Friday marked the final day of the first part of Georgia Tech spring football. Brent Key had his team in full pads for the first time this year, but it also marked the last practice until March 27th. Georgia Tech students are on spring break once classes finish on Friday. Key held a long practice session on Friday in preparation for the break and after practice, we spoke with a trio of upperclassmen from the offensive side of the ball, Dylan Leonard, Dontae Smith, and Jordan Williams
Starting right guard Jordan Williams was first up, I asked him about the differences between Geep Wade and Brent Key as offensive line coaches,
"It is completely different to be honest," Williams said. "They both teach the same mechanics and everything, but when it comes to the language the calls (Key) used and the calls coach Wade uses are completely different."
Williams said they've done a nice job of transitioning the line to the differences in calls and letting them know what they should be doing that is different than before.
Williams said this is the first time he has had the same two people playing around him since he has been at GT from the previous season with Jakiah Leftwich at RT and Weston Franklin at center. He said the chemistry and their double team blocking has really improved thanks to that. He thinks the overall chemistry on the OL is very good with just one guy leaving from the rotation in Pierce Quick.
On the offense, Williams said OC Buster Faulkner has a great playbook and they are slowly installing it this spring and there is some carryover, but also things that are doing differently. The run game stuff they are doing is very effective and he likes it a lot.
Williams said that Weston Franklin has been a surprise this spring as he has really upped his game in the weight room and mentally. He said that Joe Fusile is also beast now and has been the biggest surprise for them. "Joe is playing like his life depends on finishing three more sprints. He doesn't care, he will do whatever it takes."
Williams said he is mentoring Elias Cloy and he has been impressed with how Cloy has matured and developed over the last few months since he enrolled early.
Williams is down to 300 pounds and said he wants to get back up to 310 because he feels a little light, but wants it to be all muscle (he is the best he has looked at GT physically right now). He is going to use spring break to bulk up more.
Williams said his favorite player to go against is Akelo Stone his former freshman roommate. He said they are always chippy and yapping at each other, but it comes from a place of love. Akelo is very agile and quick so it is hard to block him. Douse is hard to block as well but he doesn't go against him much since he is on the other side, Akelo and Douse are very similar with how they play, but Douse is shiftier. He said those two are his favorite DTs.
Williams said the DL was playing great last year and it is nice having Coach Coleman back to keep that up, the DL mentality is really good and the DTs are very good. Williams said even young guys like Horace Lockett are really good, he said Horace is like 360 pounds and can move.
Next we spoke with Dylan Leonard about the TE position and working with Buster Faulkner and GA Nathan Brock aka Coach Brutus. He said those two have done a great job working with the TE. They are doing some things differently schematically, but the offense is a college spread and they've done a good job of making the transition easy for TEs.
Leonard said the past few years TE usage hasn't come to fruition, but he feels good about the QB room now and he has good relationships with both Zachs and is building one with Haynes King as well and they are trying to develop that trust.
I asked Leonard about his health coming off shoulder and hamstring injuries the last few years that have hampered him. He said for being in year five in college he is feeling pretty good. His shoulder is going to be something he has to deal with. He said he is basically back to 100% now and his hamstring is better. He said he has been blessed that his injuries haven't been crazy bad.
Leonard said that Brett Seither is a little bit more of Luke Benson type, smaller and shifty route runner. He said Jackson Long is young and trying to find his way and has been hampered by a minor injury but they are excited about him in the future.
Leonard said the QB competition has been good and all three scholarship QBs roll with the ones during practice. He said that Zach Pyron came in and proved he could play and Gibson did as well and Haynes has that experience at Texas A&M and played some good ball there too so he thinks it will be an interesting competition. He said he doesn't have an insight on who will will or anything, but he is excited to see it play out.
Leonard said it is big having back so much of the offensive line given how the TEs have to communicate with the OL for blocking and double teams there is chemistry that has to build and they have that.
Leonard said it has been easier picking up Buster's offense because this is his third college offense he has had to learn. He is focused on refining the little things in his game and improving as a route runner so that the QBs can be as comfortable as they can be. He is also working on his blocking too.
Dontae Smith was the last one to talk, Ken who wasn't there due to a family thing, had me ask him about working with his 5th different position coach (Owens, Choice, Daniels, Hill-Eley and now McKenzie)
He said he has learned a lot of different philosophies and he has tried to take different things from each guy and apply it to his game. He really likes Coach McKenzie. They have some common relationships from Nashville and he likes how he teaches things. McKenzie does a lot of quizzes and games testing their knowledge in the meeting room so they can understand what they are doing and why. It helps cut down on missed assignments.
Smith said the RBs were eating on Friday in practice and look really good.
Smith said that both Antonio Martin and Jamie Felix were a little overweight last year and have both cut down. Felix is much faster now. He said everyone in the room is learning how to work the fine details of the position and they've been working hard in the offseason to get going. He said as the room leader they make it extremely easy on him.
Smith said that Kaleb Edwards has really trimmed up his body and is adjusting back to playing RB for the first time since HS. He said that he has a defensive mentality and likes to hit and block people. He is proud of him and how he has handled making the change and he has done pretty well with it.
Smith said that Tre Cooley has been a cool addition and he played under Hassan Hall at Louisville so understands how to fit in to what they are doing. He likes that he is fast and he can challenge him on that front again. He said that freshman Evan Dickens can also fly. Evan is one of the smartest freshmen he has ever seen and he works really hard on the field and in the classroom. He is picking up things really fast and applying what he is learning quickly onto the field.
I asked Dontae and Jordan about AJ Artis and the new S&C staff.
Williams said that Artis and his staff are intense and consistent and that is something that really has stood out with the S&C staff and everyone is doing the exact same workout in the same way but they are pushing them mentally and Artis is toughening the team up and pushing guys past their limits even when they are dead tired.
Smith said the whole S&C staff are real vocal before a workout and explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. They are also working a lot on explosion and speed training as well as some cool tech. They have a camera that measures bar speed so they can see how fast they are moving the bar when lifting and they can up the weight if you are moving at a certain speed that is faster than previously so they can adjust it quickly. They are adjusting the weight a lot. Most of them played CFB so they can talk ball with them too and they are very direct especially coach Jordan (Diaz) the speed coach.
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