After he committed to Georgia Tech last June, the high school coach of Qua Searcy commented that he would likely have been an “unbelievable” prospect had he attended a metro Atlanta high school.

Lamar County High coach Franklin Stephens would know, having coached at previously scholarship factory Tucker High. He called Searcy, an incoming freshman wide receiver, "one of the most underrated players I've ever coached."

Searcy’s recent response if he agreed with the line of thinking shed some light on his priorities:

“Yes, sir, but I think that’s for them to judge,” he said. “I just play hard.”

At 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Searcy doesn’t have ideal size for wide receiver, but has the requisite speed and explosiveness. He won the state Class AA long jump and triple jump and finished second in the high jump. He also ran on the victorious 4x100-meter relay with fellow Tech signees Lance and Lawrence Austin that set a state record in preliminaries, leading Lamar County to the state title.

Searcy said he considers route running to be his strength. He also received offers from Clemson, Michigan State, North Carolina, South Carolina and others. He’ll wear jersey No. 82, inheriting it from punter Sean Poole.

Searcy can potentially play at safety or A-back, but will begin at wide receiver, where, with Clinton Lynch's expected slot to be at A-back, he'll be the only incoming freshman. There could be some room there for him to play this fall. Beyond DeAndre Smelter, no Tech receiver has proven himself as a consistent threat. Further, Darren Waller and Anthony Autry are both suspended for the first two games of the season, which could give Searcy a chance to move up the depth chart.

“Whatever gets me on the field, I’m happy with whatever,” he said.

13th in a series of updates on Tech’s freshman class