates, is revered around Bobby Dodd Stadium. Earlier this summer, Tech coach Brent Key relayed how Rutledge has taken the Yellow Jackets offense — and much of the team for that matter — by the horns.

Rutledge’s leadership will be a major facet of Tech’s offensive success this season.

Credit: Nell Redmond/ACC

Credit: Nell Redmond/ACC

“I think I’ve always been that. I was that at Middle Tennessee,” he said of being a team leader. “I think last year, I definitely had them times, but, honestly we had some good leaders. But I’m always a guy that’s gonna challenge people, bring the intensity up, and I think it was really just me being me. It’s just kind of grown as I’ve grown as a player here and built respect.”

The Franklin County High School graduate blossomed in his first season with Tech, playing 904 snaps (second only to former Tech offensive tackle Jordan Williams’ 905) over 13 games). He did that after an offseason car accident that nearly derailed his career entirely.

Rutledge (6-foot-4, 320 pounds) was a first team All-ACC selection and an All-American pick by Sports Info Solutions. He was graded as the team’s best pass blocker among Jackets with at least 400 passing plays and had his two best games against Miami and Notre Dame.

That data, and the expectation for Rutledge to perform even better in his second season with the Jackets, have NFL scouts intrigued.

“I’m kind of attacking it like I’m a Georgia Tech football player right now. Obviously, you get the buzz kind of deal, and between talks with the position coach and head coach, you know that’s on the horizon,” Rutledge said. “But at the end of the day, just because I had a decent junior year doesn’t mean I’m gonna have a (good) senior year.

“I gotta attack it — if anything, if I don’t make improvements, it ain’t gonna happen, right? So I gotta go out there and be the best Georgia Tech player I can be, be the best right guard, best offensive lineman I can be and that will all happen when it happens.”

Jared Southers is not too far removed from his own career as a college football offensive lineman. He spent four seasons at Vanderbilt before playing a final one at Tech in 2019.

Southers now works professionally with offensive linemen, both from the college ranks and the NFL, to help them improve their own individual games.

Former Tech linemen Williams, Jordan Brown and Brandon Best, and current Tech lineman Ben Galloway, have all recently worked with Southers. Rutledge began to tag along with some of those guys during their offseason sessions with Southers.

“He’s a great kid, a really great kid and he has a great attitude about how he plays the game and how he approaches the game,” Southers said. “He’s very physical, as shows up on his tape. He’s a guy that wants to dominate his opponent every chance he gets. He’s a real tone-setter for that room and a real leader in that room.”

Southers explained that as good as Rutledge was at times in 2024, the two of them started 2025 concentrating on having more control when it came to run blocking. Southers explained that Rutledge’s ability, and desire, to be physically dominant can leave him exposed at times.

“He’s a guy that wants to be super, super physical, and sometimes if you’re going for that knockout hook all the time, it can leave you being a little bit out of control,” Southers added. “Sometimes the form was a little long last year and at times it gave him some problems, so if you just kind of shorten things down and think more so controlled aggression, you can be more powerful.

“And he really noticed that in spring practice this year and was able to make that adjustment well.”

The projected starter at right guard for the Jackets, Rutledge and fellow guard Joe Fusile will be expected to help mold and shape a very talented, but relatively young and inexperienced, offensive line starting Tuesday when Tech begins preseason practice. He said he’s ready for that challenge and has confidence in a group that has all the tools to come together sooner rather than later.

That unit’s success, and Rutledge’s own success, will come down to consistency.

“How I look at an offensive lineman is how tough is he? Is he willing to show up and do the same thing every day?” Rutledge said.

“At other positions you can kinda be up and down. When the offensive line’s down, everything’s bad. When the offensive line is consistent, you might not even be dominating, but if everyone is consistent, you’re really good, you’re going the right direction.”