Tech's Man of the Year for 2018-19 was linebacker Josh Poplar, who completed his undergraduate career with a 3.97 GPA and bachelor's degree in business last spring. He currently carries a 4.0 GPA while pursuing his MBA (master's of business administration). The former walk-on also devoted several hours towards community service projects throughout his career.

After missing the 2017 season following a stroke and heart surgery, Poplar finished second on the team with 101 tackles in 2018, highlighted by an interception returned for a touchdown in his first game back with the Golden Eagles. He was named a Google Cloud Academic All-District recipient, an honorable mention for the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award and earned a spot on the FCS ADA Academic All-Star Team, among several other honors.