THE FLATS – Georgia Tech fifth-year linebacker Kyle Efford (Dacula, Ga./Dacula H.S.) is one of 51 players on the official watch list for the 2026 Butkus Award, which is presented each year to the nation’s top collegiate linebacker.
Efford earns the national recognition on the strength of being Georgia Tech’s leading tackler each of the last three seasons (81 in 2023, 64 in 2024 and 77 in 2025), becoming the first Yellow Jacket in 24 years to lead the team in stops for three-straight seasons (Ricardo Wimbush – 1999-2001).
A Georgia Tech fan favorite, Efford recorded 77 tackles a season ago, en route to honorable-mention all-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition. In 2024, he was a third-team all-ACC selection after leading Georgia Tech with 64 stops, despite missing three games due to injury. He led the Yellow Jackets with a career-high 81 tackles in 2023, in spite of not entering the starting lineup until midway through his redshirt freshman campaign.
Off the field, Efford graduated from Georgia Tech in December 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He was named to the 2024 all-ACC academic team in recognition of his performance on the field and in the classroom.
VIDEO: Kyle Efford Press Conference (Fall Camp - Aug. 4, 2026)
The Butkus Award’s 51-player watch list honors its namesake, Dick Butkus, who was one of football’s top linebackers as a collegiate player at Illinois and with the NFL’s Chicago Bears. Semifinalists for the 42nd-annual Butkus Award will be announced on Oct. 28 and the winner will be revealed during the week of Dec. 7.
Efford and the Yellow Jackets are in the midst of fall camp in preparation for their season opener on Thursday, Sept. 3 versus Colorado. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field and the opener will be televised nationally on ESPN.
2026 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS
2026 Georgia Tech football season, mini-plan and single-game tickets are on sale now. In addition to the opener versus Colorado, the Yellow Jackets’ highly anticipated seven-game home schedule at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field features another massive non-conference tilt against Tennessee (Saturday, Sept. 12 – 7 p.m., ESPN), as well as ACC battles against defending conference champion Duke (Oct. 10) and 2025 bowl winners Louisville (Nov. 7) and Wake Forest (Nov. 21).
Season Tickets
With one of the most attractive home schedules in school history, coming on the heels of back-to-back sellout crowds to close out the 2025 campaign, the only way to guarantee the best seats for all seven games at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field in 2026 is by being a season ticket member. One limited-edition Buzz/Ramblin’ Reck bobblehead will be gifted to each season ticket account.
Mini-Plans
A pair of three-game mini plans offer a 15% savings over purchasing tickets on a single-game basis.
The White & Gold Mini Plan tickets for three of the most in-demand home dates of the season – the opener versus Colorado (Thursday, Sept. 3), Family Weekend against Mercer (Saturday, Sept. 19) and homecoming versus Boston College (Saturday, Oct. 24), starting at just $115.
The ACC Pick-3 Mini Plan allows fans to choose three of the Yellow Jackets’ four ACC home games this season – versus Duke (Saturday, Oct. 10), Boston College (Saturday, Oct. 24), Louisville (Saturday, Nov. 7) and Wake Forest (Saturday, Nov. 21) – starting at just $96.
Single-Game Tickets
Single-game tickets start as low as $30. Tickets for the all-new Wreck Deck premium experience in the Fanning Center, available for purchase on a single-game basis only, start at $150.
For more information and to purchase 2026 Georgia Tech football tickets today, click HERE.
Georgia Tech posted a 9-4 overall record (tied for the 10th-most victories in Tech’s 133-season football history) and No. 24 final national ranking in 2025. The Jackets rose to as high as No. 7 in the national rankings and were ranked in the final 14 national polls of the season, which was their longest streak since Tech was ranked in all 16 polls in 1999.
Georgia Tech also went 6-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play in ‘25, which was good for a tie for second place in the 17-team conference. The Yellow Jackets are the only ACC team that has finished in the top four of the conference standings each of the last three seasons.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
