Jeremiah Attaochu, OLB

01/07/2013 - Georgia Tech junior outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu, after considering a jump to the National Football League, has elected to return for his final season with the Yellow Jackets. Attaochu, a two-time honorable mention All-ACC selection and one of Georgia Tech's all-time sack leaders, came to the decision after talking with his family in Washington, DC.

"After talking with my family and my coaches, I made the decision to come back for my senior season," Attaochu said Monday. "I saw school and my teammates as a priority. I want to finish what I started." Georgia Tech, which finished 7-7 overall, played in the ACC Championship game and defeated Southern California in the Hyundai Sun Bowl, will return eight starters on both offense and defense in 2013. Attaochu will be a senior leader on a defensive unit that made significant improvement after starting the season 2-4. "I like the direction we are going on defense," Attaochu said. "I want to get better on the football field and keep improving in the classroom."

With 19.0 career sacks, Attaochu is tied with current Cincinnati Bengal Michael Johnson for the eighth-most in Yellow Jacket history. The all-time leader, with 31.0 career sacks, is Greg Gathers (1999-02). - Georgia Tech football

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Outside of Atlanta, Attaochu isn't a well-known name, but the junior linebacker is one of the best young defenders in the ACC. He lines up on the strongside in Georgia Tech's 3-4 defensive scheme where he is asked to blitz, drop in coverage and do just about everything.

Attaochu was a three-star DE/OLB recruit out of Washington D.C. and earned playing time as a true freshman in 2010, including a start in the bowl game. He became the full-time starter last season as a sophomore (10 starts, missed two games due to injury), leading the Yellow Jackets in sacks (6.0) and tackles for loss (11.5) and finishing third in tackles (59).

Attaochu is a fluid athlete with the footwork and movement skills to explode in any direction, whether he's attacking the line of scrimmage or flipping his hips in coverage. His aggressive demeanor and competitive style of play allows him to defeat blockers and use his hands to complete tackles.

Attaochu is still developing his instincts and needs to cut down on the mental errors, but he has the versatile skill-set to mature into an early round pick.

--Dane Brugler