On3 Names Georgia Tech DB Tae Harris A Preseason Freshman All-American

Harris has been impressing at fall camp so far, and continues to make a name for himself. He’s been inquisitive, continuing to ask questions on what he is seeing and how he can improve. Georgia Tech starting safety Clayton Powell Lee has taken notice. Here is what he had to say about Harris and some of the young guys.

“They're doing really well. They're like a sponge. Like I'm with Tae all the time. Dalen’s locker is right across from me, so just bringing them all in. Me Omar and I, and even though Savion just got here, he has a lot of experience. Ja has a lot of experience, Rodney Shelley, and Ahmari,” said Powell-Lee. “So, like, we're really just bringing those guys in because once we leave, the ball is in their hands. So they're trying to make sure they're most prepared for everything that comes their way. Because who knows? They'll be like me, as a freshman starting in game five. Trying to make sure they're always prepared for anything that's thrown at them."

What makes Harris a potential freshman All-American?

What makes Harris special is his ability to make true impact plays. He can attack and come down in the box, blowing up instantly when he strikes. In coverage, he is equally as good, being able to guard against any position while plastering opponents with his sticking coverage and turning incompletions into PBUs or interceptions. He has one of the best IQs you will find on the gridiron, especially with how quickly he processes the game.

Harris is already talented and has a great work ethic. The key will be when his opportunities come around, making plays for the Yellow Jackets consistently, so he never leads the field. Georgia Tech dealt with a good amount of injuries last season and a lack of depth in the secondary, which came back to haunt them. Fortunately for the Yellow Jackets, they have everything they need to be successful, including veterans, leadership, young guys, hunger, and most importantly, talented guys like Harris eager to prove they are worth.

During his National Signing Day press conference in December, Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key detailed the process of landing Harris and what went into that recruitment:

"Stick to the process, believe in the process. Just because someone commits somewhere, it's easy for somebody to say, "Oh, well, let him go." We ain't having that here. That's not the type of staff that we have. It's not the type of program that I want to have. If you believe in something as strongly as we believe in Georgia Tech and the future of the Georgia Tech football program, you're going to continue to recruit the right players for your school, for your program. He's a guy that's local , that we recruit extremely hard, decided along the way, which a lot of them do, that he comes and goes, but those relationships are big. You know, being able to keep people home is big, and showing them a path to success and a path to development is big. And he's a guy that, and that kid's an unbelievable kid now. You talk about a kid that is hungry, that, I mean, the day he commits, he's on the phone texting and calling all the other guys in the position room here on the roster saying, "I can't wait to be with you guys" and those guys immediately come back to me and they're like coach, that guy's definitely one of us now, I mean just the way he everything about him they're like some of us some of them didn't even like meet one of his visits here and they just said that guy's one of us so you know he's, he's an alpha an alpha and really expected to get things out of him."

Harris and the rest of the Yellow Jackets will open their season next Friday on the road at Colorado (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN).