Everything Head Coach Geoff Collins Said After Win Over Western Carolina

Georgia Tech got their first win of the season on Saturday night when they took down Western Carolina at home. It was not a perfect performance by any means, but the Yellow Jackets won their home opener and now must get ready for a big game at home vs Ole Miss.

Head coach Geoff Collins did his usual press conference after the game and here is everything that the head coach had to say.

Opening Statement

"So just the comments to the guys before we sang the fight song was the first two drives we let them go down the field and score on us and let them score 14 points on us in the first quarter on the first couple of drives, but only three points the rest of the game and then there were a couple of drives where we left points on the board and obviously that is going to be a big point of emphasis. I have not slept since Sunday night, that was the last time on a short week and I appreciate you guys being here, celebrating a win with the guys, we got a lot of work to do for an ABC matchup next Saturday at 3:30 back here at Bobby Dodd next Saturday.

1. On getting the running game going and what he saw from the offensive line...

"I thought that we were getting a good push all night and Dontae had a heck of a game and I am just really proud of him and all three of those guys, Dylan (McDuffie) and Hassan (Hall) helped us out a bunch too but I am really proud of Dontae and really proud of our offensive line and then Nate McCollum's reverse for a touchdown, big block by Jeff Sims, big block by Pierce Quick, it was really good to see those guys in space, being unselfish and doing those kinds of things and help them get a touchdown."

2. On playing the first half without Charlie Thomas and the difference he made in the second half...

"Charlie is a tremendous player. There were two busts early, one on the 3rd and 10, where we should have had the back but we didn't and he got out of there, and the one where they ran the jet sweep wheel, somebody should have had them. Just the cumulative reps, you know, Charlie is a heck of a player but also the guys that came in in Charlie's stead, they settled down and were able to get us through the rest of the first half without any more points. Charlie, I am just really proud of his development and he was the one after I was done talking, he spoke to the team as well and those kinds of things have not happened here in a while and it was really good just for his leadership, how he handled the week, knowing he was not going to play in the first half and still being supportive, still being a coach out there on the field for us so I can't express enough how proud I am of Charlie Thomas and not just as a great player, but his development in this program is just and he is special."

3. On the offensive line not giving up any sacks or having false starts...

"That was the big thing. And zero blocked punts too. We wanted to make sure that we had all that tightened up and we told the guys last week that we made critical mistakes last week against the number four team in the country and those were all fixable mistakes. It does not mean we waive the magic wand tomorrow because you know Monday will be our off day, we will come out tomorrow and it is all just magically fixed. We gotta come out every single day and work on our issues and just continue to get better. We all know the quality of opponents that we have coming up, especially the one that is next Saturday at 3:30, a really good football team."

4. On Jeff Sims struggles in the game throwing the ball ...

"Well, the big thing was that we wanted to establish the run, that was a big point of emphasis all week, and take our shots when we needed to. Obviously the one interception after a sudden change, I obviously wish we could have that back, the kid made a heck of a play but the biggest thing of the night was establishing the run game and I thought Jeff did a good job of getting us into the looks for us to have success in the run game as well."

5. On if the reason he only threw the ball three times in the second was about the running game...

"100%. That is exactly what we wanted to do in the second half of the game, that was a big point of emphasis and I thought our guys did it."

6. On the struggles the team had in containing Western Carolina quarterback Carlos Davis...

"I knew on tape that he was a really good player and then you see him in person, he was impressive in the pocket keeping his eyes downfield and it was unfortunate that he got injured because he is a really good player and I just wish them the best. I did not talk about it during the week, but that is my alma mater and just seeing the way they competed and the really good players that they have, obviously, number five was a really good player and I hope he gets back."

7. On the defense struggling with the screen game...

"That is going to be a big part of the next couple of weeks so obviously the awareness of that, the layers to the defense that is responsible for it and they were doing a nice job of draining the underneath coverage out to have those soft spots, but still gotta rally up and make the plays and have the awareness and those kinds of things so it will be a point of emphasis moving forward and they did a nice job with it."

8. On if the defense can build on forcing the turnovers in the game...

"Yeah 100% so a lot more tips and overthrows and guys doing a nice job in pursuing and attacking the football but it is just something we are going to continue to build on. Obviously, I hate two of them, we did not get any points out of them, so that will be the sudden change piece of it for our offense and that will be a big emphasis as well because I think we left some points on the board, especially Charlie's went down on the 12 or 15-yard line and coming up with no points so we have to make sure we are understanding how important it is to capitalize when we are having good fortune and creating turnovers."

9. On if the weather or the short week of rest had anything to do with the slow start...

"I am not going to make an excuse for anything, we just have to be better and have to start better on the defensive side of the ball so that will be the only thing that we have to continue to, you know, we have made decisions on how we are going to handle that first part of the game and we just had two critical busts in coverage on two of the touchdowns so we have to get that cleaned up."

10. On how he managed the team on a short week and playing an opponent they expected to beat...

"Can I be honest? It was hard. It was hard. It was a physical football game on Monday night against the number four team in the country, hats off to our coaches, hats off to our players, hats off to strength staff, training staff, and nutrition staff. The job that they did to get that team ready to play and the level of preparation, again, hats off to our guys, Charlie Thomas just talked about it in the locker room all week, you gotta accelerate the process to learn the opponent that we are defending, learn the gameplan, and be ready to go because it is not easy playing two games in five days and it is not easy. Hats off to our guys for doing it and we will have meetings, lifting, recovery, all of those things tomorrow and then get Monday off, but we have a lot of work to do to continue to become a better team."

11. On being outgained by Western Carolina...

"You know one of the biggest pieces was there were short fields tonight and hats off to the return game, the turnovers that we were able to create, we were playing a short field, and credit to Western Carolina as well, I told you guys all week, they have an explosive offense, it is a really good offense, one of the top ten in the country, they have really good players and we had our hands full, we contributed to that with eye violations early that let some things happen that should not have happened, but we will get those things cleaned up and get them fixed and get ready for next Saturday."

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