We spoke to Jaylon King, Kyle Kennard and Ethan Mackenny (his first time with us) on Wednesday.
Jay King on winning ACC DB of the Week coming off his serious injury last year,
"the main thing I took away from that was just being appreciative of being able to play again. After breaking my leg last year, I didn't know if I was going to play a football game. That was a decision I made after a couple of months of thinking if I;d actually do it again. So just thankful for the ability to still play football and being able to play at a high level on Saturday. (The award) really just made me feel appreciative of having the chance to play again and taking that opportunity to play."
King said it was very satisfying to see complimentary football being played on defense throughout the day last Saturday with the DL, LBs and secondary all making plays. The DL got great pressure, the LBs were filling their gaps and the DBs were covering and making plays on the perimeter so he thinks that is a confidence booster.
King said they practice the tip drills all the time so it was great to get a pick that way and Coach Key really emphasizes getting those tipped balls or tipping the ball to a teammate so they can secure the pick. When it happens they are prepared.
King said the new rotation at safety wasn't a big deal because he goes in with the mindset of playing the whole game each time or being subbed out some, it doesn't change his approach.
King said that Bowling Green is solid all-around and they have some playmakers and they have to be prepared for that.
King said the DBs are supposed to fill the alley and clean up things, but on certain calls they have to secure the edge as well and force everything back inside and that was a big emphasis in practice this week, securing the edge and letting the mid-field safety and the LBs fill the alleys and fit the run.
I asked him about some of the bad G5 games GT played under Collins and if he mentions that to the team this week to keep them focused and King said they always try to focus on themselves and not worry about the level of the competition. They've won these types of games and lost him during his time here so he is trying to keep everyone on an even keel coming off a big win last week and focus on getting better with what they struggled with last week.
Kyle Kennard said his penalties definitely hurt the team and he has to be better about channeling his aggression and use it more with his on-the-field production instead of unnecessary things after the play.
Kennard said it was satisfying to final rack up some sacks, but he has the same mentality every week and that game it just worked for him and things were freeing up for him and he made the plays.
Kennard said they have to watch a lot of film each week to prep for the tendencies of each type of offense as they keep seeing something different each week this season. He is looking at the OL for tells in particular and you just look at what they do well or like to do.
Kennard said the improvement of the GT OL has been very helpful for the DL and they help them get ready each week, but the big thing is they know the DLs tendencies as well so they are forcing them out of those habits because they can shut them down if they lean too hard on those things.
Kennard said the interior DLs had a big hand in his sacks last week because they pushed in the inside and got Mitch Griffis off his spot.
Last we had Ethan Mackenny making his GT media debut.
He said the first game was definitely an eye-opener as he wasn't expecting to play much and then he was called in for Corey Robinson and Corey has been a great mentor for him and helped him a lot. He said he went in during the first QT and he looked around and said to himself, "let's do this." He was good after that moment and he settled his nerves and focused on doing his job and really made it about the guy in front of him.
Mackenny said he likes the way they are running ball this year and they've done a phenomenal job with the coaches learning the right landmarks and run spots over fall camp and the summer and he had to learn pretty fast how Geep Wade wants to do things. He loves Geep and he has helped him figure out his role in the run game and there is still plenty of room for improvement with run blocking and he thinks they will continue to improve.
I asked him about his relationship with Key which dates back to a GT camp as a sophomore in HS. Mackenny said he showed up at that GT camp at 236 pounds as a smaller tackle and Key pulled him aside and told him to focus on adding weight and that he had a chance to be special if he did. He showed up the next year at 260 at the camp and got the GT offer. He is up to 292 now. He said that his relationship is a little different with Key because he has been in the same shoes that Mackenny was as a true freshman playing CFB at GT and he will pull him aside during practice and tell him to calm down because his head is on a swivel and he has taught him a lot during pass pro drills in practice.
Mackenny said he needs to improve his pass pro and he knows that and certain things in the run game as well and develop himself more in the weight room. He said the biggest thing right now is his pass pro, working with his feet and learning to hit the right spots at tackle.
On playing as a true freshman, "it has been a great opportunity for me and a great challenge too. I wasn't expecting this challenge, but when I was presented the opportunity I tried to do my best to do my part and do my role as left tackle.."
He said he couldn't have done it without the coaches, his teammates and the rest of the OL.
Mackenny said Joe Fusile has been huge for him and really helped him constantly and if he screws something up, JOe is quick to help him and in the film room with film study he has helped him a lot as well especially if he is confused by something.
