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00:00 >> We're excited to get things kicked off this Friday evening.
00:07 And I'm sure everyone's excited to get college football season started.
00:11 I know some games started this past weekend, but our guys have worked hard,
00:15 put in a lot of work, and now you gotta go put it into action.
00:17 And trust the preparation that you had and go out there and perform.
00:22 Because you gotta come through on game day and pass the test.
00:27 So I think, like every team, you're excited to get started.
00:32 We are, and you'll see what you're made of.
00:34 Each week will be a week of tests to see what you can do and
00:39 how you can win the football game.
00:40 But I know we're excited to get things kicked off down in Atlanta.
00:44 I think Georgia Tech will be hungry, they'll be well prepared.
00:48 Coach Key played at Georgia Tech, so he's gonna take a lot of pride preparing his
00:52 team, they made improvements while he was the head coach.
00:58 Had about 25 win along the way, and without question, they're gonna be hungry.
01:03 And normally the most hungry team has a chance to win the football game, so
01:06 we'll open it up for questions.
01:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:15 >> Jeff, this time of the year, how difficult is it for everybody,
01:19 as far as with all the transfers, all the newcomers,
01:22 you're going against a team with a new head coach, to know how to game?
01:27 I mean, you've gotta do so many things.
01:28 How do you kinda manage that?
01:29 How do you go about that?
01:30 >> I think you prepare as well as you can.
01:34 The new players, that's gonna be common,
01:36 the first game every year from here moving forward.
01:39 I think you watch some of the spring game that's been on TV and
01:44 see if they did anything that's different what they did the year before.
01:48 But I'm sure even with that, we try to prepare against a lot of different things
01:52 throughout the spring and summer and fall camp.
01:56 Our defense gives a lot of looks.
01:57 We try to give our defense as many looks as they can so
02:00 that you have seen about as much as you can see.
02:03 And you're able to adjust and
02:04 adapt once you kinda figure out what a team is trying to do to you early on.
02:08 So just through preparation and hard work that you hope to
02:13 make the transition right away.
02:15 Obviously, it's important to start off with a bang if you can and
02:18 try to get a lead in every game.
02:20 But that's not the way it's always gonna happen.
02:22 But I do think that you'll see new faces.
02:26 It's just a matter of executing, trusting your preparation, staying focused, and
02:30 trying to make plays.
02:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]
02:35 >> Jeff, I think they announced that Haynes King is gonna be the QB.
02:38 He played at A&M, I think, last year.
02:39 When you scout him, do you go back and watch A&M?
02:43 Or do you try and determine how he would fit into the system they ran last year at
02:48 Tech, or how do you do that?
02:50 >> Well, a little bit of everything.
02:51 We recruited Haynes when I was at Purdue and
02:53 had some initial conversations with him.
02:55 And then he committed to Texas A&M.
02:56 We have some connections to him and some people that know him.
03:04 And I think you just watch what he's done as a player to this point.
03:07 And whether that's at A&M or whether that's in his free game or
03:11 whatever, you can get a peek at it.
03:12 I think he's an athletic quarterback.
03:14 He was a highly recruited quarterback who's going to Georgia Tech to play,
03:18 improve himself.
03:19 And he's gonna, in the end, be a really good quarterback.
03:23 So we've gotta find ways to get him off rhythm,
03:27 make him do things we're uncomfortable with.
03:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:32 Pressure as much as we can without giving him big plays.
03:34 But without question, I do think he's a very good quarterback.
03:37 And from our research, they have a good quarterback room, so
03:44 we have to be prepared for multiple guys.
03:45 But definitely, Haynes has the background and the skill to get it done.
03:51 >> Jeff, obviously, you wanna start off with kind of a non-conference game to kind
03:56 of get things going, but with that being a conference game,
03:59 how much of a sense of urgency does that put on you guys to get out and
04:02 obviously go one and 0?
04:04 >> Well, it's very important.
04:05 Every conference game matters, and every game matters, really.
04:07 But you gotta be prepared.
04:09 Going on the road, always you have to be able to overcome things along the way.
04:13 And this will be the first time for a lot of guys playing together.
04:20 So you've gotta keep your focus, you gotta trust your confidence,
04:24 trust your preparation.
04:25 You gotta be confident when you take the field.
04:27 You gotta go out there and execute.
04:28 So like I said, we've tried to put as much pressure on our guys in practice to
04:31 perform in a lot of different situations.
04:33 You hope that it carries over to the game in game one.
04:35 You hope that you're able to adjust and adapt along the way,
04:38 whether things are going good or bad.
04:40 And that's what we're gonna have to prove.
04:41 So I think each week is an opportunity and a chance to prove yourself.
