2025 Georgia Tech Football Position Breakdown: Safety

With ACC media days almost here, the season is starting to come into focus, and this season has the makings to be a special one on The Flats. The Yellow Jackets return a good mixture of veteran talent while also adding in freshmen from one of the best recruiting classes in program history. They supplemented that talent in the transfer portal with veteran additions in the winter and spring transfer windows as well, and that has fans and analysts alike feeling optimistic that Georgia Tech will be a top-half team in the ACC this season. Can they be something more?

Like cornerback, Georgia Tech returns a mix of veteran returning experience and some talented transfers and freshmen. Clayton Powell-Lee and Omar Daniels are back for one more season on The Flats, but how about the depth behind them? How will this position shake out under defensive backs coach Corey Peoples and new defensive coordinator Blake Gideon, who was a safeties coach while at Texas?

Here is how Gideon viewed the position in spring practice when asked:

" Yeah, I think obviously the first two guys that jog out there with Omar and CP-Lee, you can see the experience, that they've played a lot of snaps. There's certain things, certain ways that they move with a comfort that really only comes with experience. Now, I know there's some talent behind them that we're excited about, but they've got to come along. So what I like about that room is, again, for all of the guys, it's a new system. It's another new set of words, and they're ready to learn. they're eager to learn, they want to be coached, and that's kind of the concern you have coming in with any experienced group is that, well, I've done it this way for three years or two years before you got here, right, who are you to tell me different, and I don't feel that at all from any of the guys on defense. They want to learn, they want to find the new way of doing it, and they want to do it our way, right, collectively as coaching staff and as players, it's our way, it's not my way. And so I think all those guys have humbled themselves to that note. And again, I like where that room is at. It's a good mixture in that you've got the experience, you've got real live examples that those young players that are gonna have bright futures can look at and see how it's supposed to look. And maybe they can save themselves a poor rep if they didn't a good example in front of them."

Let's breakdown the Georgia Tech safety room heading into fall camp.

Who is Returning?

Clayton Powell-Lee is going to be one of the leaders of the defense this season and will look to improve this secondary against the pass, something Georgia Tech struggled with last season. He finished the 2025 season with 53 tackles and an overall grade on PFF (Pro Football Focus) of 64.1 in 685 snaps. Powell-Lee has been steadily improving ever since stepping on the field as a true freshman in 2022 and I am interested to see what his final season looks like.

Omar Daniels improved as a player once he moved to safety. Can he continue that into this season? Daniels finished the season with 51 tackles and three pass deflections, as well as a 64.8 grade on PFF in 485 snaps. Daniels and Powell-Lee will look to force turnovers in the backend and be a leader for the defense.

The depth at safety is going to be interesting. Christian Pritchett is heading into his sophomore season and will be ready to challenge for a spot behind Daniels and Powell-Lee? Per PFF, he played only 16 snaps last season, but he was highly thought of when brought in as a part of the 2025 class for Georgia Tech.

Converted wide receiver D.J. Moore is back for another season after missing 2024 with an injury.