Head coach Paul Johnson received 16 Letters of Intent this morning, with a 17th possibly coming later. It was a fast and furious morning on National Signing Day for the Yellow Jackets as the first Letter of Intent came in at 7:22 a.m., starting a three-hour whirlwind. Georgia Tech had all but one recruit committed by 11:00 a.m., but it might be who they didn’t sign that ends up as the bigger story.

Will Adams, an offensive lineman from Sandy Creek, had been a longtime verbal commit for the Jackets, but after taking an official visit to Auburn last weekend he decided to weigh his options and eventually flipped his commitment to the Tigers. Defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson attended almost every home game for Tech this year, and they were thought to be the front runner; however, Tomlinson only paused over the Yellow Jacket hat before reaching for the Alabama hat to let his decision be known.

The Jackets may have missed out on a sure thing in Tomlinson, but they might have hit the jackpot with Francis Kallon. A defensive end out of Central Gwinnett, Kallon has only played one season of football, but at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, Kallon is an incredibly gifted athlete with an extremely high ceiling.

The Yellow Jackets addressed the defensive line with four signings total. DT Pat Gamble, DE Roderick Chungong, and DT Adam Gotsis will join Kallon at Tech. Chungong comes from a stellar football program in Maryland, Our Lady of Good Counsel, and joins former teammate CB Louis Young. Gamble is from Carrollton, Ga, and at 275 pounds will need to bulk up in order to fill the nose tackle. Gotsis is by far the most intriguing of these recruits. He is from Melbourne, Australia, and committed on the spot when offered in January. At 295 pounds, he is much more of a natural fit at nose tackle for Al Groh’s 3-4 defense.

Johnson might have signed the next Calvin Johnson or Demaryius Thomas in WR Travin Henry. Labeled as an athlete, the Cook county native has the size at 6-foot-4, 227 pounds and the speed with a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. Henry is big enough to play linebacker, but with the early departure of Stephen Hill, Henry could fill in nicely.

Johnson was also able to sign two quarterbacks in Dennis Andrews and Justin Thomas. Both out-of-state players, Andrews and Thomas will join Synjin Days and Vad Lee as Tevin Washington’s competition. Thomas, from Alabama, is ranked the No. 19 athlete by Rivals and threw for 13 touchdowns and nearly 1,700 yards. Andrews is an early enrollee and will participate in spring practice. The Florida-native is probably the most natural passer on the roster after throwing for 5,426 yards in high school.