New To North Avenue
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are going to take a look at Georgia Tech’s football recruiting for 2026.
The Yellow Jackets have the 29th ranked transfer portal recruiting class. They have a total of 19 commits with 3 four-star players and 16 three-star players.
On the surface that doesn’t sound very impressive. The four schools ranked in front of them are Oregon, USC, Florida State and Florida. By comparison, they are not far off from some major programs.
Four-star junior running back Justice Haynes transfers in from Michigan. Haynes attended Buford (GA) High School and he initially went to Alabama. He transferred to Michigan in December 2024. Last season he rushed for 857 yards, 10 touchdowns and he averaged 7.1 yards per carry. This is a major addition for the offense.
Quarterback Alberto Mendoza (Indiana) has also transferred to Tech. His older brother Fernando won the Heisman Trophy last season and led the Hoosiers to the national championship. If he can play like his brother the Yellow Jackets will have a great season.
Four-star linebacker/edge rusher Noah Carter (Alabama) is also on campus. He was a top-100 player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class. In 2025 he played in 11 games for the Crimson Tide and recorded 9 tackles and a half tackle for loss. He’s 6’4, 242 pounds so he passes the eye test for being a big time LB. Hopefully he can develop into that.
Four-star WR Jaylen Mbakwe (Alabama) can play a few positions. In 2024 he was a DB for Alabama and he had 15 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 interception and 2 pass break ups. He also had two punt returns for a combined 46 yards and a 15-yard kickoff return. He switched to wide receiver before the 2024 bowl game. In 2025 he had three catches for 55 yards and one rush for a four-yard gain.
Wide receiver Isiah Fuhrmann (Elon) played great last season. He had 46 receptions, 907 yards, 9 TD’s and 19.7 yards per catch. He did play for an FCS team but we have seen players from lower divisions excel for Power Four teams.
Some of the other key players in the class include WR Jaiven Plummer (Cal), TE Spencer Mermans (Yale), DL Tim Griffin (Cincinnati), IOL Joseph Ionata (Alabama), Edge Jordan Walker (Rutgers), Edge Taje McCoy (Oklahoma State), DL Vincent Carroll-Jackson (U Conn), CB Jonas Duclona (South Florida), DL Tawfiq Thomas (Colorado), OT Favour Edwin (Auburn), P Alex Bacchetta (Rice), OT Markell Samuel (Oklahoma State), TE Gavin Harris (New Mexico State) and TE Chris Corbo (Dartmouth).
Tech has 18 outgoing transfers so they did a good job of replacing some of that talent.
The Yellow Jackets are ranked 41st in the 2026 high school recruiting rankings. They add 24 commits with 3 four-star players and 21 three-star players.
Four-star QB Cole Bergeron attended St. Thomas More in Lafayette, Louisiana. He’s 6’4, 215 lbs. and as a senior he passed for 2,346 yards and 27 scores over nine games. He was the No. 12 player in Louisiana and the No. 20 quarterback nationally. He initially committed to Virginia Tech.
Four-star CB Jaedyn Terry attended Manchester High School in Warm Springs, GA. He was ranked as the No. 21 player in the state of GA and he’s a four-sport athlete.
We will see how the new talent will mesh during the spring.
