Georgia Tech safety Tae Harris showed the college football world what he's capable of in his sophomore debut Thursday night and what an immensely talented player he is. Harris is one of the team's best sophomores and is loaded with talent.

The ongoing debate among him, Jordan Allen, and Dalen Penson about who is the fastest remains hotly contested within the team. It is an intriguing one, to say the least. However, they go head-to-head every day in practice. Harris said that has made him a better player and helped the team develop overall. 

“Yeah, those dudes have been growing faster than slower.  So it's definitely going up against them as you see different sides of it. You see a guy like Jordan (Allen), he can line up in the backfield,  good routes, stuff like that. And then you see a guy like Dalen (Penson), world-class speed, can run down the field, stride length;  he can run routes, get open.  So I'm seeing the best of all the worlds.

So especially with a quarterback like Berto, he can put in small pockets. So you really got to be sound with technique.  So it's definitely preparing me for other receivers. But seeing different types of receivers helps me a lot.  Those guys are good, and they can run too.  So it helps me prepare the right way,” said Harris. 

Harris wants to set the tone and be a big part of the physical component of the defense that strikes fear in opponents. He didn’t mince words when it came to the standard the Yellow Jackets have to uphold, his role in it, and the message that was evident through his words. 

“Our standard is to be physical at the line of scrimmage, you know,  play, play hard in the back end, come out with our head on fire, you know, from the start to the finish.  So that's really what our, what our main focus has been going back into this week, just trying to win the line of scrimmage back, you know, just, just be more physical.  Let's not, let's not let anybody try to out-physical us,” said Harris. 

Harris holds himself to a very high standard. Despite having a good sophomore debut, he wasn’t satisfied with his performance and knows there is still room to grow. That is the sign of a good player who wants to be elite. He could have easily been satisfied and gotten an ego after a big game, but instead he pointed out what he can do better and improve on. That is the sign of a leader and someone who is trying to help the team elevate. 

“Yeah, my role will change every week, you know, so anything I can do for the team to get them going early in the game, you know,  just try to set the tone early, like you said.  So just wanna keep being that enforcement for the defense, you just trying to play my role to the best of my ability. So it'll change every week. you know, just trying to be that guy, elevate every week,” said Harris. 

It was clear that Harris was the best defensive player on the field for the Yellow Jackets last Thursday night. With that mindset, he should carry it into the next game against Tennessee.