When we covered the offensive side for Georgia Tech , it was not hard to come up with intriguing young freshmen who could make an impact due to the amount of turnover at nearly every position.
It is a little tougher with defense.
That is not to say that there are not freshmen to watch on this side of the ball, but Georgia Tech has more veteran returning players on defense. All three levels of Georgia Tech's defense are going to be filled with players that either played on the team last season or veteran transfers.
With Fall camp beginning next week, here are six freshmen to keep an eye on.
Playing as a true freshmen is tough, regardless of position, but Speakman really seemed to make strides during the spring.
Georgia Tech wanted to get bigger and better on the interior of their defense and even with three transfer defensive tackles coming in, Speakman is going to find a way on the field at some point this season. He is massive for a true freshman at 6'4 315 LBS and plays with real strength and quickness.
Will he start and play the most snaps? No, but Speakman is going to find a way into the rotation.
Like Speakman, Outlaw received a ton of praise during the spring and even at ACC media days.
But also like Speakman, Outlaw is going to have four veteran linebackers ahead of him in the rotation to start fall camp. Kyle Efford, E.J. Lightsey, Cayman Spaulding, and Melvin Jordan IV are going to be right in front of Outlaw, but I think he is going to find a way to be in the rotation with his ability to cover sideline-to-sideline and his instincts.
Terry was the highest-rated prospect in the Yellow Jackets 2026 class and the blue-chip cornerback might be a day one contributor for Georgia Tech.
Terry has the size that every defensive coach wants in their cornerbacks and he has the instincts and ball skils to be able to make a difference with this team. The Yellow Jackets have some veteran cornerbacks on the team, including the additions of transfers Jaylen Mbakwe and Jonas Duclona, but Terry is talented and can find a way on the field quickly.
Like Outlaw and Speakman, Jones made some headlines this spring with his play and he looks like a potential day one impact player and the Yellow Jackets might need him to be that.
The safety position has a lot of inexperience coming into the year, but Jones has a chance to play because of that. Tae Harris and Fenix Felton are the presumed starters, but while they have talent, they are short on experience heading into their sophomore years. Savion Riley is the veteran of the group, but he struggled with injuries last season and the rest of the players in the room are freshmen.
Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key said he thought Jones could make an impact this season:
"Let's let him learn how to crawl and then get up off of these and start walking, maybe jogging a little bit, before we put him in that full thing. He's practiced 11 days, 12 days now. So, just go and say he had a good day, but it doesn't mean he's Ronnie Lott out there yet. I mean, he's not there yet. He made a couple of good plays today. So, he's a really talented, very conscientious kid. Down the road, could he? I don't know, maybe if we need it," said Key.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/georgiatech as Four Intriguing Georgia Tech Freshmen on Defense Heading Into Fall Camp .
