In the Win Over Georgia State, Georgia Tech's Defense Shows It Can Make The Big Stops When Needed

Georgia Tech's defense has shown considerable improvement over the first two weeks?

Kyle Efford and Trenilyas Tatum embrace pre-game vs Georgia State / Arvon Bacon

Georgia Tech's defensive unit has caught the attention of the college football world with its two victories in the infancy of the 2024 season. They received national attention when the Yellow Jackets defeated, Florida State holding their offense under 300 yards, and to add on they added their bend-but-don't-break performance against Georgia State to their resume.

Georgia State rushed for 150 yards in this game and averaged 5.2 yards per carry in the game on Saturday night. After a great performance against Florida State, the defense did not perform as well in terms of total yards given up, although they made the big plays in the red zone that kept Georgia State off the board, which is the most important thing. The third-down defense was also stout, holding the Panthers to 3-12. The defense finished with eight tackles for loss against the Panthers.

Holding Georgia State to 12 points despite surrendering 360 offensive yards can only be done by making goal-line stands, and Tech made two big ones Saturday night holding the visiting Panthers 1-3 in red zone efficiency. The most memorable of the two goal-line stops occurred when Ahmari Harvey stuffed Panther running back Sy'veon Wilkerson on third and goal.

Ahmari Harvey Drops Hammer 🔨 On 3rd & Goal. @AllYellowJacket pic.twitter.com/MnkFCvQBYS

— Bacon Network (@baconnetworkllc) September 3, 2024

Pro Football Focus released defensive grades for Georgia Tech's unit and the defensive back group had the highest grades. Rodney Shelley (73.5) and Warren Burrell (70.6) were the two highest-rated Yellow Jackets. Burrell is in a seven-way tie for the most PBU's in the ACC with two. Transfer Romello Height and linebacker Kyle Efford were the next two highest-rated defenders on PFF. It seems as though Efford is a lot more comfortable entering into his second year. Efford is leading all FBS defensive players in tackles with 23 total tackles.

When asked if he feels comfortable in year two, he told the media after the game: "Really the tackles are coming from just pure effort, just flying around,"

In my opinion, I think Georgia Tech's defense under the play calling of defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci can be a formidable group defense that may surrender some offensive yards but is filled with playmakers to either make key stops or force turnovers like they did on Saturday night. Let's see how they continue to improve over the course of the season, starting on Saturday vs Syracuse.