The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will enter the 2026 season with one position that will be looked at under a huge microscope, and that position will be the team’s edge rusher. As it sits, it seems like incoming transfer Brayden Manley will be the Yellow Jackets starter for the position in 2026.
The junior transferred from the Mercer Bears in the offseason after garnering a ton of national attention by piling up 9.5 sacks with the Bears last season, which would be just over half of what the entire defense for the Yellow Jackets got last season combined, as they finished with just 18 sacks.
Manley will have a lot of weight on his shoulders, as it will be a position that Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key will look at a lot this season to try and get a consistent pass rush throughout the season, and it will be a tall task to ask of Manley to do since he is making the jump from FCS to FBS.
Manley has proven though that he can put up numbers and cause havoc in the backfield, because aside from his 9.5 sacks last season, Manley was also able to compile ten quarterback hurries and 18 tackles for loss for the Bears in 2024.
Manley will be joined on the defensive line by Jordan van den Berg, who was named to the All-ACC Second Team last season, and is also slated for a huge season in 2025. The duo could make up one of the more intriguing leaders among the defensive line in the ACC.