Georgia Tech Football: Linebacker Mid-Season Report Card
At the start of the season, one of the few positions on the Georgia Tech defense where there was a level of certainty was the linebackers. Both Charlie Thomas and Ace Eley were back for another season and Trenilyas Tatum was still here to provide depth. This was an experienced group and was going to need to be the leaders of the defense.
How have they performed so far this season?
Mid-Season Linebacker Grade: B
Georgia Tech's Ace Eley is the top tackler in the ACC
When first thinking about this, it would seem easy to give this group an A due to the impact that Thomas makes and the fact that Eley has the third most total tackles in the ACC this year. However, Georgia Tech has one of the worst rushing defenses in the ACC and the country and while some of the blame can be put on the defensive line, the linebackers are not blame-free and that is why they get a B instead of an A.
Eley is the leading tackler for Georgia Tech and has 65 total tackles this year. He is also second on the team in sacks with 3.5. He is an effective blitzer for defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker and is always around the ball. Other stats for Eley include three pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He has performed like a potential All-ACC selection and hopefully, that continues into the second half of the season.
Charlie Thomas has been making plays all year for the Georgia Tech defense
Thomas's impact on the defense has been obvious. He has been ejected for targeting twice (once against Clemson, the other against UCF) and the defense has not been as good. When he returned from suspension in the second half of the games against Western Carolina and Pitt, Thomas created turnovers and was all over the field for the Yellow Jackets.
For the season, Thomas has 52 tackles, one sack, two pass deflections, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. He is sixth in the ACC in tackles and if he had not missed those two halves, he would likely be first. Thomas is (in my opinion) the most impactful player on the defense and is also a candidate to be named to one of the All-ACC teams.
Trenilyas Tatum has been the top backup for Georgia Tech with Thomas out and for the season has 20 tackles. He is a special teams player as well and is good for depth.
This unit did lose a bit of depth with Demetrius Knight II transferring earlier this year, but he was not playing.
Overall, this unit has been good but needs to make more of an impact against the run and help turn the run defense around. Eley and Thomas have been good so far, but have a chance to be even better over the final six games of the regular season.
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