THE FLATS – Georgia Tech football student-athletes earned a total of seven all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors on Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets’ second-straight season garnering seven or more selections.
Linebacker Ayinde Eley (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel (Maryland)) earned second-team honors, while safety LaMiles Brooks (Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian Academy), linebacker Charlie Thomas (Thomasville, Ga./Thomasville) and defensive end Keion White (Garner, N.C./Garner (Old Dominion)) all received third-team recognition. Additionally, wide receiver Nate McCollum (McDonough, Ga./Dutchtown), all-purpose back Hassan Hall (Atlanta, Ga./Maynard Jackson (Louisville)) and cornerback Zamari Walton (Melbourne, Fla./Melbourne Central Catholic) were named honorable mention all-ACC.
Eley amassed a whopping 118 tackles to lead Georgia Tech and rank third in the league. In a historic season, Eley became the first Division I FBS player since 2016 with 118 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 12 games.
Co-leading the nation, Eley is also one of just two Yellow Jackets since at least 2000 to force four fumbles in a single season (Eric Henderson, 2015). He also ranked fifth in the ACC in fumbles recovered and 20th in tackles for loss.
One of the top safeties in the country (No. 21, according to Pro Football Focus), Brooks led Tech and ranked third in the ACC with three interceptions on the season. Brooks finished the year with the fourth-most tackles on the team, making 52 stops, including 2.5 for loss. He also broke up seven passes to finish with 10 passes defended – good for 12th in the league – and recovered a fumble.
Receiving his second All-ACC honor (honorable mention in 2021), Thomas also turned in a monstrous 2022 campaign in which he ranked second in the conference in solo tackles (71), and fifth in total tackles (112) and fumbles recovered (2). He also finished top-20 in the league in tackles for loss (10.5).
In total this season, Thomas was the only player in the nation and only the second in Division I FBS since 2000 with 112 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two fumbles forced through 12 games – joining Paul Dawson, TCU in 2014.
White was a force on the defensive line for Georgia Tech, ranking sixth in the ACC with 14.0 tackles for loss and seventh in the league with 7.5 sacks. It’s the most sacks and tackles for loss by a Georgia Tech player since second-round NFL Draft pick Jeremiah Attaochu in 2013. In addition to his dominance behind the line of scrimmage, White also finished third on the team with 54 total tackles for the year.
Receiving honorable mention honors, McCollum had a breakout season in which he hauled in 60 receptions for 655 yards and three touchdowns. He finished fifth in the league in receptions, 10th in receiving yards and tied for fifth in 100-yard receiving games.
He joined just two players in the ACC to have multiple games with at least eight receptions, 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. His 60 receptions mark the most by a Georgia Tech receiver in a season since Calvin Johnson (2006).
In his first season on The Flats after transferring, Hall ranked 15th in the ACC with 900 all-purpose yards (521 rushing, 165 receiving and 214 kicking return yards). Hall is one of just two players in the conference with 500 rushing yards, 150 receiving yards and 200 kickoff return yards.
Hall would rank fourth in the ACC in kickoff return yards (23.8 ypr) if he didn’t fall shy of the minimum number of attempts needed to qualify.
One of the top lockdown corners in the conference, Walton finished with 36 tackles, six pass breakups and one interception. His seven passes defended rank tied for 19th in the ACC as Walton was rated one of the top 120 cornerbacks in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus.
Georgia Tech’s seven all-ACC honors mark the second-straight year with seven or more honorees (eight in 2021). The two years both mark the most in a single season since 14 Yellow Jackets earned all-conference recognition in 2014. Tech did not earn more than four all-ACC nods in any season from 2015-20.
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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