04:45 And if you're not ready for the challenge, you're gonna lose the football game.
04:49 And that's how college football works now.
04:50 So we have to be up to the challenge and
04:53 ready to play as hard as we can for four quarters.
04:55 >> Jeff, given the special circumstances with you coming back to your hometown,
05:00 does this opener feel any different to you than your past ten or so?
05:06 >> Well, I think so.
05:07 I mean, without question, my nerves be going.
05:09 You wanna do well, you wanna try to win the football game.
05:13 You wanna please a lot of people.
05:15 You wanna get off to a good start.
05:17 And that's always gonna be the goal.
05:18 So you have to go back and go through things and
05:22 make sure you're as ready as you can be.
05:25 But then you just gotta go out there and play and coach and
05:29 be positive with your players and build their confidence and
05:31 help them achieve their best.
05:33 And each week is different.
05:36 It's funny, sometimes you're going games feeling really good and
05:38 it's not a great outcome.
05:39 Sometimes you'll go in there really, really worried and you find a way to win.
05:42 So I just think you just gotta be able to use your experience and
05:46 get our guys to play hard and stay focused and be tough and be smart and
05:51 not do silly things that hurt us along the way as far as penalties and
05:55 turnovers and things that can't happen because you only have so
06:00 many possessions and you gotta take advantage of it.
06:03 And yeah, it's an important game for us.
06:06 >> Openers are always a guessing game.
06:10 But this year with Neyman, it's been like this even more and
06:13 so many transfers, so many firsts for you and for your team.
06:17 Is it hard to get your arms around where you are and
06:19 where everybody else is for that matter?
06:20 >> Well, I think we know our football team now.
06:24 We've been together for a long time.
06:26 Yes, there were new faces that we added this summer, but
06:28 we've had a chance to be with them basically since sometime in the summer,
06:32 throughout fall camp and you gotta go out and play.
06:36 And you have to have your starters ready, your backups ready.
06:38 You gotta be able to play as many guys as you can that prove that they're ready to
06:42 get on the field and you have to go let them play.
06:44 And I just think that throughout the season,
06:48 you're gonna lose a few guys here and there.
06:50 You gotta be able to adapt and get the next guy ready.
06:52 Hopefully he already is ready, but it's just college football.
06:56 And that's what makes it fun and exciting.
06:58 It's any given day anybody can win and the team that wants it the most and
07:04 is the most hungry usually finds a way to come out in the end.
07:07 >> Jeff, when it comes to Jack, you've mentioned just how smart he is,
07:12 how much he knows this offense.
07:13 But there's another side of that,
07:16 he's gotta be more patient sometimes within the offense.
07:19 Have you seen that from that last scrimmage,
07:21 kind of moving forward heading into this opener?
07:23 >> Jack's doing a really good job.
07:25 He's got game experience, he's played a lot of football, he wants to win.
07:29 I think just with anybody, you gotta get your quarterback to relax.
07:33 You gotta get him in a rhythm early.
07:34 You gotta get him feeling good about seeing things well and
07:39 boosting his confidence and get him off to a good start.
07:42 And if you do that, normally things will carry over and
07:46 the game will end the way you want.
07:48 But you know what?
07:49 Sometimes it may not happen and you gotta be able to adjust along the way.
07:52 So I just think we've tried to prepare Jack as much as we can.
07:55 He's gotta be smart and
07:56 understand that if we get in a situation where we need some big plays,
08:01 he can't do it all himself.
08:02 He's gotta get it to our playmakers, give the big plays a chance, but
08:06 know where the outlets are, and be smart, use his feet, and not turn the ball over.
08:11 So I just think it's about becoming a solid, experienced quarterback.
08:16 And he's battle tested and we feel confident he'll play a good game.
08:20 >> Just kind of piggybacking off of that, looking at the offense as a whole,
08:25 relative to where you guys will be at the end of the season,
08:27 like how much of, what percentage of the playbook do you feel comfortable
08:33 in game one with them being able to run to your standard?
08:38 >> Well, we throw a lot at them, without question.
08:40 We always wanna do that.
08:41 So we'll continue to push the envelope on that.
08:44 When it comes to game situations, there are some base things we like to do and
08:50 wanna make sure that we're good at that and we know the signals,
08:53 we know how to execute, we know the adjustments along the way.
08:57 And then you always got throwing some wrinkles.
08:59 So I just think you have to have enough in your pocket and in the holster that
09:04 you're able to help your team if they're struggling or get out of the rut.
09:11 If things aren't going well and show some things that maybe haven't shown before.
09:15 But yes, seeing how they do early on and what they can handle,
09:21 that's how we adjust.
