Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets Standing Out To Top Transfer Portal Edge Rusher

One of the top priorities for Georgia Tech this offseason has been to add talent to their front seven, particularly their defensive line. So far, Brent Key and his staff have added four players to the defensive line for next season and look to be adding another. According to 247Sports Matt Zenitz, Georgia Tech is one of the top schools right now for former Texas defensive end Justice Finkley.

Georgia Tech is among the schools standing out right now for ex-Texas EDGE Justice Finkley, one of the top available front seven players in the portal. Others are still in the mix too though.

Here’s the latest on Finkley, who’s repped by @APSportsAgency: https://t.co/vFCPkadCUf pic.twitter.com/DoBxd1HE3L
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 5, 2025

Finkley has been a member of the Longhorns for the past three seasons, but opted to enter the transfer portal and is looking for his new home. According to Pro Football Focus, Finkley played 95 snaps this season and finished with a 67.2 grade on defense. In 2023, Finkley played 284 snaps and finished with a 63.2 grade, His freshman season in 2022, Finkley played 162 snaps and finished with a 62.1 grade. In his career, Finkley has 26 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He was a four-star prospect in the class of 2022 and was rated as the No. 107 player in the country according to 247Sports, the No. 10 edge player in the country, and the No. 7 player in the state of Alabama. Keep an eye on this recruitment going forward.

Yesterday, Georgia Tech received a commitment from Clemson transfer A.J. Hoffler.

Hoffler played for the Tigers for two seasons and totaled 15 tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, Hoffler played 256 snaps for Clemson this past season and finished with a 56.5 grade and in 2023, he played 74 total snaps and finished with a 55.9 grade. The 6'4 240 LBS defensive end was a four-star prospect in the 2023 class and played his high school football at Woodward Academy in Atlanta and according to 247Sports, he was the No. 222 prospect in the country, the No. 25 edge, and the No. 22 player in the state of Georgia. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Hoffler joins UCF DT Matthew Alexander, UTSA edge rusher Ronald Triplette, and Mercer edge rusher Brayden Manley as the new defensive line transfer additions for the Yellow Jackets.

Alexander (6'3 295 LBS) played in 39 games over the last three seasons for the Knights and in 2024, he totaled 34 tackles. Pro Football Focus gave Alexander a 67.9 grade (409 snaps) in the 2024 season, including a 74.8 grade as a run defender. In 2022, Alexander got an elite 87.8 grade in run defense from PFF. He fills a big position of need for the Yellow Jackets and will see playing time immediately. The Yellow Jackets are losing a lot of defensive linemen after this season. Romello Height transferred to Texas Tech while Horace Lockett (UCF) and Uche Iloh (Georgia Southern) also transferred. Makius Scott, Kevin Harris, Sylvain Yondjouen, Josh Robinson, Thomas Gore, and Zeek Biggers are all out of eligibility. This is going to be a big question mark for Georgia Tech and they are looking to add more guys at this position to pair with Alexander as well as hoping some young guys like Amontrae Bradford and Jordan Boyd take a step up next season. Along the defensive line, Georgia Tech has also added UTSA transfer Ronald Triplette and Mercer transfer Brayden Manley.

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