Kyle Pope is looking for defenders who can, first and foremost, get in the backfield.
“We’re here to play fast and violent, and we’re here to affect the quarterback. We gotta live on the other side of the line of scrimmage,” the Georgia Tech assistant coach said Tuesday. “That’s how we’ll attack it in our (individual drills) and take it from (the individual) to team and from team to the ballgames on Saturdays.
“That’s the biggest thing we look for, and that’s what we’re drilling into those guys, ‘Hey, look, this is what it has to look like, this is what it’s gonna look like and this is how we’re gonna practice.’ We gotta practice what we preach, we gotta go out and perform.”
Pope’s niche role on Tech’s defensive staff is to find the best the Yellow Jackets have to offer when it comes to the pass rush, whether that be as an outside linebacker or defensive end. And the good news for Pope, in his first season with Tech, is that he has some options to pick from when surveying the roster.
“When you got a lot of toys like that, hey, let’s go have fun,” Pope said. “It’s very fun to have a group of guys in that (group) that we’re blessed to have, not just (for) myself, but as a defense.”
Getting into the offensive backfield is a main point of emphasis for a Tech defense that mostly struggled to do so in 2023.
The Jackets recorded only 21 sacks, a number which ranked 105th nationally. Eight of those sacks came in one game against Wake Forest. Tech failed to record a sack in five other games. And of those 21 sacks, 16 came from Kyle Kennard, Paul Moala, Andre White, D’Quan Douse and Eddie Kelly – all of whom have transferred or graduated.
Tech also had only 60 tackles for loss, which ranked 106th nationally and was the program’s lowest total since recording only 54 in 2018.
But with Pope and defensive line coach Jess Simpson now in the building, and with a handful of returning linemen coupled with a few key transfers, the Jackets sound confident they will improve greatly on those poor numbers from a year ago.
“This is the best D-line we’ve had,” Tech senior Kevin Harris said. “I think that just goes to show how hard these guys been working and the work we put in on the field, off the field, just trying to be a better team, a better foundation for the rest of our team. We take it on ourselves, the D-line, just the intensity of practice and all that stuff, it starts with us up front.
“I think we gotta really lean back into that and just continue to do that so we can keep on climbing and just being ready for adversity, showing the right characteristics of a mean defensive line. I think that’s who we are right now.”
Harris, who had his best season as a Jacket in 2023 with 27 stops, two tackles for loss and a sack, will be counted upon as part of Tech’s new-look pass rush. Seniors Sylvain Yondjouen and Joshua Robinson and Southern California transfer Romello Height are among the other defensive linemen expected to make an impact.
Under first-year coordinator Tyler Santucci, Tech’s defensive scheme will mostly have a base lineup of four defensive linemen and two linebackers. But that could shift into two tackles, a defensive end and an outside ‘backer, depending on down and distance.
The lineup also could be dictated by who is performing best. After all, Pope explained, Tech’s defense should revolve around who is making plays consistently.
“At the end of the day, every guy has a role. The biggest thing is hammering to those guys what their role is no matter what we’re doing up front on defense,” Pope added. “And not only that, we’re gonna make sure we get the best guys on the field and to get the best guys on the field we have to, as a defense, get things sculpted around, ‘Hey, who’s our best players, how do we get ‘em on the field and how can we allow them to be the best versions of themselves on the field?’”
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