Horace Lockett looks like he could be an answer for Georgia Tech’s longtime shortcomings on the interior defensive line. The Westlake High defensive tackle, who announced his commitment to Tech early Sunday, turned down an impressive list of suitors to accept a spot in coach Geoff Collins’ 2022 signing class, which now stands at 13 players.
“He’s an athletic freak,” Westlake coach Bobby May said. “He’s just a fun kid to be around. He’s got a great personality. He’s just one of those people that people tend to like him when they’re around him. He’s been fun to coach the last four years, for sure.”
Lockett reported offers from Alabama and Georgia, and had Mississippi and Oregon in his final three along with Tech, not a pond which Yellow Jackets coaches have often successfully fished from. His relationship with Jackets coaches, principally defensive line coach Larry Knight, Tech’s proximity to home and the quality of the education were what won him over, he said.
“I’m 100% with G.T.,” Lockett said. “That’s my school right there.”
Lockett said that he also aligned with Tech because it has yet to win at the same level as Georgia and Alabama.
“It wouldn’t feel good for me to win up there (at Alabama or Georgia),” he said.
At 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, Lockett has the size that Tech has often lacked on the defensive line, although Collins’ recruiting efforts have begun to amass size in that position group. One of the more noteworthy commitments for the 2022 class is defensive lineman K.J. Miles of St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, N.J., a four-star prospect who is listed at 6-3 and 285 pounds and announced his commitment on July 4. They could form a formidable pair in years to come.
Of his player’s freaky athletic gifts, May said that “just being that big and him being able to move like he does is pretty special.”
Lockett is a three-star prospect rated the No. 53 player in the state of Georgia. Tech made its scholarship offer to him in his freshman year, not long after the start of Collins’ tenure. Knight has been consistent in communicating with Lockett and building a relationship with him.
“He knew my background,” Lockett said of Knight. “He knew where I came from.”
Lockett’s commitment was announced days after Westlake teammate Clayton Powell-Lee made public his decision to play for the Jackets. They are planning to join a roster that already has three former Westlake players – freshmen Leo Blackburn (wide receiver) and Jakiah Leftwich (offensive tackle) and sophomore cornerback Myles Sims. Knight is the area recruiter for Westlake.
“They do a good job of recruiting Atlanta, they do a good job of recruiting Westlake,” May said after Powell-Lee’s commitment. “As long as they keep treating our kids well, hopefully we’ll keep sending kids there.”
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