All Effort all the time
Kyle Efford has been one of my favorite Georgia Tech players over the past few years. There’s something relatable about him. He’s not the biggest guy on the field but he works his butt off and makes a big impact running from one end of the field to the other. I also love his style. There’s something about that big neck roll that just makes him more intimidating.
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Last year Efford put up 64 total tackles and 3 sacks over the course of the season. It should be noted that Efford did struggle with a shoulder injury throughout the season which limited some of his play time. Efford missed the three games against Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and the bowl game against Vandy due to shoulder injuries. His stats seem to reflect his health troubles as his tackles per game dropped off towards the end of the season.
Still Efford’s impact was felt as he had some big plays, especially in the Miami game. His leadership was also felt on the field as he helped motivate players with his strong personality. Efford was a big reason why the run defense showed a significant improvement last year.
Where Efford seemed to struggle was in the pass game. When in zone coverage Efford often found himself out of position. This led to many open passes over the middle of the field which hurt us against teams like FSU, Louisville, and Syracuse. This wasn’t too big of a detriment, as evidenced by the success against Miami, but it certainly didn’t help things.
Going into next season Efford will be an important factor for the leadership of the team. Efford will need to step up in the passing game but he has the potential to be one of our top players this year. I’m looking forward to seeing how Efford develops and if he can provide us the best season of his career this year if he can dodge injury. I expect Efford to be a force this year.