Everything From Georgia Tech DC Blake Gideon After Yellow Jackets 3rd Spring Practice

Georgia Tech carried on with spring practice, with today being the Yellow Jackets third day at practice. Afterward, newly hired defensive coordinator Blake Gideon spoke to the media for the first time since being hired and here is everything that he had to say.

1. On being a "walk-around" coordinator and not coaching a specific position...

"Yeah, it's unique. Obviously, never imagined it would be that type of position, but it's good in that respect that I do get to walk around and see how guys are being coached and like I told the defensive staff, I'm here in the individual part of practice to supplement you guys and support you however I can. And whether that's being Jess's (Simpson) assistant D -line coach or Cory's assistant safety coach, whatever I need to do, it took me a couple of days to kind of find my way, right? 'Cause there's not an assignment for you, right? Whenever those certain periods of practice come up in individuals so I think I'm starting to get the hang of it but it's great because I work with great guys that these staff is I think the world of those guys so really good coaches and it's been easier for me to let go of some of those things that that I've always had my hands on."

2. On his evaluation of the talent and what its strengths are...

"Yeah, I think these guys learn really well overall. Their information retention has been really impressive for them just hearing these words now for about a month to be able to put it into action and know that these words go with this call. And that's usually the big hang up whenever you're bringing in a new system, and especially in the early part of spring so we're not a finished product but I think we're right where we need to be after day three. Strength wise like I said you know I think these guys they're they're football intellect and and they're based knowledge of the game which is huge it's more important than the actual call on defense how they tailor their techniques and tailor of the call to fit the situation. That's huge, especially in today's game, the situational awareness. So I've been impressed with that. Again, we're not a finished product, but the guys have a great attitude and they want to learn. They want to be good, and so do I. So we've got that in common. It's been a good marriage."

3. On what he thinks are keys to having a really good defense...

"Yeah, we just had that conversation post -practice a few minutes ago of, number one, confidence in your ability, confidence in your technique, and then confidence in the guy next to you. That was where we really took the next step at the last place I was at, is Those guys really started playing together and not just as a collection of good individuals, right? We've got we've got some talents and things to work with but we've seen good and bad examples to the first three days of when we work together as opposed to when we don't so that's really in my mind the mark of playing good collective defense besides the the usual, Hey, we've got to be physical. We've got to have our eyes on the right place. We've got to understand the system, understand the call, understand where the stress points are in the call. But again, I like where we're at after three days. And I like the mentality of growth that we have. And I think those guys have seen enough good and bad examples through the first couple of days, which is the purpose of practice."

4. On what it has been like for him personally making this move...

"Yeah, it's I'm having a ton of fun and I think a lot of that like I alluded to earlier is due to the guys that I work with on the defensive staff the head coach I work for And the players that are out there making it come to life, right? We can we can play mad scientist all we want in there on the chalkboard and drop all these cool schemes but the guys don't understand it and they can't execute it then. It's all for naught. So I'm having a blast. I feel prepared for this position. I've worked for some incredible coaches in my career that have shown me what to do and warned me what to stay away from. So I think that second part there is just as important as the first part, right? What to avoid and how to progress things the right way, both from a leadership standpoint with the staff as well as the players."

5. On getting his style of play implemented in the spring...

"No, I mean, it's more the first option you gave of let's see what we can do, let's see what we're good at. These guys were really good at some things this past year and I'm not big on changing things that work just to fit what I want to call it or what I want to do, whatever dream I had whenever I got this coordinator opportunity. So we're throwing a lot at them right now To get different things on tape and figure out what's best, what fits our personnel best so I know that's the big looming question of what's what are you going to lean into schematically and Honestly, I can't answer that entirely right now I'll have a better idea towards the end of spring the types of players we have from the techniques up front, we want to play to the structure that we want to play in the back seven so that's already started obviously three days and kind of getting a feel for what types of players we have, what they're comfortable in. And on that note, I draw from my own playing experience and I'm not too far removed from sitting in those chairs that those players are sitting in now and hearing that math equation that coach is trying to explain up there on the board and trying to conceptualize that into my game. And so that behooves all of us as a defense is to not forget that and understand the stresses these guys are going through. So there'll be a time to pull back the reins and say, hey, we've got enough in package wise schematically. But right now we're, we're pedal to the floor. We got to get some answers and figure out what we can do well."

6. On the linebacker position...

"Yeah, I want to play a lot of guys. I want to play as many guys as we can. Old, young, doesn't matter to me if they can execute and we trust them to do their job, they're going to play. So there's a little formula that goes into that, that we'll talk about as a defensive staff, as to our target numbers of how many snaps this guy gets as opposed to this guy in a game of 70 plays. But I believe in general, I'm playing a lot of guys. I think you can look at how the secondary rotated at Texas the past few years to see that come to life. We ask a lot of our guys and we ask them to play a certain style in a certain level of effort. And so we want the best version of them at all times. And I know early in the season that may not be realistic to ask that guy to play the style we need for all 70, 80 plays. So if they're good enough, they're old enough, right? I really don't care how old they are, how young they are, where they come from, what they look like. If we can trust them, they can learn the system and their teammates trust them, then they're gonna play."

7. On the safety group...

" Yeah, I think obviously the first two guys that jog out there with Omar and CP-Lee, you can see the experience, that they've played a lot of snaps. There's certain things, certain ways that they move with a comfort that really only comes with experience. Now, I know there's some talent behind them that we're excited about, but they've got to come along. So what I like about that room is, again, for all of the guys, it's a new system. It's another new set of words, and they're ready to learn. they're eager to learn, they want to be coached, and that's kind of the concern you have coming in with any experienced group is that, well, I've done it this way for three years or two years before you got here, right, who are you to tell me different, and I don't feel that at all from any of the guys on defense. They want to learn, they want to find the new way of doing it, and they want to do it our way, right, collectively as coaching staff and as players, it's our way, it's not my way. And so I think all those guys have humbled themselves to that note. And again, I like where that room is at. It's a good mixture in that you've got the experience, you've got real live examples that those young players that are gonna have bright futures can look at and see how it's supposed to look. And maybe they can save themselves a poor rep if they didn't a good example in front of them."

8. On wanting to lead the nation in toughness...

"I think, number one, you talk about it and you practice it every day. You don't pick and choose. If you're a real tough guy and you wanna lead the nation in toughness, then it's not something that just happens on a Saturday night in the fall. It's something that's happening on a random Saturday in March. And then again on Tuesday, then again on Thursday, and every off -season day, how about the days that we're just going to class, right? There's a mentality in which we want to do everything, not just the football side of things. It's how we want to live our lives, and the Georgia Institute of Technology is no slouch university, right? And so these guys can't turn it on and off, and that's what we're trying to build upon. I think the football stuff tends to take care of itself, but it's a mentality that we wake up with every day and to be that toughest team in the nation you got to do it every day. It doesn't just magically appear."

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