Jaylon King Talks Recovery From Injury

King will help make the secondary one of the best units on the team

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Apr 13, 2023 5:45 PM EDT

In this story:

Last season, Georgia Tech had a pair of safeties step up and form one of the top duos in the ACC. LaMiles Brooks and Clayton Powell-Lee had good seasons and are back to improve upon what they did last year, but Powell-Lee stepped into the lineup only after starter Jaylon King was injured for the season with a leg injury and now King is working his way back to being able to form a very good trio in the back of the defense.

With King back, Tech is going to be able to have depth and versatility in the secondary. King detailed his recovery process yesterday when meeting with the media:

"The rehab has been a slow and steady progress. It was really weird because I did not think I would have to teach myself how to walk again. So the first month or so is trying to walk heel-toe and not swinging my leg out or anything. It was weird and challenging and frustrating as well, but after the December break in mid-January or February, I would start jogging, running, then around the early March area, I was able to start cutting without much pain or stiffness around the leg area."

Georgia Tech Defensive Back Jaylon King — Jaylon King is hoping to be a leader for Georiga Tech's defense this season
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

King said that prior to injuring his leg during the season, there was some concern about stress fractures in his leg during the summer:

"It was an issue we were watching, starting in the summer, I had stress fractures throughout my leg so we were just trying to monitor it and make it through the season and unfortunately during the Pitt game, I got in an awkward situation and my tibia ended up fracturing and snapping."

King also detailed his day-to-day activities when recovering:

"So I would come in and I would do my rehab and then go out to practice to see what installs they have for that week, what the free safety job was for that week and I would try to coach CP (Clayton Powell-Lee) in my rehab and then on gameday, I would either be on the field or somewhere watching the game. I would watch those positions and they relay the messages that I saw on the field, whether he was too wide or things of that nature. Or I would tell him he is doing a job or trying to disguise to the quarterback to get him to get an easy pick."

While his confidence started slow, it has gone up as the spring has gone along:

"It started off really slow , I did not really cut or do any DB work before the season started. It was weird getting back into those drills and patterns, cuts, things of that nature, I started losing some of the stiffness in my leg, so I am running a lot better. I would still say I am not at 100% where I want to be, probably 8%, but hopefully it will get back to 100% midsummer."

If King is healthy and able to play at a high level, that is going to give the Yellow Jackets three good safeties to anchor the secondary. He is a physical tackler and a smart player who can be relied on.

Georgia Tech's spring game is Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

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