Two of Georgia Tech’s top defensive players will miss the Birmingham Bowl.
Tech coach Brent Key confirmed Tuesday that linebacker Kyle Efford and nickel back Rodney Shelley won’t play against Vanderbilt at 3:30 p.m. Friday because of injury.
“They had surgery right after the last game,” Key said. “We made a decision on when to do it. Both those guys had continued to play that way through the season, and it got to the point where they had nothing left in them to keep going.
“But that’s the nature of this team, these guys; they give everything they have. They’ll be able to be back for next season.”
Efford has led the Yellow Jackets in tackles in two consecutive seasons, recording 64 this season and 81 the season before. The sophomore missed games against Notre Dame (Oct. 19) and Virginia Tech (Oct. 26) and played less than 32 plays in each of the Jackets’ final three games.
A Dacula High School graduate who redshirted in 2022, Efford had three double-digit tackle performances this season and two last season. He was voted a permanent team captain in November and is the team’s second best tackler, according to Pro Football Focus.
Shelley played in 11 games this season (also missing the Notre Dame matchup) and on 442 defensive snaps. The junior made 19 tackles (five for a loss), broke up four passes and blocked a kick at North Carolina.
A Langston Hughes High School graduate, Shelley has played in 34 games for the Jackets and left the Georgia contest (Nov. 29) after only six plays.
Jackets embedded in Birmingham
Tech practiced on campus Monday and then took a bus to Birmingham, where they will be for the remainder of the week.
On Monday, the Jackets arrived around 4 p.m. local time and then attended a comedy and hypnosis show at the Stardome Comedy Club. On Tuesday morning, the Jackets practiced at Vestavia Hills High School and then spent the afternoon at Topgolf.
Both the Jackets and Commodores will visit the Birmingham VA Medical Center before going up against one another in a bowling competition at Vestavia Bowl.
“The brotherhood, the camaraderie that we have going on right now — we got a big senior class so trying to string this out as long as possible, make the most of our opportunity and situation,” Tech safety LaMiles Brooks said Tuesday. “Try to hang out as a team, chop it up, see where guys’ heads are, things like that. Trying to keep the brotherhood and the family relation going.”
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