Everything From Georgia Tech LB's Kyle Efford and E.J. Lightsey After Wednesday's Practice

The first week of fall camp rolled on today for Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets continue to move forward into their season opener against Colorado on Sept. 3rd. After practice on Wednesday, veteran linebackers Kyle Efford and E.J. Lightsey spoke with the media, and here is everything they had to say.

Kyle Efford

1. On his final fall camp...

"Yeah, definitely. I mean, every single day I come out here, I just kind of try to take it all in, take the time with my teammates. It's the last little ride, so you've got to make it count."

2. On playing next to EJ Lightsey...

"Oh, yeah, I mean, because we're going on year three now playing together. So, I mean, we're partners in crime. We've got to be on the stream. We've got to be in tandem. So, I mean, it's great. That's my guy.

Oh, yeah, that's my guy. I mean, we stay with each other in the hotel, so it's one of those things where it's like we're around each other a lot, I mean, in the building, out of the building, you know, getting meetings in together and whatnot. I mean, I'll say we're a closed room all together, but, you know, we all have our guys."

3. On Coach Semore tailoring the defense to the linebacker's strength's...

"Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, and that's what the best coaches do. They put their players in the best situation to be successful, and then that's what he's doing."

4. On the run defense and defensive line...

"Yeah, definitely. I mean, just coming from, you know, spring ball through summer camp, I mean, through summer all the way to fall camp now, I mean, we're spending time together. We're seeing the pictures in front of us. So we can definitely feel it all playing out."

5. On using the losses from late last season as motivation...

"Yeah, I mean, the fire is definitely still burning. So, I mean, we want to take that and we use it. We use it as fuel, like you said, to get us going, you feel me? So it's definitely there and it's definitely driving us still."

6. On creating more turnovers...

"Yeah, I mean, really just like I always say, there's always improvement being made across the board, you know. You know, from playing vision coverage to, you know, the front guys to the second level to the third level, I mean, there's always room for improvement. So I would just say, you know, all around, I mean, always."

7. On the defensive communication...

" It's definitely there I mean we definitely have ways to go like Isaid we always get there's always room for improvement but I mean communication is one of the number one pillars of a defense so it's definitely something that we have to you know get right and get 100 together."

E.J. Lightsey

1. On being back out there after missing the spring...

"ou know, it feels great. You know, it's never a great feeling having to sit out and be on the sidelines and just watch everybody. But, like, getting back, you know, I came back in the summer. I feel like I know Coach A.J. put us through great strength and conditioning. My body's in shape, and just getting back with Coach Semore and actually learning everything from him hands-on, he does a great job. He's a great coach. He gets down to the details. Probably one of the smartest coaches I've been around, so it's been good to work with him."

2. On what makes Coach Semore a great teacher...

" I feel like he knows the game very well inside and out from the offensive perspective and the defensive perspective. That's one of the things that he said to us that stood out to me. For a long time, he studied offense just to be able to put us in the best predicament when we go against them. Just the way he anticipates plays and stuff like that, he knows things are coming before they come. So it's been kind of crazy to see how he's writing his brain and how he thinks about the game."

3. On playing next to Kyle Efford...

" Oh, yeah. Kyle, he's always reliable. I always know he's going to be exactly where he needs to be. And then coming from when I came in, he had more experience than me. So it was great being beside him. He's a very smart linebacker as well. He knows how to put the pieces together. control the defense. So playing beside him and knowing that he's reliable and he's going to do his job is just helping you do your job 10 times better."

4. On what he is looking to improve upon...

"So, like, the first thing is, like, I want to get smarter within the game. I want to be able to, like, read offenses and, like, anticipate things more, like, play with anticipation, work on my mobility, and just play, like, play free. I feel like one of the biggest things last year for me is, like, coming in and starting first year, a big role. A lot of anxiety. Like, almost every game, a lot of anxiety. But I just feel like this year, I just want to be able to just let loose and play free."

5. On using the losses late last season as motivation...

"I was going to work harder, of course. Seeing the drop-off last year, all the run game and everything like that, I think we're paying more attention to detail. We're really trying to hone in on this is what Georgia Tech is built on, toughness, being able to stop the run and run the ball. So really honing in on the run game and let everything else take care of itself."

6. On practicing against Georgia Tech's running backs...

"It's great competition from top to bottom. Everybody in the running back room, everybody has their own skill set. And it's been good for the linebackers to go against those guys. You see everything. You're seeing some of the top running backs in the country every day. You're facing them every day. So definitely great competition. It's definitely making us better. You know, iron sharpens iron. Sometimes they get the best of us, sometimes we get the best of them.

It's been great going against them. Like I said, all of them have a different skill set. So reps over time, you figure out a little bit their moves and their tools and everything in their toolbox. Like I said, it's been great going against them. You know, every day I feel like we make each other better. Like going against them, they make us better, we make them better."

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