Cornerback Daiquan White heads into his second season at Georgia Tech with a clearer grip on what the Yellow Jackets want from him, and the staff is looking for that growth to show up in a bigger role this fall.
The Eastern Michigan transfer appeared in 11 games during the 2025 season and finished with 16 tackles, including 12 solo stops, along with two tackles for a loss. With Rodney Shelley and Ahamari Harvey gone, coach Kobie Jones is counting on White to take on more responsibility.
White, for his part, says he’s leaning on Jones to help him get there, and he’s also bought into what coach Jason Semore has brought to the defense. Once Semore laid out the plan, White said the picture started to sharpen.
"I just been focused on the game plan and just trying to follow along with everything."
That understanding started to come together in the spring, when White was adjusting to a new defensive coordinator and more information than he’d had to process before. He said the learning curve forced him to step into a leadership role for the younger players behind him, and that the extra study paid off.
"Just having a new defensive coordinator, just having to learn a lot of things, and you know me being an older guy I had to kind of lead the way for the younger guys that's behind me. It kind of clicked in and I just had to learn more learn a lot more about football learn a lot more about formations and offensive things so I could play faster."
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Georgia Tech Fall Camp Buzz Is Building Around 4 Potential Breakouts
With fall camp nearing its finish, Georgia Tech has plenty to sort through, and a small group of players has begun to separate itself in the conversation about who might matter most once the season starts. Roche Jr., Mendoza, Daiquan White, and Fuhrmann have all drawn attention for the way theyve handled their work in camp, giving the Yellow Jackets a handful of names to watch as the staff tries to identify who is ready for a larger role.
Each of those players has spoken about what the coming season could ask of him, and that kind of confidence is part of what has made this stretch interesting. The buzz is real enough to suggest Georgia Tech may have found some emerging contributors, but camp talk only goes so far, and the unanswered question is which of these performances will translate when the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Techs ACC Push May Hinge On These Crucial Duos
As Georgia Tech wraps up fall camp and turns its attention to the season opener against Colorado, there is a growing sense that the Yellow Jackets next step in the ACC race will be shaped as much by chemistry as by talent. The staff has pointed to three player pairings it believes could help define the season, starting with running backs Justice Haynes and Malachi Hosley, whose presence gives the backfield a chance to stay fresh and versatile.
The same idea carries over to the perimeter and the secondary, where wide receivers Jordan Allen and Fuhrmann are expected to help stretch the offense, while cornerbacks Jonas Duclona and Jaylen Mbakwe give the defense a duo to build around. Georgia Tech does not need every one of those pairings to become a headline, but if even a couple of them click early, the Jackets could have a much clearer path through the kind of conference grind that usually rewards depth and balance. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Mbakwe Could Be The Answer Georgia Tech's Secondary Needed
Jaylen Mbakwe arrived at Georgia Tech with a rsum that already hinted at versatility, having spent two seasons at Alabama while contributing on defense, offense and special teams. Now back in a full-time defensive role, he has stepped into a spot where the Yellow Jackets needed both experience and steadiness, and his transition has been helped along by an existing connection with coach Kobie Jones.
For Georgia Tech, the appeal is not just what Mbakwe has done, but how quickly he has fit into a new locker room with starting and leadership responsibilities. His personality has helped smooth that adjustment, and the early sense around him is that he can bring the kind of presence a secondary often needs while settling into a larger role than he had before. [Read more 🡒]