Georgia Tech’s Efford Medically Retires from Football

THE FLATS – One of the most decorated and beloved student-athletes in Georgia Tech football history, fifth-year linebacker Kyle Efford (Dacula, Ga./Dacula H.S.) announced on Tuesday that he has made the decision to medically retire from playing football due to an accumulation of injuries over the course of his career.

Efford finishes his career with 250 tackles, including 222 during a three-season stretch from 2023-25, when he became the first Yellow Jacket in 24 years to lead the team in tackles three-straight seasons – 81 in 2023 (despite not becoming a starter until midway through the season), 64 in 2024 (despite missing three games due to injury) and 77 in 2025. In 2023, he was the first freshman to lead Georgia Tech in tackles since 2000 and the first freshman to do it outright since 1999.

Although he was limited to 169 defensive snaps over three games this season, Efford averaged 9.0 tackles per contest, which would rank third in the Atlantic Coast Conference if he had played in enough games to qualify for the official NCAA statistics. His 27 total tackles this season included a career-high-tying 13 in the opener versus Colorado. A week later, he had eight stops against Tennessee despite reinjuring his surgically repaired shoulder during the game. He missed the Yellow Jackets’ next two games but returned to record six tackles and help lead Georgia Tech to a 28-25 win over No. 23 Duke last Saturday.

He made one of the biggest plays in the win over Duke when he stopped the Blue Devils for a 1-yard loss early in the fourth quarter with Georgia Tech clinging to a three-point lead. The victory upped the Yellow Jackets to 6-1 against nationally ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents with Efford on the field over the last four seasons. He had at least five tackles in each of those six victories, highlighted by his 10 stops in Tech’s season-opening triumph over No. 10 Florida State in 2024.

KYLE EFFORD CAREER STATS

Efford’s honors include being a two-year team captain (2024 and 2026), a two-time all-ACC selection (third team in 2024 and honorable mention in 2025) and a member of the all-ACC academic team. The epitome of a Tech Man, he added Georgia Tech alumnus to his long list of accolades when he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Institute in December 2025.

He helped lead Georgia Tech to a total of 30 wins, three-consecutive bowl berths (for the first time since 2012-14) and three-straight top-four finishes in the ACC (the only team to finish in the top four of the conference’s standings each of the last three seasons).

Efford will continue to be a part of Georgia Tech’s team throughout the 2026 season as a captain and player-coach.

2026 GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL TICKETS

Single-game tickets for Georgia Tech’s three remaining home dates this season – versus Boston College (Saturday, Oct. 24), Louisville (Saturday, Nov. 7) and Wake Forest (Saturday, Nov. 21) – start as low as $30. Tickets for the all-new Wreck Deck premium experience in the Fanning Center start at $150.

For more information and to purchase tickets today, click HERE.

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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