For the first time since the beginning of fall camp, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key met with the media. Key is slated to meet with the media again next Tuesday before the Yellow Jackets face Colorado in week one. Among the many topics that Key talked about today was the naming of team captains for the 0226 season, and he announced that Aidan Birr , Trelain Maddox , and Jordan Walker are going to be the captains for Georgia Tech in 2026.
Birr is one of the best kickers in the country and was the only Georgia Tech player to receive preseason All-ACC recognition. I think that he is a legitimate All-American candidate this season and is more than deserving of being named a pernament team captain for the program this season.
Maddox is heading into his third season at Georgia Tech and while he does not get as much buzz as running backs like Justice Haynes and Malachi Hosley, Maddox has had a great fall camp and brings a certain level of physicality and toughness at the position that nobody else at the position has on the roster.
He should not be forgotten in Georgia Tech's rotation and he spoke earlier during fall camp about having the confidence to go out and play:
"All of that just comes with confidence. And the more confidence you get, the better you're going to feel. Plays you're going to make based off your confidence um and it's just believing in your body making sure it's going to hold up and everything so i have the confidence now and I'm ready to go.
Just being versatile, being able to do more than just being a running back- running routes, blocking, just finding a way to get on the field, find my role, and help them when they get tired or when they need help and need a break. Then I come in at running back and do all of that stuff too. So just pushing every day like I'm the best guy in the room, even though it's a room full of guys who feel like they're the best."
Walker has come in from Rutgers and assumed a mantle of leadership that can be hard for any first year player, let alone a transfer who has not been with the program. He is going to be a major player along the defensive line this season and has been a vocal leader since arriving in the spring:
Georgia Tech will open its season next Thursday against Colorado . The game will kickoff at 8:00 p.m. ET and be televised on ESPN.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/georgiatech as Brent Key Names Georgia Tech's Permanent Team Captains For the 2026 season .
