Former Georgia Tech all-Atlantic Coast Conference linebacker Ayinde "Ace" Eley returned to The Flats in 2026 as a defensive quality control assistant.
Eley racked up 208 tackles in just two seasons as a Yellow Jacket (2021-22), including 90 as a redshirt junior in 2021 and 118 (which ranked 15th nationally) as a redshirt senior in 2022. He also had 3.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles (tied for third nationally) and two fumble recoveries (tied for 22nd nationally) in 2022, en route to second-team all-ACC honors. He became one of first two NCAA Division I FBS players of the 21st century to record at least 118 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 9.5 TFL, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in a regular season in '22.
Eley signed with the National Football League's Carolina Panthers in 2023 and also spent time with the NFL's Houston Texans in 2024 before going on to play two seasons in the Canadian Football League, one with the British Columbia Lions (2024) and one with the Ottawa RedBlacks (2025). He was a nominee for the CFL's Oustanding Rookie after making 60 tackles and forcing a fumble in 17 games with BC in 2024. He finished his CFL career with 80 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in 22 regular-season games.
Before transferring to Georgia Tech, Eley played collegiately at Maryland, where he was an honorable-mention all-Big Ten selection as a junior in 2019 and earned a bachelor's degree in political science in just three-and-a-half years.