Everything From Georgia Tech Safety Clayton Powell-Lee After Fall Camp Practice No. 3 for Georgia Tech

Powell-Lee is going to be one of the leaders in the secondary for Georgia Tech

Nov 18, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Syracuse Orange running back LeQuint Allen (1) is tackled by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive back Clayton Powell-Lee (5) in the second half at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech wrapped up fall practice No. 3 on Friday evening and the Yellow Jackets are now four weeks away from opening the season up against Florida State in Ireland. One of the leaders for Georgia Tech in the secondary and on the defense is safety Clayton Powell-Lee and he spoke with the media on Friday after practice. Here is everything that he had to say:

1. On where he is now compared to where he was as a freshman...

"I mean, as a true freshman, you're real antsy. You don't want to give up that big play. You just want to do your job, let the players come to you. But now, I feel myself playing a lot more faster, a lot more physical. So I feel like I'm gonna make a lot of plays this year, when honestly, just like straight out the gate. Getting the defense very well. And I talk to Coach Santucci a lot about the scheme and little things like that. So I'm understanding why we do every little detail. So I'm able to play a lot faster. We just call out plays before it even happens, honestly. So I was playing a lot faster. So a lot of plays are going to be coming for me this year."

2. On how the defense has progressed since the spring...

"Honestly, I'm very proud of us as a defensive unit, honestly. Like, we really take meeting serious like we're always asking questions to Santucci opposition coaches so we're really understanding the scheme and we're really like communicating out there that's the biggest thing with our defense is a lot of communication has to be had pre snap post snap IOC is talking pre snap calling out stuff and then post never coming up to each other trying to see or we could tweak a little tweak some things in the defense or whatever coverage it may be but I feel like from the spring to now it's a big jump I'm super proud of me and my group and obviously the whole defense up to the D -line line backers everyone so I'm proud of the whole defense in the whole."

3. On learning the defense while also teaching the young guys...

"t's honestly fun teaching the young guys 'cause like now I'm seeing as like that guy that people look up to now that I was just a freshman and time goes by so quickly. So it's like now that I'm the person that people look up to, people ask me questions on what things to do. Like I got a young guy, Jayden Davis, he's always in my ear asking questions. D.J. Moore, he's always in my ear asking questions. And I just try to help those guys. 'Cause I want to see them succeed as well as myself. Like, I want to be able to step off the field and not even have to think twice about it. we have some new guys, Zach Tobe, we have, like, it's real fun, like, teaching these new guys the defense, and I'm learning it myself, so it's like a big, it's a big learning process for all of us, but it's a fun one, I will say that"

4. On his relationship with Coach Santucci...

"Very, very, very energetic. Like he's a person like, he's kind of like Coach Key, just with a defensive mind. Like he always explains reasonings behind everything. Like he's never just gonna yell at you for no reason. Like he's always gonna have explanations. He's always gonna tell you what you did wrong, what you did right. Like he's never just gonna downplay you. He's always gonna show, okay, you did good here, but let's fix this as well so like from where him is like he also he also takes in like he's not just like I'm right all the time, like he also takes him like what we see on the field because we have a new head coms now and I'm actually giving one of them so I hear him a lot on the on the walkie -talkie so like when I'll hear him say something I'll do it and then I'll come to the sideline and I just talked to him about something that I saw because he may have not seen it from his point of view so it's a real fun like learning from him like it's a new defense new scheme like it's a completely different scheme that I've ever been a part of so I'm learning like the reasons why we do everything it's like real fun for me and my group at least."

5. On the new helmet comms...

"It's, it's funny because like you'll hear it out of nowhere like he won't tell you what's on or he's like I'm gonna walk you talking to this this rack so it'll just come out of nowhere but like it's I got mine so it's not that loud so I can at at least like still hear everything else going on. So I mean, with the walkie talkie, it's actually pretty like, I thought it wasn't gonna be as like useful, but it's honestly like really useful. Like you would think that each person has like their own setting, but like when he talks in the walkie, he's talking to everybody. But so like when he talks to one person, I'm looking at that person, looking at what he's looking at. So it's like, you get a big view of like everything he's saying on the mic."

6. On Zach Tobe and Jayden Davis...

"Zach, I work out with him. He's like, he's a kid that's just, he wants to always get better. He wants to always get stronger and like as well as, as well as myself. So if you always play me and him, our relationship, we always push each other. Like, I know I had to pull that to the side and I talked to him one -on -one. He's not a person that wants to be out going, out shining and stuff like that. So I know with him, I pull him to the side, we talk, and he got it during the execute. I had to give it to him. He really executed the defense. And then Jayden Davis, like I said, he asked his questions. He's a headhunter, honestly. He's always like, when it's a run, he's full speed, no stopping, all gas, no brakes. So with him, It's really, okay, that was a good play, but I think about the play -action behind you. But with him, I have to get deeper and dive into it. 'Cause he's like brand new to the defense almost. So, and there's a lot of thinking for the Saints on the back end. So I have to tell him what I do and certain calls and certain things, and he tells me what he sees. So we're able to have those talks and those communications to where he may give me a couple of gyms, I give him a couple of gyms. It's like a mutual relationship with us"