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Eastside's Jayden Barr (11) moves the ball down the field during a GHSA high school football game against North Oconee in Bogart, Ga., on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Georgia Tech's Freshman DB's Are Fitting In With The Yellow Jackets Defense

Originally posted on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on SI
By Jackson Caudell | Last updated Aug 13, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The 2025 recruiting class for Georgia Tech was one of the best in the program's history, and at the heart of it was a very talented defensive back class. Led by four-star safety Tae Harris and four-star cornerback Dalen Penson, the young defensive back class is now experiencing its first fall camp at Georgia Tech, and it seems like they are fitting in just fine.

"The biggest thing with freshmen, you want to see every day, they're getting better. And they grow and I can say one thing about Tae (Harris), Felix (Felton), Jayden Barr, guys get better every day. The more reps you get, they start to pick it up." said Georgia Tech DB's coach Cory Peoples. "Just like anything, it's a volume of defense coming from high school. Probably when they played a little bit simpler defense. That's the biggest thing, just the volume, picking it up and learning, I say every day, them guys have gotten better."

While Harris and Penson were the highest-rated players in the Yellow Jackets 2025 DB Class, a player who has caught the eye of People's so far in camp has been Elgin Sessions, who Georgia Tech flipped from West Virginia late in the 2025 cycle:

"Elgin was doing really well, came in in the spring. I thought he had a good spring for a freshman. Just like any kinks, you just keep on getting better every day. But he's one of them guys that every day he's grown as well, from his eye discipline to his coverage, to his technique, fundamental sound. He is one of them guys that came from a good high school in Dutch Fork and they produce them well and they coach them well so you can see the background of his development."

First year cornerbacks coach Kobie Jones believes that Penson and Sessions are on track to be special players for Georgia Tech:

"God blessed him with some some God -given athletic ability, he came in and obviously didn't get to work with a lot of the other guys in the spring technique and stuff like that and he jumped right in and you wouldn't know it you know you would think he's been here the whole time he picked up on the techniques really fast and even Elgin you know Elgin was here in the in the spring, half the time you don't know he's a freshman right? Now, when I looked at Elgin Sessions, I think he's a sophomore or junior upperclassman, the way he prepares, the way he practices, and the same thing with Dalen. like I don't treat him as a freshman anymore, you've been here long enough you're a sophomore, you're a vet now, but just the ability that Dalen has, he's gonna be special."

Jones knows that if these young players want to get on the field for defense, that earning your way on special teams is a good way to do that:

"I think special teams is very important because you think about, it's the first play for the offense for the first play of the drive. So Ahmari, he's starting on kickoff. He's starting on punt return. You know, he's starting on punt, he's starting on those things. So I expect all my guys to get in there and whether you're a freshman or not, but freshman, yeah, that's the role, right? You want to get on that bus, you want to play this time, right? You can show that you can do those things, right? You can go down there and make a tackle on kickoff. I'm pretty sure you can tackle on defense."

What will the impact of these players be this season? It is tough to project, as they are still freshman, but for their first fall camp, they seem to be adjusting just fine and showing what they are capable of.

This article first appeared on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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