Jay King on winning ACC DB of the Week coming off his serious injury last year,
"the main thing I took away from that was just being appreciative of being able to play again. After breaking my leg last year, I didn't know if I was going to play a football game. That was a decision I made after a couple of months of thinking if I;d actually do it again. So just thankful for the ability to still play football and being able to play at a high level on Saturday. (The award) really just made me feel appreciative of having the chance to play again and taking that opportunity to play."
King said it was very satisfying to see complimentary football being played on defense throughout the day last Saturday with the DL, LBs and secondary all making plays. The DL got great pressure, the LBs were filling their gaps and the DBs were covering and making plays on the perimeter so he thinks that is a confidence booster.
King said they practice the tip drills all the time so it was great to get a pick that way and Coach Key really emphasizes getting those tipped balls or tipping the ball to a teammate so they can secure the pick. When it happens they are prepared.
King said the new rotation at safety wasn't a big deal because he goes in with the mindset of playing the whole game each time or being subbed out some, it doesn't change his approach.
King said that Bowling Green is solid all-around and they have some playmakers and they have to be prepared for that.
King said the DBs are supposed to fill the alley and clean up things, but on certain calls they have to secure the edge as well and force everything back inside and that was a big emphasis in practice this week, securing the edge and letting the mid-field safety and the LBs fill the alleys and fit the run.
I asked him about some of the bad G5 games GT played under Collins and if he mentions that to the team this week to keep them focused and King said they always try to focus on themselves and not worry about the level of the competition. They've won these types of games and lost him during his time here so he is trying to keep everyone on an even keel coming off a big win last week and focus on getting better with what they struggled with last week.
Kyle Kennard said his penalties definitely hurt the team and he has to be better about channeling his aggression and use it more with his on-the-field production instead of unnecessary things after the play.
Kennard said it was satisfying to final rack up some sacks, but he has the same mentality every week and that game it just worked for him and things were freeing up for him and he made the plays.
Kennard said they have to watch a lot of film each week to prep for the tendencies of each type of offense as they keep seeing something different each week this season. He is looking at the OL for tells in particular and you just look at what they do well or like to do.
Kennard said the improvement of the GT OL has been very helpful for the DL and they help them get ready each week, but the big thing is they know the DLs tendencies as well so they are forcing them out of those habits because they can shut them down if they lean too hard on those things.
Kennard said the interior DLs had a big hand in his sacks last week because they pushed in the inside and got Mitch Griffis off his spot.
Last we had Ethan Mackenny making his GT media debut.
He said the first game was definitely an eye-opener as he wasn't expecting to play much and then he was called in for Corey Robinson and Corey has been a great mentor for him and helped him a lot. He said he went in during the first QT and he looked around and said to himself, "let's do this." He was good after that moment and he settled his nerves and focused on doing his job and really made it about the guy in front of him.
Mackenny said he likes the way they are running ball this year and they've done a phenomenal job with the coaches learning the right landmarks and run spots over fall camp and the summer and he had to learn pretty fast how Geep Wade wants to do things. He loves Geep and he has helped him figure out his role in the run game and there is still plenty of room for improvement with run blocking and he thinks they will continue to improve.
I asked him about his relationship with Key which dates back to a GT camp as a sophomore in HS. Mackenny said he showed up at that GT camp at 236 pounds as a smaller tackle and Key pulled him aside and told him to focus on adding weight and that he had a chance to be special if he did. He showed up the next year at 260 at the camp and got the GT offer. He is up to 292 now. He said that his relationship is a little different with Key because he has been in the same shoes that Mackenny was as a true freshman playing CFB at GT and he will pull him aside during practice and tell him to calm down because his head is on a swivel and he has taught him a lot during pass pro drills in practice.
Mackenny said he needs to improve his pass pro and he knows that and certain things in the run game as well and develop himself more in the weight room. He said the biggest thing right now is his pass pro, working with his feet and learning to hit the right spots at tackle.
On playing as a true freshman, "it has been a great opportunity for me and a great challenge too. I wasn't expecting this challenge, but when I was presented the opportunity I tried to do my best to do my part and do my role as left tackle.."
He said he couldn't have done it without the coaches, his teammates and the rest of the OL.
Mackenny said Joe Fusile has been huge for him and really helped him constantly and if he screws something up, JOe is quick to help him and in the film room with film study he has helped him a lot as well especially if he is confused by something.
