THE FLATS – Georgia Tech football’s Charlie Thomas (Thomasville, Ga./Thomasville), Clayton Powell-Lee (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) and Zach Pyron (Pinson, Ala./Pinson Valley) were all honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday for their performances in Georgia Tech’s 28-27 win at Virginia Tech on Saturday. Thomas was named the ACC co-Linebacker of the Week, Powell-Lee was tabbed as the league’s Defensive Back of the Week and Pyron earned co-Rookie of the Week accolades.
On the strength of 16 tackles, a sack and a crucial forced fumble, Thomas was named ACC Linebacker of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career. He provided one of the biggest plays of Georgia Tech’s come-from-behind win over Virginia Tech when he forced a fumble near midfield that was recovered by the Yellow Jackets with 48 seconds to go in the game to seal the Jackets’ one-point victory. Thomas became only the second NCAA Division I FBS player this season – and the first since UConn’s Jackson Mitchell in Week 0 – to record as many as 16 tackles to go along with a sack and a forced fumble in a single game.
Thomas, who was also named the East-West Shrine Bowl’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, is the first NCAA Division I FBS player since TCU’s Paul Dawson in 2014 to record 86 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in his team’s first nine games of the season.
Despite missing much of the week leading up to the game due to illness, Powell-Lee came up big for the Yellow Jackets at Virginia Tech with an interception and a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that both played a big role in the Jackets’ comeback win. Powell-Lee’s first-career interception at the Georgia Tech 27 yard line with 6:54 to go in the ball game not only prevented VT from expanding its 27-22 lead to two scores, but it also set up the Yellow Jackets’ game-winning touchdown drive. Then, with just 48 seconds remaining and the Jackets clinging to their 28-27 lead, Powell-Lee pounced on the fumble forced by Thomas near midfield to secure the win.
A true freshman, Powell-Lee became only the 39th FBS player – and the third Yellow Jacket – this season with an interception and a fumble recovery in the same game. In addition to the game-changing takeaways, he also had six tackles from his free safety position.
Making his first-career start, Pyron accounted for 319 yards of offense (253 passing, 66 rushing) and the two fourth-quarter touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) that proved to be the difference in the Yellow Jackets’ heart-stopping win. A true freshman, Pyron engineered touchdown drives of 90 and 73 yards in the fourth quarter to lead Georgia Tech back from a 27-16 deficit. He capped the first fourth-quarter touchdown drive with a 56-yard scoring pass to Nate McCollum that cut VT’s lead to 27-22 with 9:02 to go, then closed the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run that gave GT a 28-27 lead with 3:30 remaining.
Pyron led Georgia Tech to a season-high 463 yards of offense in the triumph over Virginia Tech. In his three full halves of action, he has led the Yellow Jackets to three of their four highest single-half yardage totals against FBS competition this season (240 yards in the second half vs. Florida State on Oct. 29, 234 in the first half against Virginia Tech and 229 in the second half at VT).
Thomas, Powell-Lee, Pyron and the Yellow Jackets return to action on Saturday when they host their 2022 home finale versus Miami (Fla.). Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Tickets for the Georgia Tech-Miami showdown, which will serve as Tech’s annual Heroes Day and Senior Day celebrations, are still available and can be purchased online by clicking HERE. As part of a special Heroes Day ticket offer, all tickets purchased using the link above include an exclusive Georgia Tech Heroes Day hat, which features the GT logo and American flag.
Competitive Drive Initiative
In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.
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