Georgia Tech receives its most all-conference honors in seven years
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech football student-athletes earned a total of eight all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors on Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets’ most all-conference nods since 2014.
Jahmyr Gibbs (Dalton, Ga./Dalton) earned first-team honors as an all-purpose back, linebacker Quez Jackson (Fort Valley, Ga./Peach County) was a second-team honoree and defensive tackle Djimon Brooks (Sandersville, Ga./Washington County), offensive tackle Devin Cochran (Norcross, Ga./Greater Atlanta Christian), linebacker Charlie Thomas (Thomasville, Ga./Thomasville) and safety Juanyeh Thomas (Niceville, Fla./Niceville) all received honorable-mention recognition. Additionally, Gibbs was named second-team all-ACC as a specialist and third-team as a running back.
Gibbs amassed 1,805 all-purpose yards this season, good for third nationally (150.4 yards per game) and second in Georgia Tech history. With 746 rushing yards, 470 receiving yards and 859 kickoff return yards, he became just the sixth NCAA Division I FBS player since 2000 and the first since Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey in 2015 with 700 rushing yards, 450 receiving yards and 550 kickoff return yards in a single season.
Jackson tallied a whopping 103 tackles as a junior in 2021, becoming the first Yellow Jacket to surpass the century mark for tackles in a single season since P.J. Davis in 2014. Jackson ranks third in the ACC and 33rd nationally in tackles per game (8.6). He is also tied for third in the ACC and 21st nationally with a team-high-tying two fumble recoveries, and finished second on the squad with eight tackles for loss.
Brooks completed his journey from un-recruited walk-on to honorable-mention all-conference performer by leading Georgia Tech’s defensive front with 30 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
A graduate transfer from Vanderbilt, Cochran started all 12 games at left tackle and anchored an offensive line paved the way for both Gibbs and Dontae Smith to earn all-conference recognition as running backs from Pro Football Focus.
Charlie Thomas led Georgia Tech with three sacks, 10 tackles for loss and two interceptions on the campaign. He also ranked fourth on the team with 70 total tackles, tied for second on the squad with three quarterback hurries and forced a fumble.
Juanyeh Thomas led the Yellow Jackets’ secondary and ranked third on the team overall with 81 tackles on the season. He was twice named the ACC’s Defensive Back of the Week – on Oct. 9 at Duke (when he registered a career-high 11 tackles and made the game-sealing interception) and on Nov. 6 at Miami (when he returned an interception of a two-point conversion attempt 100-plus yards for a defensive two-point conversion and became the first NCAA Division I FBS player since 2015 to record at least nine tackles, a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble while also scoring points in a single game).
Georgia Tech’s eight all-ACC honors are its 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.
