Here are quick quotes on the media avail with Brent Key, JJ van den Berg and Jordan Williams from Birmingham today.
OPENING STATEMENT
Excited here the day before the game and put our prep in for three weeks and worked to get a lot of guys better. The last two weeks have been focused on narrowing things down and the last eight days on the game plan for Vanderbilt. We’ve had a good time in Birmingham. It is exciting to spend the Christmas Holidays with people you are close to. We have 200 people here that we are close to and it is exciting to be here close to home.
We had a good practice today and focused enjoying the final moments of the 2024 Georgia Tech football team. It is going to be a hard-fought game and two teams that are very similar in
ON EJ LIGHTSEY PLAYING A BIGGER ROLE WITH KYLE EFFORD OUT
He was hampered by something all spring and by the time he got healthy from the groin injury, he had a nasty hamstring pull in the second game of the season. Tyler Santucci believes in playing a lot of players and you have to play a lot of players in the season. You only get so much experience in practice. You have to learn in the fire in games. Making those mistakes he made a huge improvement from ND to VT and from then on he has really shown improvement every week. He is big, strong and physical and he is a guy who isn’t going to run around blocks. He is going to run through your face. He loves playing on special teams and always has a smile on his face. He has overcome a lot of adversity to this point early on with those injuries and he has pushed through and persevered through it. I’m excited about the way he has been playing and I’m excited to have him on the team to see him continue to develop in the future.
ON BOWL OUTSIDE INFLUENCES
Key said when they got here they had a talk with the local police and they tell the kids what they can and can’t do and he said he isn’t worried about that because of the culture and leadership piece here. He said on other teams he has been a part of you have to really hope your guys pay attention and do the right thing, but the good teams you don’t have to say anything because they are going to check themselves and he knows his kids know right from wrong. That is how they prepare every week and they are not going to deviate from that.
ON BEING IN HIS OLD STOMPING GROUNDS
I’m from Clay, when they were building Clay-Chalkville, it is cool to be back home, it has been 30 years since I’ve been here and a lot of things have changed and some haven’t. I drove by this hotel as a kid and it was a big to do and they’d have a concert here and a famous singer would be staying here. The region building would be decked out with a wreath and stocking up there. I had a chance to have a couple of good friends to see me for a night for an hour. They laughed and said 95% of that I was on the phone recruiting. We had some family at practice and Coach Wood my HS coach was here today and he spoke to the team afterwards and that was really neat. That has no impact on this game. It will be a great crowd here and both teams will have a lot fans.
My first live CFB game was here and it was a bowl game with Georgia Tech. Any time we have a chance to play again.
ON MALIK RUTHERFORD COMING BACK
Malik is a great kid and we all know what type of player he is. The reason to created the portal was to create opportunities for guys looking for the portal. Sometimes you become clouded with information and we all have that in our lives, a bunch of people talking to you and you have to sort it out yourself. There are certain things guys look for in their college experience, there is the academic side but then within football you have the brotherhood, the bonds, the relationships and friendships and the other bucket is your player development, the competition you go against and the ability to be developed for the next level and the ability to play for championships. The third part about this is different, 10 years ago, the value part of it right? I can’t control how any one person or player ranks those things and what they provide the different percentages to each one, but each one of them has a bearing right?
The thing with Malik, the bond and the friendships and relationships that is one that tends to be really strong for him and he is a leader of this football team and he is such a positive breath of air for this team. When we start flex I always go to him because he asks me “if I’m good coach” when we were going through it the UNC game two years ago and he was jumped around on his shoulders of some fan and I couldn’t get that out of my head. Malik is such a vital part of this team from chemistry to leadership, everyone goes through different things in their lives they have to think through. My job is to provide the guidance for those guys and what we can do at Georgia Tech to help them. Some of the best players and strongest leaders on our team we got from the portal and they wanted a different experience. I think it is a good thing for these guys if you understand how to use it. We are very transparent with our guys and they are with us and that is something that is special at Georgia Tech. When they do leave, I wish them nothing but success and I want them to provide great lives for themselves after that. When you build relationships for 2-3-4 years you don’t just cut ties, I just tell them when they do leave I hope they are not on the schedule.
