Everything Head Coach Geoff Collins at his Weekly Press Conference on Tuesday

Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins talked with the media after practice today

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Aug 23, 2022 7:04 PM EDT

In this story:

Following practice on Tuesday, Georgia Tech Football head coach Geoff Collins spoke with the media for his weekly press conference.

Here is everything that Collins had to say.

Opening Statement

"I appreciate you guys coming out. Another really good week of practice with the guys. We ended it Saturday with a big scrimmage in front of our player's families and our coach's families. We did a big dress rehearsal, we went to the hotel Friday night, just like we would for a game. Because we have so many newcomers, I did not want the first time that they go to the hotel and experience our process to be the night before we go play in the Benz. We did that, drove over on the bus in the morning, and went down Yellow Jacket Ally for the first time in three years."

"Hats off to our band, the cheerleaders that came out, our families that were there lining Yellow Jacket Ally and that is something that we have greatly missed and just to see Jeff Sims and Jordan Williams and LaMiles Brooks, who have been playing here for two years and have not been able to go down Yellow Jacket Ally, we went through that experience. We did our whole pre-game warmup routine, we put the ball down and we scrimmaged for right around two hours on Saturday. Really good competition on both sides of the ball, both offense and defense, there have been some really good competitions that have been going on throughout camp"

"This week, we have transitioned. We are still in camp mode, still got a lot to do to make us a better football team, adding in a lot of crowd noise when we are in certain team situations just to get ready because we know the Benz is going to be loud, this place gets loud as well so we want to make sure that we are prepared for the crowd noise and apply that kind of pressure to them. We continue to stress fundamentals and execution and playing really good football."

"Just real quick so I can kinda get ahead of it with some of the personnel. The offensive linemen, we have four new guys, I thought they have come out here and shown some really good things. Gotten in with some things Coach Key is teaching and some things schematically. Pierce Quick, Paul Tchio, Corey Robinson, and R.J. Adams have all been significant contributors as we have been working and getting better."

"Some of the young guys that I want to mention that have been in the program. Joe Fusile, he is a walk-on that has come in and might find himself in the two-deep. We'll talk through the ATL, we'll release it next week, but really proud of who Joe Fusile has become in this program, his size, his strength, his knowledge of the offense. Jakiah Leftwich, redshirt freshman who has developed in his short time here and I know Weston Franklin has played a lot of ball for us, as a true freshman center last year, but just seeing his development and how he has been able to perform in the scrimmages has been good."

"Luke Benson had three catches for over 50 yards, 57 to be exact and just the things that he has been able to do for us, with the multiplicity in the offense. Peje' Harris, former receiver here, is now playing some tight end for us and some H-Back for us. I have been very pleased with his performance and he has been able to learn and the things that he is able to do for us in the passing game."

"Newcomer EJ Jenkins, we all see his size and stature, his physical presence, but who he is every single day when coming to work, he has been a really nice addition to the team. The same can be said with Dylan McDuffie. He was not here in the spring, but he has come out here in the preseason and really made his mark on the program. As a player, I think he had over 50 yards on Saturday and Hassan Hall, who was here in the spring, but just how he has developed and that threesome of Dontae (Smith), Dylan, and Hassan has been really good to watch develop and compete and it has been good competition for touches."

"Defensively, some guys that have really stood out, Zeek Biggers, this is his second year, but again, this is a young man that when he walks on the field, his stature, his presence is impressive, but his development in the year that we have had him and being with Coach (David) Turner and Coach (Larry) Knight, his technique and just his relentless nature have stood out. Horace Lockett, for a young defensive tackle, has had flashes. Daniel Carson, he wasn't here in the spring, he has just come in and throughout the two and a half or three weeks of camp, he has progressed nicely across the front."

"Noah Collins, again, second year guy, probably had his best day Saturday. He was a noticeable force as an outside backer/defensive end and he needs to continue as we build up to gameday. Five new DB's, Kenny Bennett was not here with us in the spring, long and physical corner, who has played some nickel for us throughout the preseason, has been a nice addition. KJ Wallace, same thing, plays a couple of positions for us, nickel as well. Just how they are competing and adding a dimension of depth to that group along with Eric Reed, Ahmari Harvey, and Khari Gee, those five guys have come in and the older group in that secondary unit has brought them together."

"Another name that I want to point out is Kenyatta Watson. I think we are finally seeing the fully healthy version of Kenyatta and has done some really nice things in this preseason camp, so we are excited about him and Kenan Johnson as well. I know you guys are gonna ask about the kicking situation, I thought Jude Kelley had a really nice day on Saturday, he was 4/4, hit a 46 yarder, hit a 47 yarder and then David Shanahan had some really nice punts as well. We put the returners, a week ago when you guys were here, the week before, we put the placekickers under a lot of pressure, in front of the whole team. On Saturday, we did the same thing with the punt returners, put them out there on an island in front of everybody and just to compete to see who the punt returner is going to be. Those are the newcomers, I just wanted to touch on them before we even open up for questions."

1. On the new hires on the support staff...

"He (Jim Chaney) is the one that has come in and really done a good job, quality control, just things that from an offensive perspective, just to help the offense and the whole offensive staff and things to help me too as I am going more and more into the defensive room."

