Georgia Tech’s defensive end room has been rebuilt through the transfer portal, and AJ Hoffler isn’t tiptoeing around what he expects from it.
The Jackets added Brayden Manley from Mercer, Noah Carter from Alabama, Taje McCoy from Oklahoma State, Hoffler from Clemson and Jordan Walker from Rutgers, and all five are in line to play major roles for the defense. On Monday, Hoffler and Walker spoke about where that group stands and where it’s headed.
For Hoffler, the biggest storyline has been health. Injuries slowed him down, and Georgia Tech didn’t get to see the real AJ until the latter part of the 2025 season.
He was hurt in fall camp, and that setback shaped his 2025 season. Now, after spending the spring healthy, he says he’s finally stacking good days and feeling the benefits of that consistency.
"I think my game is going to be at a whole new level."
That kind of confidence isn’t coming out of nowhere. Hoffler said staying on the field has allowed him to keep building and keep developing instead of starting over.
He also made it clear that the standard up front is sky-high. Hoffler said he expects the front four to be the best defensive line in the country.
"There's really nothing else to it. That's our expectation every day."
That’s the bar for this group, and Hoffler believes it’s moving in that direction. He wants the defensive ends to bring a "Wolf Mentality," and he sees the room taking shape around that edge and expectation.
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Georgia Tech is getting into the second week of fall camp with its season opener against Colorado still ahead, and one of the clearest early takeaways has been the defensive lines progress. Defensive ends coach Kyle Pope has talked up the groups growth and the standard he expects from it this season, a conversation that naturally includes the transfer additions and the younger players trying to carve out bigger roles. For a unit that needs more speed, more depth and more force against the run, the early signs have been encouraging.
The bigger question now is how much of that camp momentum carries over once the games count. Georgia Tech wants the front to be more disruptive and more reliable, especially in situations where opponents try to lean on the run and test the Jackets up front. If the line keeps trending the way it has early in camp, it could become one of the teams more important storylines heading into September, even if the real answer will only start to show once Colorado lines up across from it. [Read more 🡒]
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