THE FLATS – Led by four first-team honorees – Georgia Tech’s most in 16 years – nine Yellow Jackets have earned all-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition in 2025, the ACC announced on Tuesday.
Georgia Tech’s nine all-conference selections include:
First Team
r-Sr. QB Haynes King (Longview, Texas/Longview H.S.)
Sr. OG Keylan Rutledge (Royston, Ga./Franklin County H.S.)
r-Sr. DT Jordan van den Berg (Johannesburg, South Africa/Providence Christian Academy (Ga.))
r-Jr. PK Aidan Birr (Kennedale, Texas/Kennedale H.S.)
Third Team
r-Sr. P Marshall Nichols (Atlanta, Ga./Holy Innocents Episcopal School)
Honorable Mention
Jr. RB Malachi Hosley (Columbus, Ga./Northside H.S.)
r-Jr. OT Malachi Carney (Pleasant Grove, Ala./Pleasant Grove H.S.)
r-So. OT Ethan Mackenny (Marietta, Ga./Lassiter H.S.)
r-Jr. LB Kyle Efford (Dacula, Ga./Dacula H.S.)
King, a Heisman Trophy and ACC Player of the Year candidate, headlines Georgia Tech’s four first-team all-ACC performers, which are Tech’s most since six Yellow Jackets earned first-team all-conference recognition in 2009. He leads the ACC and ranks third nationally in total offense (329.0 ypg) and was named ACC Quarterback of the Week five times in 11 games this season.
King is the only power-conference player in the nation this season, and just the fifth since 1956, to average at least 240 passing yards and 80 rushing yards per game, according to sports-reference.com. Of the previous four power-conference players to accomplish the feat, three won the Heisman Trophy (LSU’s Jayden Daniels – 2025, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson – 2016 and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel – 2012), while the fourth, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts in 2019, finished second in Heisman voting (Jackson also averaged 240 passing/80 rushing yards in 2016, when he was third in Heisman balloting).
Three more all-America candidates round out the Jackets’ first-team all-ACC honorees.
Rutledge anchors a Georgia Tech offensive front that paved the way for the Yellow Jackets to lead the ACC in fewest sacks allowed (nine in 12 games) and rank second in the conference in rushing (203.0 ypg) and total offense (466.3 ypg). On Monday, he was named the winner of the ACC’s Piccolo Award, which is presented annually to the conference’s most courageous player.
van den Berg is one of the nation’s most dominant defensive tackles, as he leads the ACC and all power-conference DTs nationally with 11 tackles for loss this season.
Birr, one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award (college football’s place kicker of the year), leads the nation with 25 field goals made and is tied for tops in the nation in kick scoring (117 points). Among his school-record 25 field goals made are two game-winners (vs. Clemson and at Boston College) and one that sent Tech to overtime in an eventual win at Wake Forest.
Nichols is averaging 47.2 yards per punt this season, a figure that would rank fourth nationally if he had enough attempts to qualify for the NCAA’s official statistical rankings (thanks to Tech’s high-powered offense, his 31 punts are 13 short of the threshold for qualification).
Hosley, the 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year, ranked second on the team in rushing (634), yards from scrimmage (740) and touchdowns (7) in his first season as a Yellow Jacket.
Carney and Mackenny were the bookends to a Georgia Tech offensive line that was one of 10 semifinalists for the 2025 Joe Moore Award (college football’s offensive line of the year).
With a team-best 72 tackles, Efford is on the verge of becoming the first player to lead Tech in stops for three-straight seasons since Recardo Wimbush was the Jackets’ leading tackler from 1999-2001.
Georgia Tech’s nine all-conference performers led the Yellow Jackets to only the 16th nine-win regular season in the program’s 133-year history. The 9-3 and No. 24/23-ranked Yellow Jackets will learn their postseason destination when bowl selections are announced on Sunday.
In the meantime, the ACC will announce its individual awards on Wednesday (Players of the Year) and Thursday (Coach of the Year).
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.
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