OPENING STATEMENT
Excited here the day before the game and put our prep in for three weeks and worked to get a lot of guys better. The last two weeks have been focused on narrowing things down and the last eight days on the game plan for Vanderbilt. We’ve had a good time in Birmingham. It is exciting to spend the Christmas Holidays with people you are close to. We have 200 people here that we are close to and it is exciting to be here close to home.
We had a good practice today and focused enjoying the final moments of the 2024 Georgia Tech football team. It is going to be a hard-fought game and two teams that are very similar in
ON EJ LIGHTSEY PLAYING A BIGGER ROLE WITH KYLE EFFORD OUT
He was hampered by something all spring and by the time he got healthy from the groin injury, he had a nasty hamstring pull in the second game of the season. Tyler Santucci believes in playing a lot of players and you have to play a lot of players in the season. You only get so much experience in practice. You have to learn in the fire in games. Making those mistakes he made a huge improvement from ND to VT and from then on he has really shown improvement every week. He is big, strong and physical and he is a guy who isn’t going to run around blocks. He is going to run through your face. He loves playing on special teams and always has a smile on his face. He has overcome a lot of adversity to this point early on with those injuries and he has pushed through and persevered through it. I’m excited about the way he has been playing and I’m excited to have him on the team to see him continue to develop in the future.
ON BOWL OUTSIDE INFLUENCES
Key said when they got here they had a talk with the local police and they tell the kids what they can and can’t do and he said he isn’t worried about that because of the culture and leadership piece here. He said on other teams he has been a part of you have to really hope your guys pay attention and do the right thing, but the good teams you don’t have to say anything because they are going to check themselves and he knows his kids know right from wrong. That is how they prepare every week and they are not going to deviate from that.
ON BEING IN HIS OLD STOMPING GROUNDS
I’m from Clay, when they were building Clay-Chalkville, it is cool to be back home, it has been 30 years since I’ve been here and a lot of things have changed and some haven’t. I drove by this hotel as a kid and it was a big to do and they’d have a concert here and a famous singer would be staying here. The region building would be decked out with a wreath and stocking up there. I had a chance to have a couple of good friends to see me for a night for an hour. They laughed and said 95% of that I was on the phone recruiting. We had some family at practice and Coach Wood my HS coach was here today and he spoke to the team afterwards and that was really neat. That has no impact on this game. It will be a great crowd here and both teams will have a lot fans.
My first live CFB game was here and it was a bowl game with Georgia Tech. Any time we have a chance to play again.
ON MALIK RUTHERFORD COMING BACK
Malik is a great kid and we all know what type of player he is. The reason to created the portal was to create opportunities for guys looking for the portal. Sometimes you become clouded with information and we all have that in our lives, a bunch of people talking to you and you have to sort it out yourself. There are certain things guys look for in their college experience, there is the academic side but then within football you have the brotherhood, the bonds, the relationships and friendships and the other bucket is your player development, the competition you go against and the ability to be developed for the next level and the ability to play for championships. The third part about this is different, 10 years ago, the value part of it right? I can’t control how any one person or player ranks those things and what they provide the different percentages to each one, but each one of them has a bearing right?
The thing with Malik, the bond and the friendships and relationships that is one that tends to be really strong for him and he is a leader of this football team and he is such a positive breath of air for this team. When we start flex I always go to him because he asks me “if I’m good coach” when we were going through it the UNC game two years ago and he was jumped around on his shoulders of some fan and I couldn’t get that out of my head. Malik is such a vital part of this team from chemistry to leadership, everyone goes through different things in their lives they have to think through. My job is to provide the guidance for those guys and what we can do at Georgia Tech to help them. Some of the best players and strongest leaders on our team we got from the portal and they wanted a different experience. I think it is a good thing for these guys if you understand how to use it. We are very transparent with our guys and they are with us and that is something that is special at Georgia Tech. When they do leave, I wish them nothing but success and I want them to provide great lives for themselves after that. When you build relationships for 2-3-4 years you don’t just cut ties, I just tell them when they do leave I hope they are not on the schedule.
