Georgia Tech Football: K.J. Wallace Hopes to Bring Energy and Communication to Secondary

K.J. Wallace has been a big part of the defense through two games this season

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Sep 14, 2022 5:22 PM EDT

In this story:

One of the new faces on the Georgia Tech defense this season has been Notre Dame transfer, K.J. Wallace. Wallace has made consecutive starts at nickel for the Yellow Jackets and I think he is a player that is only going to get better as the season goes on.

Georgia Tech Defensive Back KJ Wallace — K.J. Wallace has been a key factor on defense so far this season for Georgia Tech
247 Sports

Wallace had a chance to speak to the media on Wednesday, just three days before Georgia Tech takes on Ole Miss on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. When asked what he wants to bring to this secondary this season and what he has done so far, Wallace said that energy and communication were the intangibles that he was bringing:

"I think the biggest thing is a sense of energy, definitely communication, as far as me playing nickel, I have to communicate a lot with the guys, as far as getting set up in the formations and stuff like that. Energy, communication, and I play hard so that is what I feel like I bring."

When asked about what makes a good communicator on defense, Wallace detailed his thoughts:

"Definitely understanding what you have to do as a defense, but understanding what the offense is trying to dictate to you. When we have alerts and things like that, point them out so people can understand pre-snap. They may not remember it, but if you see it, go ahead and tell the people around you to be on alert for this or this, or that. Just definitely being a smarter player and understanding down and distance, the defensive call, what might stress you in that call, all those kinds of things."

While Wallace has gotten plenty of playing time and a ton of snaps at the nickel spot on defense, that was not necessarily his goal when he arrived at Georgia Tech from Notre Dame:

"I did not really think like that. For me it was just like, I will be satisfied when I am the best version of myself and whatever happens with that is what happens. Still to this day, I just try to work and be the best version I can and really nail down my process of what will really make me be the best version of myself on the field on Saturdays, so that's really what it is."

Wallace arrived in the summer and did not have a leg up on the other defensive backs that had already been through the spring, but that did not make things harder for him:

" It was a challenge, but it was not too much of a challenge because this is my second college playbook so I kinda understood how to attack a playbook and learn it so it was a challenge, but it was not that big of a deal."

Wallace knows that Ole Miss and their offense are going to be a challenge for the secondary and he broke down what it will take for the defense to be successful on Saturday:

"Just handle their tempo. They go fast. I feel like, for us, I think the biggest thing is just getting our cleats in the ground and play and we will be fine. I am confident and excited."

Georgia Tech vs Ole Miss is slated for a 3:30 kickoff at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The game will be televised on ABC.

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