Georgia Tech Recruiting: Clayton Powell-Lee commits!

Georgia Tech legacy Clayton Powell-Lee became the 12th member of Georgia Tech’s 2022 recruiting class on Tuesday.

He’s also the latest in the Westlake HS pipeline to GT, joining 2021 freshmen Leo Blackburn and Jakiah Leftwich. A 6-2, 180 lb. safety, “CP” Lee becomes the 4th defensive player in GT’s class and the first in the defensive backfield. He chose GT over 17 reported offers, which included P5 offers from West Virginia, Michigan State, Kansas State, Illinois, and Kansas. As of now, he’s a 5.5 3 Star on Rivals but unrated on 247 and in the 247 composite. Clearly, he’s been garnering increased interest, as 7 of those offers came in the last week alone. He’s been impressive on the camp circuit, and his senior season could lead to a bigger uptick in his recruiting. Georgia Tech’s coaches decided to get him in the class before that could happen.

Here’s a look at highlights from his junior campaign:

Powell-Lee is a versatile safety who operates from both a nickel spot covering the slot and as one of the deep safeties in two high looks. He’s long and rangy, and he uses his length effectively to attack the ball when it arrives at the targeted receiver. His play against the run jumped out at me, as he demonstrates a very impressive physicality given his relatively slight build (you can see one example at 1:20, when does an excellent job filling the alley from a deeper safety alignment.) He’s got solid instincts when a play breaks down, and he uses his leverage well to force ballcarriers back towards the meat of the defense. He doesn’t jump off the screen athletically, but he’s a player with good fundamentals and instincts, with a frame that I’m sure the GT coaching staff thinks they can fill in.

Powell-Lee wasn’t in the top tier of targets at defensive back in this cycle, but it’s easy to see why the coaching staff put the press on to close on him before his senior season starts. He’s solid, physical, and smart. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t a reliable special teams and depth contributor in the defensive backfield starting his second fall on campus.

And as we welcome Clayton Powell-Lee to the Flats, we also have excuse to relive one of the greatest moments in GT Football history, when his dad Gary did this to the Dawgs in 1985:

Savor that one, and let yourself dream about Gary’s son having a moment like that one day!