The return of Akelo Stone gives Georgia Tech’s defensive front a boost
Akelo Stone said he began entertaining thoughts of a return to Atlanta even during the course of the 2024 season.
“I just had that feeling I wanted to come back home, to be honest, and just finish it out where I started right here with coach (Brent) Key, with some of my boys back on the team,” Stone said.
A 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive tackle, Stone was a key offseason acquisition for Georgia Tech in its effort to rebuild and strengthen its defensive front. Stone’s decision to leave Ole Miss to transfer to Tech made him a rare case of a player serving two terms of duty with the same program after a short time elsewhere.
Stone first enrolled at Tech in January 2020 and played in six games for the Yellow Jackets that season. He had been a three-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite, out of Jenkins High School in Savannah and committed to Tech in April 2019, choosing Tech over Wake Forest, Missouri, West Virginia and the Naval Academy.
Over the next two seasons, Stone totaled only 15 tackles over 15 games. But after the 2022 season, in which Stone logged 266 defensive snaps, Stone was named the team’s outstanding defensive lineman in spring practice and a captain for the 2023 spring game, Tech’s first under Key.
Shortly thereafter, however, Stone opted to transfer and wound up at Ole Miss. Five months later, in Oxford, Mississippi, Stone made five tackles against his old team in a 48-23 win. The five stops turned out to be a season high.
Stone saw his impact on the field decrease in 2024 with the Rebels, as he totaled only 175 snaps. He entered the portal again in April and announced days later his decision to wear white and gold again.
“It’s just been a pleasure having him back,” Tech defensive tackle Jason Moore said. “Coming in as a freshman with him, he was like maybe the first person I met outside of my roommates. His two-year hiatus, we always talked about missing playing with one another and with some of the older guys. So it’s great having him back.”
Moore added that Stone’s game is “night and day” from where it was when he left Bobby Dodd Stadium two years ago. Stone will be part of Tech’s defensive line two-deep rotation when it opens the season Aug. 29 at Colorado, rotating with the likes of Moore, Jordan van den Berg and Central Florida transfer Matthew Alexander.
Stone, who hosted a Savannah event in July called the “Back to School Blitz” to provide haircuts, games, shaved ice and backpacks filled with supplies to students, agreed that he’s a much different player than the one who first arrived on Tech’s campus five years ago, and that includes understanding and imparting knowledge for the betterment of the team is just as crucial as his individual success.
“I feel like every aspect from when I left (I’m better). I’m stronger, I’m faster, I understand the game better. Just even coaching the younger guys better, giving them better coaching points,” he added. “Everywhere I went, whether it was a camp, different school or just somebody else training me, I’m gonna take what I learned and give it back so we all can get better.”
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