Max Power

Kyle Efford had one tackle in his first season at Georgia Tech. He then led the team in tackles three years in a row, which no Georgia Tech player had done in 24 years. Today, in the middle of his last season, he had to stop playing. Here is the whole thing. He is from Dacula, Georgia. He was a three star recruit who played both ways in high school. As a senior he had 160 tackles and ran for 1,180 yards and 20 touchdowns. Michigan offered him. So did Duke, Indiana, Iowa State, Maryland, Purdue and Vanderbilt. He picked Georgia Tech and graduated high school early so he could get there in January. Then he sat. That first season he got into four games. 29 snaps, all of them on special teams. One tackle. And then the coaching staff that recruited him got fired. He stayed. Here is what he says about that stretch. "I really had to fall in love with the process." Going into the next season he was one of seven backups at linebacker. He finished that year with 81 tackles, the most on the team. The next year he had 64 in ten games, missed three more hurt, and still led the team. They made him a captain. The year after that, 77 tackles. In December he finished his degree in business administration. This season they made him a captain again. Against Tennessee he hurt the shoulder he had already had surgery on. He missed two games, then came back and played in the win over Duke. Today Georgia Tech announced he is done. An accumulation of injuries over the course of his career. 43 games. 33 starts. 250 tackles. "This isn't how I imagined my football career coming to an end, but I am at peace." He is also not leaving. He will finish the season with the team, still a captain, now coaching the players who take his place. And here is the part everybody is sending to each other. "I never played this game to see how long I could last. I played it to see how much I could give. And I gave it everything I had in me, man."