THE FLATS – Three Georgia Tech football student-athletes – defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg (Johannesburg, South Africa/Providence Christian Academy (Ga.)), tight end Luke Harpring (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School) and offensive lineman Jameson Riggs (Douglasville, Ga./Hiram H.S.) – were named academic all-district by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday.
To earn academic all-district recognition, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average as both an undergraduate and a graduate student, be at least a sophomore academically and have played in at least 90% of his team’s games or started at least 66% of his team’s games in 2025.
van den Berg headlines Georgia Tech’s three all-district nominees, as he was also named a finalist for academic all-America recognition. van den Berg graduated from Georgia Tech in December with a master’s degree in international affairs, science and technology. On the field, he was an honorable-mention all-American (Phil Steele) and a first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection after recording 11 tackles for loss, which is tied for the most in the nation among Power Four conference defensive tackles.
In addition to his academic and athletic achievements, van den Berg purchased a local laundromat last year, which he operates as an investment property.
As an academic all-America finalist, van den Berg is in a select group of all-district honorees that have advanced to the academic all-America ballot in recognition of their elite performance on the field and in the classroom. First-, second- and third-team academic all-Americans will be announced on January 27.
Harpring, an architecture major, played in all 13 games for the Yellow Jackets in 2025 and caught 13 passes for 158 yards (12.2 avg.).
Riggs, an aerospace engineering major, also played in all 13 games for Tech as a reserve offensive lineman and a primary contributor on special teams. He was part of a Georgia Tech offensive line that paved the way for the Yellow Jackets to rank among the top 25 nationally in rushing offense (21st – 197.5 ypg) and top five in fewest sacks allowed (third – 0.69 pg).
van den Berg, Harpring and Riggs helped lead Georgia Tech to a 9-4 record in 2025, which was tied for the 10th-most victories in Tech’s 133-season history. The Yellow Jackets went 6-2 in ACC play, good for a tie for second place in the 17-team conference. The Jackets are the only ACC team that has finished in the top four of the conference standings each of the last three seasons.
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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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