Everything From Georgia Tech Safety Clayton Powell-Lee After Tuesday's Practice

Jackson Caudell | Apr 9, 2024

Nov 18, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Syracuse Orange running back LeQuint Allen (1) is tackled by / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech has entered the last week of spring football practice and it will culminate in the Annual White and Gold Game on Saturday afternoon.

After practice on Tuesday, veteran safety Clayton Powell-Lee (70 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble), spoke with the media for the first time this spring, and here is everything he had to say.

1. On the new defense and if anything has changed at his position...

"It's honestly been a lot of fun, you know. whole new coaching staff, it's been a lot of fun. They challenge us 'cause they know we're smart kids. They challenge us to really take, to really understand why we run the scheme, why we do those little things in each coverage. So it's been a challenge, but it's a fun challenge, I would say. It's a fun challenge for me and my group, especially 'cause we gotta do a lot of thinking on the back end. So it's been real fun, real fun, I'll say."

2. On becoming a better tackler...

"Really just critiquing myself. I'm a player that likes to critique himself in the little things that I do. So really once Coach Key and my position coach brought it to me, I needed to improve on that. So I really took that as a personal challenge within myself to really just step up and just really just continue to.make those plays and make those tackles that I've been making since I was a freshman, since I came here. So just trying to continue to have that stable mindset, just making those plays."

3. On building his relationship with Coach Peoples...

"t's been fun. Even though he came from right down the street from the other school, it's been real fun. He really challenges us like with the little details, just getting the football alignment at all times because he always says, if you don't, you're gonna get beat. So it's just him, bringing him in, has really challenged us as a position group to really harness and hone in on the little details that we may have not seen at first. So but he points those little details out to us and that makes us wanna harp on as well."

4. On the helmet communications...

"Not really. We we flow pretty well because all of us our whole difference we've been we've have a year under our under our bill playing together. So it's it's really it's really smooth. I would say we know we know how we can communicate with each other. We always check with each other after plays pre snap post now. just to point out little things that they may or may not have seen. But what we talk about is a lot easier and we're able to flow and just keep on playing ball."

5. On if he has a preference about which safety positon he likes to play...

"Me and LaMiles, we take pride in that. We always say, the more versatile you are, the more money you'll make. (laughing) so yeah so we always try to harness in on learning really all the all the positions in the back end because if you know what you got and what somebody else got you can also help help another brother out within the play call."