The rankings for the top tacklers in the ACC provide the evidence for Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker’s rationale to switch from a two-linebacker alignment to three. The Yellow Jackets’ three linebackers – Quez Jackson, Ayinde Eley and Charlie Thomas – rank in the top 10 in the conference in tackles per game.
Jackson leads with 10.2 tackles per game, Eley is third at 9.2 and Thomas is ninth at 7.8. Jackson also is tied for sixth in FBS in tackles per game. The last Tech player to lead the ACC in tackles was Keyaron Fox in 2003, with 11.9. In Tech’s most recent game, the 31-27 win at Duke, Eley recorded a career-high 14 tackles and was named ACC linebacker of the week.
Eley, a grad transfer from Maryland, said that when he first arrived in January, the position group had a goal to be a dominant unit, but did not identify a specific goal, such as having three of the top 10 tacklers in the conference.
“But we did want to be a productive (position group), and it’s working out well right now,” Eley said Wednesday.
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