2024 Georgia Tech Spring Football Position Previews: Safety
Georgia Tech had a talented trio of safeties last season and although the Yellow Jackets are losing Jaylon King, they return two talented and experienced safeties who will be leaders for the defense in 2024. The question this spring is going to be about who the depth is behind them.
LaMiles Brooks has All-ACC level talent and Clayton Powell-Lee has been playing tons of snaps since he was a true freshman. They will be manning the back of the defense again this season.
Powell-Lee is one of Georgia Tech's highest-graded returning players on defense according to PFF (Pro Football Focus). Last season, he finished with a 74.2 grade on defense on 698 snaps and he has only been improving since he got on the field in 2022. He was the second leading tackler on Georgia Tech last season, finishing with 71 tackles, two pass deflections, and one interception. In 2022, Powell-Lee finished the year with 46 tackles, two pass deflections, and an interception. He played well in a win against Virginia Tech, totaling six tackles and an interception in the game and he was named the ACC defensive back of the week after that performance.
LaMiles Brooks is back for another season on The Flats and he will look to form one of the top safety duos in the ACC with Powell-Lee. Brooks finished with 67 tackles, six pass deflections, and one interception last year. His interception against Miami last year was one of the key points in the turnaround of the game. Brooks finished last season with a 53.7 grade on 659 snaps according to PFF. In 2022, Brooks finished as the highest-graded player on Georgia Tech last according to PFF (Pro Football Focus) and his coverage grade of 86.8 was good for 21st in the country and fourth in the ACC. He finished as the 23rd highest-graded safety in the country according to PFF last season.
Brooks finished the season with 52 tackles and a team-leading three interceptions. His best performance came in a loss to Virginia when he finished with nine tackles and a pick-six.
Sophomore Taye Seymore got playing time last year, primarily on special teams, but he could play a crucial role on this year's team and see the field more. He finished last season with five tackles, including two against No. 1 Georgia.
There are other players to watch as well. Redshirt freshme Nico Dowdell and Justin Brown did not see the field last year, but have talent.
Powell-Lee and Brooks are the clear leaders here, but Georgia Tech is going to want to see what it has behind those two this spring.