"Coach Chaney does a really good job of getting the information and deducing it down, him and I have long conversations on the things we can do to help the offenses development as we go through preseason camp and then going into the season as well and I know he will be a week ahead on helping the offensive staff prepare for our upcoming opponent and the same things is for John Hevesy, one of my dear friends, who for the last 17 years, has been in the SEC." I have tremendous respect for him and he is doing the same things, but from a defensive perspective and helping the defensive staff and myself, just seeing things through an offensive lens, you know protections and run game and all these things and has been invaluable as a resource and a person of council to me."

2. On which coaches will be on the sideline or up in the coaches box...

"We've talked about that at length, actually that is a big point this morning and we will talk about it here this afternoon, as we go through practice we will review it, just every single detail of who is gonna be up and who is gonna be down, all of those kind of things. We have talked through it and will iron it out finally tomorrow, so next Tuesday, I would be happy to answer that."

3. On if he sees a lot of cohesion with the offensive line...

"Brent (Key) has done a really good job of just making sure that we are cross training guys at a couple of positions, seeing which group of five is gelling and working together, so everyday, he is moving it around and as we are getting closer, the changes and the tweaks are becoming less and less and we saw that on Saturday, I don't want to give too much away, but the big thing is trying to make sure we have the best eight-to-nine to go when we get to Mercedes Benz and playing at a high level, being able to interchange."

"There have been really good signs from that group, but still a lot of work to do at every single position, including that one, until we get to game day."

4. On Keion White...

"I don't wanna put those kind of labels, but I think just who he is as a competitor and a tremendous ability. His focus and his work ethic, his relentless nature, who he is in the locker room, you guys are out there and probably don't see him talk very much, but just in the locker room, his presence, his demeanor, his level of focus, rubs off on a lot of guys on the team and obviously he has tremendous physical ability and he is healthy and playing at a high level and he just wants to continue to get better every single day. Very coachable and wants us to be very good as a team and is driven for team success and the individual success will come with that as well, but we are really proud of Keion."

5. On when Leo Blackburn might be available...

"We don't talk about that with anybody. I do respect the question, I know you have to ask it, but we don't talk about injuries and we will continue to have that policy. They are coming out, the guys that are still getting rehab, and those kinda things come out around period four or period five, but I will keep that with the medical staff."

6. On how to prepare for both of Clemson's quarterbacks...

"We have started, we are still in camp mode and still working on getting ourselves to be the best possible version of ourselves that we can be, we did that throughout this week and throughout the summer, but throughout this week, we watched practice tape and getting a head start on them, watching the spring game as well. We will start introducing that to the players on Monday and fully get into Clemson prep on Monday."

7. On what a win vs Clemson would do for the program as a whole...

"We all understand what an opportunity it is but we've got a lot of work to do over these next 13 days to get ready for a really good football team. We know the quality of the opponent and the quality of the coaches and the quality of the players that are in that program and the biggest thing that we have to do is focus on ourselves and how can we get better all the way until the tip and on Monday when we start introducing the game plan, how much focus and attention to detail can we have as we prepare to play at a high level on that Monday night so the focus is ourselves and the focus is how can we become better so we are able to step up to the challenge and we understand that they are a great program and a great team with great players and we are excited for the opportunity to work very very hard to be ready to go and play at a high level."

8. On how he approaches playing on a Monday...

"This is historically and traditionally what I have been a part of and that we have done, is you just start at whatever the game day is, you just start that as Saturday, so Monday will be Saturday, Sunday will be Friday, Saturday will be Thursday and on back. We will give the players Wednesday off so that that Thursday is like a Tuesday. Monday and Tuesday will kinda be bonus days for us from a prep perspective so you always start, so the guys understand in terms that today is Friday even though it is Sunday and then on Saturday there will be College Gameday on, there is going to be games going on on TV, but hey fellas it is Thursday today. Our guys have been around us to know that is how we think and approach it that way."

9. On punter David Shanahan and the special teams units...

"I think it is a little bit of all of it. Like today, we have gotta find out guys who are going to be able to cover the punts really really well, who is the punt returner in a high-pressure situation, who on the punt return team can make really good decisions, block in space and not get penalties."

"So today, you guys were not out there, we did a four-on-four drill where we had a returner out there, I won't tell the yard line that he was at for David's distance but there was a returner out there, we had four punt team players in one on one matchups with four punt return players and it was snap, punt, cover and make good decisions and tag off the returner, just to see that kind of thing with guys running down on the returner, who can make good decisions, who wants to get down there and who gets down there and I thought that was a really good drill to see the returners under pressure and the cover guys and the return team guys, it was a good drill. We will do the same drill tomorrow from a kickoff and a kickoff return perspective. That'll be tomorrow for special teams. As we build the ATL depth, a big piece of that is the special teams component as well."

10. On how he is using the Catapult technology...

"We are using it the same way. So there are some different modalities that we are using. We are using a system called Sparta, our athletic training staff before each practice will get a Sparta number and there is certain guys that have a baseline and then a number so we know where they are at so that they can modify some load as they need it or just to see that we are on the right track with the guys, but the Catapult we use every single day to track their numbers, track their sprints, their sprint distance, their player load, their accelerations, that is a daily thing, but also the Sparta system is good just to see where they are just from a biomechanical perspective so we can try as well as we can to prevent injuries and our training staff and strength staff have done a really good job in collaboration on that."

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