Georgia Tech Recruiting: Alton Tarber Commits!

The future of Georgia Tech’s front four continues to round into shape with the addition of Alton Tarber to the 2022 Recruiting Class. He made his pledge Tuesday night alongside four of his teammates.

He is the 15th commitment in Georgia Tech’s 2022 class, and significantly, he’s the third promising defensive tackle, which has perpetually been a difficult position for GT to recruit. He’s trimmed down significantly from earlier in high school, currently playing at 6-1.5, 305 lbs. Tarber plays his high school ball for Deerfield Beach in Florida, which of course you’ll recognize as the alma mater of Bryce Gowdy.

Tarber is one of those prospects whose rating simply does not match his offers, his production, or his film. He’s a consensus three star, checking in at 84.77 in the composite, 84 on 247, and 5.6 on Rivals. On the other hand, he has 19 reported P5 offers that include Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Penn State, and Texas A&M. His decision came down to GT and Miami, and Coach Knight did a fanatic job to reel him in.

In just five games in the COVID shortened 2020 season, Tarber made 28 tackles; most encouragingly, 11 of them were for a loss, and 4 were sacks. In his first two years in high school, he posted an additional 88 tackles (13 for loss) and 6 sacks. For a 1 technique player whose primary responsibility is to create traffic in the middle of the line, that is an outstanding level of production.

Let’s see how he does it.

Alton Tarber is your classic run stuffing 1 technique, a guy who can anchor a defense. For his size, he has an excellent first step off of the line, and his power jumps out as he moves offensive linemen into the backfield. He’ll need to continue working on his pad level so that P5 caliber interior lineman can’t get leverage on him, but he’s an excellent prospect at this point. He doesn’t try to run around blocks, but he goes through them. He plays his gap responsibilities well while flexing the power that could make him a special player.

I can’t wait for Tarber to get on the Flats. He’s a potential multi-year starter with All-ACC upside. With this commitment, Georgia Tech’s class now stands at #31 nationally, with an average rating of 87.31, which is idential to the esteemd 2007 class.

Welcome Alton to the Flats!