Jahaziel Lee is not reserved in his enthusiasm for Georgia Tech.
“I feel like it’ll go great,” he said. “It’ll be an unbelievable career. I think I’ll fit in perfectly. It’ll be great.”
The incoming freshman offensive lineman from Ponchatoula, La., has dreams of earning his degree and becoming a first-team All-ACC player. He hopes to “really shock the coaches and come out and be more than what they probably expected me to be.”
The young man aims high and gives off a zealous air. In a June interview, Lee was geared up for just about every aspect of Tech life.
“I’m really excited for class and schoolwork,” he said. “I can’t forget the ladies. As a guy, you’ve got to be excited.”
Tech’s student body, Lee may soon learn, is roughly 65 percent male. Unfavorable ratio or not, Lee is all in.
“I’m so ready,” he said.
Lee, a cousin of Tech safety Christian Campbell (also from Ponchatoula) is an intriguing prospect. He was a defensive lineman in high school and has never played on the offensive line. But, he said, with Tech having secured enough defensive-line commits in his class, coaches mulled the possibility of moving him to offense.
“They were trying to decide where they wanted me, on offense or defense, but (offensive line coach Mike Sewak) wanted me so bad on offense that defense wasn’t as much of a priority as offense,” Lee said.
At 6-foot-2 and 267 pounds, coaches like his agility and energy. Quarterbacks and B-backs coach Bryan Cook, who recruited Lee, said that the shift to offense may not be so foreign.
“We just explained that getting to the linebacker is just like getting to the quarterback,” he said.
Prior to his arrival, Lee busied himself with drills that Sewak put on a DVD for him. He has a significant learning curve, and offensive linemen are typically redshirted. He realizes he has to get stronger. He is, if nothing else, optimistic.
“I’ve never played offensive line, but it’ll be something new, and hopefully it works out for me and I do great,” he said.
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