09:22 But I think that we throw a lot at them and they've done a good job.
09:25 And we wanna be aggressive in our approach on both sides of the ball.
09:29 And I think you have to have that fine line of, yes,
09:32 everyone needs to know what they're doing and how to do it.
09:34 But you've gotta be aggressive and allow your guys to play and
09:38 give them an opportunity to win a football game in multiple ways.
09:42 So we'll definitely be smart, but also push the envelope on that.
09:46 >> Jeff, going into game week,
09:49 do you like the health of where your team is overall?
09:51 Any other additional injury news there?
09:54 >> I think so.
09:54 I mean, like everybody, we have a few guys that won't be participating in the game.
09:58 And we've tried to manage that as well as we can.
10:01 And we'll be able to adjust.
10:04 We'll have some more happen throughout the season.
10:05 But I feel good that we built depth at quite a few positions.
10:10 Hopefully at those positions you'll see multiple
10:13 guys in the game throughout the entire game.
10:17 And if we can do that successfully, it'll make us a better football team.
10:22 But I feel good that other than a few guys here and
10:27 there, we're as strong as we can be.
10:32 >> Jeff, some of the freshmen who have been here a little bit,
10:35 maybe even since the spring, what's the percentage chance we see them on the field
10:39 in game one, just kind of go case by case with those guys?
10:44 >> Well, it'll be a situation where we feel like we've got some good young talent.
10:52 I think freshmen the first game, there's always a slight concern that
10:58 you wanna ease them in, you wanna make sure that they play well and
11:05 that they feel good about their game when it's over.
11:08 But we have guys that can play football.
11:10 So I think whether it's playing some on offense or
11:14 defense special teams, you'll see multiple guys in there.
11:17 I think Stan Kwon Clark is a guy that's shown that he can play football.
11:20 He'll be in there at certain spots.
11:22 I think Adam Aja Green will be in there on certain spots,
11:30 and he's shown that he can play football as well.
11:32 And Jermarie Johnson has a chance to get in there.
11:35 But at the same time, we wanna be smart and go with experience and
11:40 make sure that we're getting those guys in at the right situation.
11:43 >> Yeah, Jeff, back when you played for Coach Schnellenberger,
11:48 were there two or three things that he would focus in with you guys,
11:52 as the season started, that were the most important?
11:54 And are any of those things items that you stress today?
11:58 >> Well, we could talk a long time about that.
12:02 I think Coach was great at preparing his teams to take on anybody.
12:07 We practiced hard, we practiced long.
12:08 We got after him in practice so
12:12 that when we got to the game it would come easy to us.
12:14 So we do that as much as we can, but you can't go overboard with that nowadays.
12:20 We used to practice three times a day and that was fine, but
12:23 the bodies can't hold up as much as they used to, I think.
12:27 And nowadays guys prepare year round, so
12:31 we try to be smart and get guys to game healthy as much as we can.
12:35 I think when it comes to us, we throw a lot at our guys,
12:38 we wanna be prepared, we wanna have bullets ready to go.
12:41 But in the end, we narrowed down to just three things as we take the field.
12:45 That's three things that we think are visible to the common fan.
12:50 And we have to win in these three things no matter what else happens to have
12:54 a chance, and that is playing harder than the other team.
12:56 And to me, you can tell if a team is playing hard by watching it on TV or
13:01 in person, and you gotta play tougher than the other team,
13:03 which means guess what's not always gonna go the way you want.
13:05 So whether you're up by 10 or down by 21, you're still gonna play hard.
13:08 And that's the ability to be tough throughout the entire game and
13:12 never give in and never quit.
13:14 And that's visible to the common eye, and
13:15 then you've gotta be smarter than the other team.
13:17 Meaning we can't have the 15 yard penalties,
13:20 we can't have the things that set us back.
13:23 We can't have off sides and misalignments and false starts and
13:30 things that really set you back and put you in a jam.
13:33 So we have to be the smarter team.
13:36 And I think if you win those three things,
13:38 which that is visible to the common fan as well.
13:40 If you win those three things,
13:42 you're gonna have a chance to win a football game.
13:44 And that's what we really wanna make sure as we get close to game time,
13:47 that we find a way to get that done.
13:49 It's not easy, cuz the other team's gonna try to do the same thing, but
13:52 you have to find a way to win in those three things.
13:55 >> Jeff, I know your last couple of seasons at least,
13:58 you got more involved with the defense than you had been maybe earlier in
14:02 your career.
14:02 How involved were you with this defense, your Louisville defense?
14:07 >> Well, I'm involved.
14:08 I think I've learned lessons along the way.
14:10 And we want our team to have the personality that we wanna take on,
14:14 which is aggressive in our approach.
