One Returning Player Ready To Become A Star For Georgia Tech

When you look at some of the returning players for the Yellow Jackets, there are a number of places you can look and say these guys could become stars. The most popular name would probably be Tae Harris after a productive freshman season.

He has star potential written all over him. You also have Jordan Allen, another player who could become a star for the Yellow Jackets in 2026. Allen also had a strong freshman season and will be a go-to player on offense. There are many areas you can look. However, there is one area that will be a true difference-maker for the Yellow Jackets, especially if they get production from this group.

The one player that is ready to become a star is Christian Garrett. He spent a lot of the season dealing with an injury, which didn’t allow him to unleash everything he could do on the field. The difference this year is that he is no longer a tweener moving between the defensive line and the edge rusher position. He will be strictly an interior defensive lineman. He has also worked on his body to make sure he is equipped to play at a high level for 2026. He is also fully healthy now for Georgia Tech and has nothing holding him back.

“Yeah, it's been fun. Christian is probably really 100% healthy. First time, he's been at Georgia Tech, coming off a high school injury. I think that's a big deal. Christian's body has completely changed in the last four or five months. I think a year ago this time he was in 250s and he's gained a lot of muscle man. He's a good looking kid. Obviously he's had a position change. We're playing him inside and he is a big man who's an athlete and those are the guys that I like. I love his athleticism,” said defensive line coach Jess Simpson.

“His ability and understanding to how to play on the interior. Playing inside is very different than playing on the edge. The blocks that you get, where the blocks come from sitting on 600 pounds of a double team like there's some, we got a lot of hard jobs that we do inside. He has not resisted that he is owning it. Every day you can just see like he took a step today. It's just, fun to watch. Like he, you can tell the look in his eye. He wants to be great. He wants to be better every day. He's not perfect. You know, it's ebbs and flows with like every young player, but man, you know, he is on the right trajectory. His arrow is up right now. I'm excited about it.”

Garrett fills a strong need for the Yellow Jackets, especially in an area they struggled in: the interior of the defensive line. The Yellow Jackets ranked No.88 in run defense a season ago and were torched by several run-dominant offenses in Pittsburgh and NC State last season, which ultimately disrupted their chances of making it to the ACC title game. With Garrett emerging as a guy and potential starter, they should be able to shore up the run defense that plagued them in 2025.

Another element Garrett adds is the ability to generate pressure from the interior. It is another area the Yellow Jackets struggled to generate pressure or even collapse the pocket. As a highly touted prospect coming out of high school, Garrett was really good at generating pressure and causing chaos in the offensive backfield at Prince Avenue Christian. Now, after a year of recovery and development, Garrett has everything he needs to break out and be a star for the Yellow Jackets in 2026.

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