Notable Quotes From Tae Harris and Trelain Maddox Ahead of Saturday's Game vs Duke

Trelain Maddox and Tae Harris have both been bright spots in a tumultuous and disappointing season thus far for the Yellow Jackets. Maddox is known for his versatility and how hard he runs the football. Harris is known as a back-end defensive star with high potential and one of the best defenders on the team. Both dived into the matchup, what to watch for, and shared their thoughts on the game.

Maddox on not limiting himself and being versatile

“Well, you never want to be put in a box or put yourself in a box. So, in the offseason, you go into it and you're like, "Okay, I'm good at catching, but I'm not good at running in the A gap. So, you just look at your weaknesses or the things that you're not as strong at, and you make sure you go in, perfect those, and then become all well-rounded, and that ultimately helps the team with blocking, passing, running, wherever you can help out,” said Maddox.

On Duke

Both gave their thoughts on what the Duke Blue Devils present and what makes them a tough matchup. Maddox complemented the front six and how they come off the ball.

“Uh they depend to run really well. They depend on their front six a lot. Um like to play safeties deep or not deep but safeties back. So they depend on their front six. They like to come off the ball, be super aggressive and physical. So we got to attack them and um just dominate their front six,” said Maddox.

Harris emphasized the importance of stopping Nate Sheppard and how the Yellow Jackets can be better in run defense to not let him go off on Saturday.

“ I think we got to have a good gap integrity. We got to stay in our We got to stay in our gaps. We got to defeat blocks early on at at the line of scrimmage. So, we got to get good gap integrity, fit our gaps, right, be detailed in our gaps, where we fitting, how we fitting, and get him before he starts going. Yeah, he's a good running back, so we got to get him before he starts going,” said Harris.

Harris acknowledges the slow starts

One of the biggest things that was addressed or said by Harris in the press conference was the slow starts the Yellow Jackets have in game. He kept it simple in his response of what needs to happen.

“I think like Coach Key said, we got to start fast. Uh, I think that's been kind of an issue for the past few years with us just, you know, kind of dipping our toe in the water. We got to start fast, we got to stay fast, and then we got to finish harder in the fourth quarter. So that's kind of been one of the things we also been working on in practice this week. Just starting fast. It doesn't matter the weather; it doesn't matter the circumstances. We just got to start fast and finish stronger,” said Harris

On Inclement weather

There is a tropical storm set to his the southeast and do major damage. The storm is expected to have heavy rain for the Yellow Jackets and major wind gusts. Maddox gave his thoughts on the weather and how he approaches it.

“I’ve played in rain before. Um, it's one of those things that you know is there, but you can't think about it too much because that'll lead to mistakes. So, you got to be conscious of it, but not so overprotective of it to the point where you're out there making mistakes because you're thinking about weather,” said Maddox.

Togetherness

In this tough time for the program the messaging has remained clear: Togetherness. Instead of playing for individual stats and accolades finding a way together to start playing like more of a team. It isn’t easy especially when one player is doing their job and collectively as unit the team is not, but Harris provided some insight on how the team can get it done.

“We just want to lean on each other, start leaning on each other more, becoming more of a team. Like coach Key said, we got to stop losing before we start winning. So, I think that's I think that's been big for us,” said Harris.

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