Countdown to Kickoff: No. 90

The countdown to kickoff is officially on as Georgia Tech's season-opening matchup at Colorado on Aug. 29 is less than 100 days away.

Until then, JOL will be counting it down with one Jackets' player daily who wore the corresponding number of days remaining until toe meets leather in Boulder.

This one is more personal, given the sad and tragic early ending to the life of defensive tackle Brandon Adams, who was one of my favorite recruits and players to cover in my 25 years covering college football.

Former Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson, led by his top recruiter and defensive assistant coach Andy McCollum, flipped Adams from hometown Vanderbilt in the 2016 signing class for the Yellow Jackets from Brentwood Academy just outside of Nashville.

His freshman season saw Adams play a limited role as a backup nose tackle, often in goal-line or short-yardage sets, with just 64 defensive snaps.

In 2017, he moved up into the Jackets' defensive tackle rotation, playing in all 11 games that season (Tech had a game at UCF canceled due to Hurricane Irma) racking up 140 snaps on defense.

Johnson's final season at Tech was a breakout one for Adams, playing in 14 games with four starts, racking up 24 total tackles, five TFLs, and two forced fumbles from the nose tackle position.

Adams was geared up for a big 2019 season and was on NFL draft boards as one of the top defensive tackles in the 2020 Draft when he tragically passed away from a brain injury after passing out during a water break while practicing a step routine with friends.

The Jackets program had different players wear his #90 to honor him throughout the 2019 season and Adams remained on the official team roster page as well during that season. Then Tech head coach Geoff Collins and the program also honored him throughout the team facilities and in Bobby Dodd Stadium.