INDIANAPOLIS — Keylan Rutledge doesn’t mince words or waste action.
Georgia Tech’s two-time All-ACC offensive guard stood out at the NFL combine — both on the field and in his podium interview — embodying the competitive fire and toughness coach Brent Key has instilled in the program in 3½ seasons.
“Tough guys are going to win. Tough guys are going to last. And the way we run that program, you have to be tough. You have to be resilient,” Rutledge said. “At the end of the day, that’s going to win games, regardless of what you’ve got on the field.”
The 6-foot-4, 316-pound Rutledge wants to win every day, every practice, every game and every snap, particularly against rival Georgia, as one might imagine a self-proclaimed “Tech Man” would.
“To hell with Georgia,” Rutledge told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in interviews at the Senior Bowl and again at the NFL combine when asked about the rivalry.
“Clean Old-Fashioned Hate. I don’t like those guys. I don’t wear red, hate red. I don’t like those guys.”
Rutledge’s play and efficiency against UGA in last season’s 16-9 loss reflect it, as he was the Jackets’ highest-graded starting offensive lineman in the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Rutledge needed only two seasons at Georgia Tech after transferring from Middle Tennessee to adapt Key’s “nothing I hate more” than Georgia mentality.
“I think we’re pretty similar,” Rutledge acknowledged in a preseason ACC Network interview, sharing how teams would refer to him as “coach Key 2.0.”
Rutledge, however, appears to have a much higher NFL upside than did Key, who went undrafted after the 2000 season and immediately went into coaching with the Yellow Jackets as a graduate assistant in 2001-02.
“This is the toughest player I’ve ever coached at that (right guard) position, any position on the offensive line,” Key said in the ACC Network interview. “He played his ass off this year. I wouldn’t trade him for one offensive guard in the country.”
The thing is, Rutledge’s football IQ is such that some NFL teams are considering drafting him as a center after he showed his versatility in Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama, in January.
“Rutledge is a burly, experienced right guard with excellent contact pop and a rugged field demeanor that will appeal to offensive line coaches,” NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote.
“He excels as a drive/combo blocker, where he displaces defenders, but he has the athleticism to operate in all run-blocking concepts.”
NFL.com ranked Rutledge No. 1 among the offensive guards in athleticism, which is even more impressive when one considers the severe foot injury he sustained in an automobile accident on a rainy December day in 2023.
Rutledge, shortly after leaving Carnesville, swerved off I-85 to avoid another vehicle and flipped his 2007 Nissan Frontier multiple times.
“The first thing when you’re flipping, you’re just holding on to the steering wheel, like, ‘God.’ You’re praying,” Rutledge recalled in a 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview. “You end up upside down. It’s like ‘How do I get out?’”
Rutledge emerged from the vehicle to safety, but with a severe break of his toe that required surgery the next day, which led to further complications that at one point led to the threat of amputation before responding to treatment.
Rutledge missed spring drills before his determined approach to rehabilitation led him back on the field and into the first of his first two seasons as an All-ACC offensive line starter, recognized with the league’s Brian Piccolo Award for his courage along the way.
The journey explains a lot about Rutledge’s toughness and appreciation for his Georgia Tech coaches and teammates.
It’s a story NFL teams know well, from the standpoint of ensuring Rutledge’s health during the medical examination portion of the combine to the psychological evaluation of his football IQ and approach, and prospects to become a valuable piece of their respective franchises.
“I’m a leader,” Rutledge said when asked what NFL teams should know about him when evaluating him as a potential draft pick. “I think I go about my business and show up to work every day ready to lead my guys in the O-Line room.”
As for Georgia Tech fans and what they can expect now that he’s moving on, Rutledge assures the program is in good hands and will continue its ascension under Key.
“I love where it’s at, I love where it’s going to continue to go, and I know coach Key is going to do great things over there,” Rutledge said. “I loved my time there and will always be a Tech Man.
“Coach Key is going to have the right kind of guys. He knows if you’re a tough guy, and he knows who’s not, and he’s going to have the right guys.”
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