2024 Georgia Tech Football Transfer Profile: E.J. Lightsey

Lightsey is coming to Georgia Tech after starting his career at Georgia

Make it two years in a row that Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key is getting a potential impact transfer from the Georgia Bulldogs. 

Last season, Dominick Blaylock and Brett Seither came over from Athens and helped make an impact for the Yellow Jackets. This season, former Bulldogs linebacker E.J. Lightsey made the decision to transfer over to the Flats and try to help fix one of the worst run defenses in the country. 

Lightsey was a signing day addition for the Yellow Jackets in December and he hopes to be one of the missing pieces on the defense. At linebacker, Georgia Tech is losing Paul Moala, Andre White, Braelen Oliver, and others and had to go into the portal to replace them. 

Now, Lightsey is going to have to show that he can stay healthy. he was not able to do that last season and did not play in a game for the Bulldogs. In 2022, he played 19 total snaps and finished with a 66.8 grade on defense and a good mark on tackling. Very small sample size however, but this is a good gamble for Key and his staff. Lightsey is the highest-rated transfer coming into Georiga Tech per 247Sports. 

Georgia transfer linebacker E.J. Lightsey :: Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

From his bio at Georgia Athletics:

2022: Saw action as a reserve LB in four games...made his collegiate debut in win over Samford...credited with one solo tackle vs. the Bulldogs...also played in wins over Auburn, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech...had two stops vs. the Commodores.

High School: Fitzgerald HS, coached by Tucker Pruitt… 247Sports.com three-star prospect...ranked as the #44 inside linebacker nationally, the #34 prospect in Georgia and #490 prospect nationally...PrepStar Magazine three-star prospect, ranked as #469 prospect nationally...ESPN.com three-star prospect, #21 ILB nationally and #67 prospect in Georgia…rivals.com three-star prospect, #36 inside linebacker nationally and the #52 prospect from the state of Georgia...helped lead Fitzgerald HS to the GHSA Class 2A championship with 13-2 record in his 2021 senior season…named to 2021 Georgia Class 2A All-State First Team Defense by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and GHSF Daily…named Class 2A Defensive Player of the Year by AJC and GHSF Daily… named 2021 MaxPreps Small Town All-America Football First Team selection.

Lightsey is going to be one player to watch this spring as he competes for a starting spot among the linebacker group. Like some other linebackers in this group, he lacks experience and does not have a big enough sample size to determine if he will be a high-level player or not. I still think this is a good gamble for the Yellow Jackets defensive staff because if he plays up to his talent level and stays healthy, Lightsey could be one of the better finds of the transfer portal. 

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