Everything From Georgia Tech TE Coach Nathan Brock After Saturday's Scrimmage

Georgia Tech TE coach Nathan Brock talked to the media on Saturday. Here is everything he had to say.

On the transfers coming in and being able to contribute this season…

“Yeah, I think so. The whole room is doing a good job right now so far this spring. You know, the guys that we brought in have definitely added some maturity, some physicality to the room. I think it goes back to the evaluation process of bringing in the right guys that, you know, fit our program and our culture. I think we've been able to do that with some older guys out of the portal, right? It's no different this year. I'm really excited about the guys that we brought in and think they're gonna help us out a lot.”

On Gavin Harris…

“Gavin has been a great addition, right? I think if you really watch what he's been able to do the last couple of years at the different stops he was at, he is able to stretch the field, and he's had a bunch of career catches. At the same time, he's a much better blocker than you'd think just looking at him. But no, he's done a great job this spring of allowing us to open up the offense, be able to stretch the field and kind of move him around. I think you guys saw today some things in the scrimmage of him getting out there. I think that Gavin's gonna have a good year for us, right? He's a crafty route runner; he knows, he understands coverage. He can see where the defense is presenting them and find ways to get open.

So I've been really pleased with Gavin so far this spring and the effort that he's given us. I think that he's gonna make a difference for us this year. At the tight end position, like we've got a room that has guys with different skill sets, right? And that's been really important with us and with Coach Godsey's vision for the offense, to be able to utilize those guys and find roles for him, and Gavin's certainly gonna do that for us this fall.”

On who is standing out in the tight end room and how he evaluates tight ends when bringing them to the program…

“Yeah, I've been very pleased with the entire room, truthfully. Again, it goes back to I think that the transfers have done a great job of coming in and competing and working and adjusting to the culture that Coach Key has established. Then on top of that, we've got some young guys now that are going into year two in the program, year three that are starting to take those next steps and showing improvement and development. As far as evaluating skill sets and what guys do again, it kind of goes back to everybody's different, right?

We want to recruit tough players that can stretch the field, and who aren't afraid to block at the point of contact. It's our job as coaches to find ways to utilize their skill sets and put them in position to have success, right? That's a big thing that Coach Key says, it's always about the players, not the plays, right? We're poor coaches if we just go out there and run things that our kids can't execute, right? So trying to find ways as coaches to put those guys in a position to be successful. That's a thing that I think Coach Gossie has done a great job of so far this spring and something that we'll look forward to doing this fall.”

On the tight end position getting more involved and if it will happen this year…

“Yeah, absolutely. It's been great. Truthfully, for me as a young coach to have somebody that's worked at that position and coached honestly some of the best to ever play the position, Gronk (Robert Gronkowski) and Mark Andrews and Isaiah (Likely), the guys that he's coached. That's also been a huge selling point for me with recruits. If you're serious about playing tight end, look at what we've been able to do here the last four years with some of the guys that we've had and then look at what Coach Godsey has done for 15 years in the NFL. It's a no-brainer to me, right? I think that they're gonna be a big part of the offense, right? Whether we go out there and have 15 catches a game or two, that will change week to week, right? But with what we're able to do with those guys to allow us to be versatile as an offense, I think that it's really good. But no, it's certainly been a big help and really excited to continue working for him and I think our guys are doing a really good job.”

On Kevin Roche…

“Kevin is doing a great job. He's had a great spring. He has gotten better every single day. And his want to and his effort, his give a s**** factor is through the roof. He loves football. He loves coming out here. I think that he's doing a great job. Truthfully, like he's put on some weight, right? He looks good out there. And yeah, you're right. Like nobody makes six eight, know, 265-pound guys that can run 20 miles an hour, right? So he's able to help us in a lot of different ways. Really excited to continue seeing the steps he takes and the fall he has.”

On where he wants to see the tight end room develop to at the end of spring…

“I think most importantly, the biggest thing right for us right now in the tight end room is all the pre-snap stuff. Again, I'm really lucky. We have a room of guys that are willing to be coached and always give great effort. I haven't had to go out there and coach attitude or effort, right? So it's more the pre-snap stuff, the understanding of the defense, the getting lined up, all the little things that make a great football team, win games late in the season because they're fundamentally sound, right? So we can come out, you know, at the spring game next week and come out of spring feeling really good about, you know, our fundamentals, right? Our technique, how we're able to run off the ball and get our hands inside, like all those little details, then I'll be really excited with how we progress into the summer, right? Because you can start building from that, right? But we need to be a fundamentally sound football team. You've heard Coach Key say that all spring, and it's trickled down obviously to each and every position room. And so if we can get that done next week, I'll feel really good about where we're at.”

On Spencer Mermans…

“I've loved Spencer. He is a great dude, loves football, and loves being physical. Like when we came, and I think this was part of the reason we were able to sign Spencer out of the portal. We came in, we watched his tape, and we were very truthful with him about how we saw him fitting into our offense and how we were gonna utilize him. And he was like, yeah, other coaches told me I was gonna catch 30 balls next year. He's like. I don't know why they would tell me that I've never caught 30 balls in my life.

So I think it goes back to finding guys that are the right fit in the recruiting process. But no, there might not be anybody on the planet that wants to put their face on somebody more than Spencer, right? I joke with them, obviously, we had Jackson (Hawes) a few years ago, and they know each other, but they're different players. And I told that to Spencer, I'm like, just because you guys both went to Yale and like to block people, you're different, I see you differently. So getting him back healthy is gonna be really important. I'm really excited to see him get in the run game, and he probably will catch a couple of balls this year, too, so we'll see. But I'm excited about Spencer for sure.