Georgia Tech Football: Grades for Each Unit on Defense in Western Carolina Game

How did each unit on the defense perform on Saturday night against Western Carolina?

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Sep 11, 2022 9:56 PM EDT

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

It was a bit of a shaky start for the Georgia Tech defense on Saturday night against Western Carolina, but they settled in and won the game 35-17.

The Catamounts came out on fire, scoring on their first two drives, and got to 14 points quickly. After that, the Yellow Jackets' defense only allowed three points, got multiple turnovers, and did get some pressure on the quarterback.

It was an uneven performance, but how did each unit on the defense grade out? Let's take a look.

Defensive Line: C+

Georgia Tech defensive end Keion White had another sack on Saturday.
Georgia Tech Athletics

Georgia Tech's defensive line was responsible for two sacks, one by Keion White and one by Jason Moore, and was average against the run.

One thing that the defensive line struggled to do on Saturday night was contain the quarterback on scrambles. Western Carolina's Carlos Davis broke several runs to the outside and was breaking down the Yellow Jackets' defensive line and out hustling them in some spots. The interior of the defensive line made little impact, with Zeek Biggers leading the group with two tackles.

White has three sacks in the first two games this season and Georgia Tech is going to need him and the rest of the pass rushers this Saturday when they face Ole Miss, who has a very good passing attack.

Linebackers: B

Georgia Tech linebacker Ace Eley played well against Western Carolina
Georgia Tech Athletics

The linebackers group got a big boost when starting linebacker Charlie Thomas came back in the second half of the game. Thomas was sitting in the first half due to the targeting call against Clemson and came in and made a big impact on the Yellow Jackets' defense.

In just one half, Thomas had eight tackles, one sack, and two tackles for loss. The other starting linebacker, Ace Eley, had one sack and led the team in tackles with nine, including two for loss.

Trenilyas Tatum had seven tackles on the night and one for loss. The linebackers did have some lapses in coverage and had trouble containing the quarterback on a few plays.

This unit will be glad to have Thomas back for a full game when they take on Ole Miss.

Secondary: D+

Georgia Tech defensive back Derrik Allen helped create turnovers for the Yellow Jackets on Saturday night
Georgia Tech Athletics

It was a rough start for the secondary, but they were able to recover and force some turnovers, which is the reason their grade is not lower.

The concerning things are the two coverage busts that led to two Western Carolina touchdowns. Catamounts quarterback Carlos Davis went 24-35 for 271 yards and averaged 11 yards per completion. That is not good enough and this secondary is going to be tested against Ole Miss this week.

The good things that the defensive backs did were create turnovers. Both Myles Sims and Derrik Allen got interceptions and made key plays later in the game. Jaylon King finished with six tackles and both Kenan Johnson and KJ Wallace had five tackles.

Not the best night for the secondary and tons of room to improve.

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