Georgia Tech football’s new defense starts with this simple philosophy

The longer Jason Semore coaches, the more convinced he’s become philosophical.

The simpler you teach, the more complex it can become.

In his third different program in four seasons as a defensive coordinator, Semore has developed a more efficient way to implement Georgia Tech’s new defense.

The annual wave of transfers coming and going has only increased the need for simplicity. In the past, players had years to learn a system as coaches gradually increased the volume and introduced more concepts.

“I changed my mindset from that to, ‘I’m going to learn three concepts and that’s all I’m going to run,” Semore said. “But I’m going to do it a thousand ways. So when guys understand the concepts of what we do from a schematic standpoint, well now we can do all kinds of things.”

Semore was hired in January, his 20th season in college football and third stint at Georgia Tech. His task is overhauling a defense that helped the Jackets to an 8-0 start last season but struggled to maintain that level of play down the stretch. Tech allowed an average of 33 points over its final five games and lost four times.

The Jackets ranked 96th (of 134 teams) in passing yards allowed and 106th in turnover margin.

Semore’s defenses the past three seasons, two at Marshall and last year at Southern Miss, had a reputation for being aggressive. But he said that description is more nuanced than conventional football speak.

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, you guys are really aggressive because you blitz a bunch of people,’” Semore said.

It’s more fundamental than that.

There will be blitzes, but Semore is focused on defensive lineman getting vertical and players attacking blocks instead of reacting.

“It’s more of an NFL mindset,” he said. “In the NFL, nobody’s doing block reaction.

“Those (NFL) guys major in creating pass rush on the way to stopping the run. I’ve adopted that mindset because it allows you to simplify your defense.”

An example of Semore’s methods for implementing the defense came in the spring, when he used a week to teach nothing but vision coverage, watching quarterbacks during plays instead of matching receivers step for step.

Then he moved on to match coverage, which is more receiver focused.

As play calls change, those concepts remain.

“A lot of guys make the mistake, and I made it as a younger coach, of putting in all these concepts and schemes and it just becomes overwhelming,” Semore said. “It’s not executable when you have player turnover like we have now.”

Tech has transfers across the defense that figure to play significant roles. Defensive end Jordan Walker, previously at Rutgers, was named a team captain this month by coach Brent Key. He’s joined by newcomers in defensive lineman Tawfiq Thomas (Colorado) cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe and end Noah Carter (Alabama), among others.

Returning players from last year’s Tech defense had to start fresh with Semore, too.

He pointed to senior linebackers E.J. Lightsey and Kyle Efford as players with desirable intangibles.

And, Semore added, a pair of safeties have thrived this month in camp: senior Savion Riley and sophomore Tae Harris.

“In terms of this is how we practice, these are the standards and just influencing guys that play with the right mentality, I would put Savion up there,” he said.

Expectations are high for Harris, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound former four-star recruit from Cedartown. He totaled 21 tackles last season as a freshman.

“He should have played more last year,” Key said. “That’s on me, but that won’t happen this year. Tae will be out there. He’s explosive, he’s fast, great communicator.”

So will Tech’s defense improve in 2026? Semore is the Jackets’ fifth different defensive coordinator in as many seasons. He said his players’ mindset gives him confidence.