JOL’s Countdown to Kickoff: No. 44

The countdown is on until “Toe Meets Leather” on Sept. 3 when Georgia Tech hosts Colorado in the 2026 season opener on The Flats. Over the next several days JOL will look at at least one current Jacket and a historical Jacket of the corresponding number to the days until kickoff, continuing today with No. 44. Current Jacket: Kyle Efford Kyle Efford has played a lot of football over the last five seasons on The Flats to the tune of 40 games and 30 starts. The former Dacula (Ga.) standout has led the Jackets in tackles each of the last three seasons from his linebacker spot, becoming the first GT player since Recardo Wimbush (1999-2001) to achieve that feat. Efford came to Tech in the 2022 recruiting class as a 3-star prospect according to Rivals as he was a key piece of Dacula making it to the GHSA State Final Four in three of his four prep seasons, playing big snaps at both linebacker and running back. Efford played in four games as a true freshman in 2022, preserving his redshirt and then going on to play in all 13 games as a redshirt-freshman in 2023 with seven starts when he had 81 tackles (37 solo), one sack, one interception and one pass defended. Efford earned Third-team All-ACC recognition for his efforts in 2024 as a redshirt-sophomore, playing in 10 games as an injury forced him to miss two in the middle of the season and the Birmingham Bowl. Despite those missed games, he still led the team in tackles with 64 total (33 solo) to go with 5.5 tackles-for-loss, three sacks and one pass breakup. Last season in 2025, Efford once again was recognized by the conference as an All-ACC Honorable Mention pick thanks to a redshirt-junior season in which he started all 13 games and compiled a team-leading 77 tackles (33 solo), two tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two pass breakups. In total in his four seasons to this point, Efford has 223 total tackles (103 solo), 8.5 tackles-for-loss, 5.5 sacks, one forced fumble, three pass breakups and one interception. Off the field, Efford graduated from GT with a bachelor’s in business administration this past December and has continued in his master’s program in history, technology and society. Last week he was chosen by head coach Brent Key as one of the three representatives for the Jackets at ACC Kickoff in Charlotte along with running backs Malachi Hosley and Justice Haynes. Quez Jackson celebrates after making a play during a game in his career at Georgia Tech. (Photo by Brett Davis/USA Today Sports) Historical Jacket: Quez Jackson Quez Jackson had a productive and consistent career on The Flats from 2018-2021, finishing his college days with 247 total tackles over 47 games played at Georgia Tech. Jackson signed with Tech in the 2018 recruiting class, picking the Jackets over double-digit offers to programs all over the country after a two-time All-State career at Peach County (Ga.). Jackson played some as a freshman in 2018 as a reserve linebacker and on special teams and finished with 15 tackles (nine solo) before becoming a bigger contributor as a sophomore in 2019 when he played in 12 games and started the final five. That season he compiled 49 tackles, five tackles-for-loss and one forced fumble. Jackson really came into his own over his final two years on The Flats, including the Covid-shortened 2020 campaign in which he was second on the team with 80 tackles, starting all 10 games. He also had 4.5 tackles-for-loss and two interceptions. Jackson’s final season on The Flats was in 2021 when he was named All-ACC Second Team after playing in 12 games (11 starts) and racking up 103 total tackles (46 solo), eight tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one pass defended. He finished his four-year career at GT with 247 total tackles (128 solo), 18 tackles-for-loss, three sacks, three fumbles recovered, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and six passes defended. Jackson went on to play professionally in the Indoor Football League.