14:16 We wanna be in attack mode.
14:19 We wanna not be on our heels.
14:21 And that needs to be in all three segments, offense, defense, special teams.
14:26 I feel confident in our defensive coaches and the plan they put together.
14:29 We wanna really just put our players in the best position to have success.
14:35 And we want them to make plays and not be scared to make a mistake.
14:40 And go for the sack, go for the tackle for longs, go for the interception.
14:45 And really be aggressive in that approach.
14:48 So I just think it's important that whatever knowledge I have,
14:54 I try to spread it to our coaches.
14:56 Whatever knowledge our coaches have, we spread it to each other and
15:00 we utilize that.
15:01 And I just think we've had some good moments throughout the last few years
15:06 that you try to use that experience.
15:08 We've had some other moments that we've had our teeth knocked in that you try not
15:12 to allow that to repeat.
15:14 So that's what we have to piece together and
15:18 go out there and try to win each and every week.
15:21 >> How important to you is it having a man,
15:25 past player like Mark Sander, part of your coaching staff?
15:29 >> Well, we were fortunate to add Mark to our coaching staff this past spring.
15:34 Mark was a tremendous player here and
15:37 has coached football at a lot of different levels.
15:40 Really his passion for the game, his love for this university,
15:44 is really what makes him so successful, what he's doing now.
15:49 Right now, he's working in our recruiting department,
15:54 he's working with our defense, he's doing a lot of things for us.
15:59 He's assisting with the linebackers, he's kind of just giving
16:04 his personal view on things, not only to coaches, but to our players.
16:08 And letting them know how he did things and what he can see here,
16:13 what he saw in practice, and how can that help our players.
16:16 I just think it's important to have really good people that are good guys
16:21 that are here just to help people have success.
16:24 Mark's one of those guys.
16:27 He doesn't ask for anything, he just goes to work every day and
16:30 tries to help these guys prepare as much as he can.
16:32 And I think at this point, he's done an outstanding job.
16:35 >> Jeff, when people talk about your offense,
16:37 they always start with passing and the receivers.
16:41 You've got three really good running backs and
16:43 a veteran offensive line with some pieces that you added.
16:46 Do you feel really good about that and
16:48 how that line has come together with those backs coming in?
16:52 >> I do, I think our running back room has done a really good job.
16:55 I think we've improved the offensive line.
16:56 I think that in the end, it's about scoring points and
17:00 winning football games and how can we do that.
17:02 And I do think that for your best playmakers to touch the ball as much as
17:08 they can needs to be the goal.
17:09 So whether that's by air or by ground, by best direction, by play action,
17:15 whatever needs to happen, those guys need to touch the ball.
17:19 And I think without question, certain guys have emerged,
17:22 definitely at the running back position, and they need to touch the ball.
17:25 So we've gotta utilize their skill and their talent.
17:29 And that's gonna be up to me and our offensive staff to make sure that
17:34 we're keeping track and we're making sure that that happens.
17:37 Sometimes you can call plays and they can be a primary option, but
17:42 may not get to them.
17:43 There are other times that you can make sure that the ball is in their hands.
17:47 And we just have to make sure that we're conscious and observant and
17:52 those guys have the ball in their hands multiple times throughout the game.
17:56 >> Last one in line.
17:57 >> Jeff, obviously there's no film on Georgia Tech with the roster as it's
18:00 currently constructed.
18:01 But when you look at what they were able to do last year when Brent Key did take
18:05 over as the interim, what do you think maybe stood out in terms of their identity,
18:10 philosophy, and what they're overall trying to accomplish?
18:13 >> Well, I think last year they were number six in the nation in turnover margin,
18:17 which means that they're gonna give you a lot of different looks.
18:20 They're gonna try to get the ball out.
18:21 They're gonna go for big play.
18:23 And we have to make sure that we don't allow that to happen.
18:26 Nowadays with a couple of the clock rule changes, there's less possessions.
18:30 So if you've given up the ball, you're gonna be in trouble.
18:33 I think they wanna have a sound running game and get the ball to the playmakers and
18:37 keep the game close and get it in the fourth quarter and then find a way to win.
18:41 So I just think Coach Key is a former offensive lineman.
18:44 He's gonna work with guys hard.
18:46 He's gonna be tough in the trenches.
18:49 And we have to find a way to gain an edge in that.
18:51 And I think anytime you go in the road, you have to be prepared for
18:56 anything that can come up.
18:57 And they're gonna play aggressive.
18:58 They're gonna play to win.
19:00 And they're gonna play confidence.
19:01 So we've gotta match that and figure it out and try to pull out the win in the end.
19:05 >> All right.