ATLANTA- Georgia Tech continued to work in full pads during Wednesday's practice on the Flats. The session also featured the first live tackling of Fall Camp 2023. Following the two-plus hour session in scorching heat, Special Teams Coordinator Ricky Brumfield and a trio of Yellow Jackets plays led by senior tight end Dylan Leonard spoke to the media.
Brumfield splits his time between working with the specialists and helping coach the Jackets' secondary with defensive backs coach Travares Tillman. He explained to JOL how he splits his time during a typical practice session.
"I'm working with the DBs and the way we have it set up, I'm Coach Tillman's assistant. So whatever coach Tillman needs. I help him out with it whether it is drills or just throwing the ball or just extra eyes. I'm his assistant and whenever we do special teams, I go handle special teams and then my focus shifts to defense after that," he said. "Our specialists do a good job of working on their own and they have a regimen and a plan of what they are supposed to be doing and they do that on the side. I make sure they are managed and taken care of during that time (when he is with the defense."
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Brumfield said that Gavin Stewart and Aidan Birr have both done a good job with kickoffs and field goals and they are going tit for tat out there. They just started doing a lot of team field goal work and before that they were doing snapper, holder, kicker work and charting that. Now they are using the rush to get an idea of how they perform with bodies flying around.
WIth KR and PR, Brumfield mentioned a lot of guys they are working, Malik Rutherford who he said is really fast and can make plays, Christian Leary has been doing a good job, Eric Singleton has some good speed they want back there. They have Taye Seymore back there, Dominick Blaylock and DJ Moore catching punts. They are looking for who is the most consistent with punts. Even Rodney Shelley is in the mix there
On KR they have Taye Seymore and Eric Singleton and those other guys they used before.
They brought in two new punters as walk-ons to help depth Logan Weighall (who can also PK) and Joshua Taylor and Brumfield said it is huge having those guys to compete but more importantly when they get into the season it gives David Shanahan a break. He will have Shanahan do the normal punting that they would do on a Tuesday, but then those guys can do the scout team punting on Wednesday so they can work on returns and punt blocks. Last year Shanahan had to do all of that because they failed to have a backup punter on the roster and Brumfield said is so much extra wear on the punter or kickers legs if they have to do all of the kicking for the scout team and the the normal competitive stuff in the season.
Brumfield said ideally he would have a kickoff guy and a separate field goal guy and both Gavin Stewart and Aidan Birr are competing for that. They've been good. David Shanahan has done a great job punting and Henry Freer has been good in camp and they've carried that over from the spring.
I asked Brumfield about the mess that punting was last year with the blocks and then the TDs after they fixed the blocks. He said he watched the tape and saw things he would help Shanahan with. The biggest was he wants him to be a two-step and not a three-step punter. He said they are focused on 2023 and not what happened last year but you can learn some things even if they had been the #1 punt team in the country which clearly they were not close to. He said he feels like Shanahan is really progressing with what they are asking him to do. He said they need him to progress with his hangtime and getoff time and the low hang time and the slow get off time was a recipe for disaster last year. He said Shanahan knew he needed to improve as well and was willing to really work on it.
I asked Brumfield about his experience coaching both offense and defense on the FBS level and how that impacts him and how he does his job as a special teams coach. He joked that when he is on defense he hates the offense and vice versa. He said it is more about his mindset as a coach. He said the one thing it does help with is he uses some terminology that the side of the ball he helps with uses in his special teams calls and assignments to make it easier to pick up.
David Shanahan talked about the new special teams scheme and he said they were overly complicated last year (shocking) now it is going down the has or rugby and it is very back to basics and about being consistent every single time on every punt. He said he really practiced a lot over the summer. Today was the first live drills and live rush so that was different but he is excited about the progress he has made.
Shanahan said they go out an hour before everyone else at practice and get a lot of work in then and he said the one thing that has changed is Brumfield and Key hold them accountable more and there is a much high expectation for them. They meet twice a day for 20 minutes and go every every kick. Everyone is held accountable for their performance that day and that is raising the standard in their room.
He said the two freshmen punters Joshua and Logan have helped a lot, they are both adjusting to college but he has had a lot less work on his leg and that has helped keep his leg healthy and fresh throughout camp so far.
Shanahan talked a lot about the trip to Ireland last month with his teammates. He said they went to his hometown and his mom cooked lunch for everyone (she tried to make an American style meal of beef and rice) and they went to Killarney for a July 4th party and they had all the American stereotypes you can imagine like cowboys and hot dogs and they all got a kick out of it. He said the guys were shocked by all the cows everywhere and how country where he is from was. He explained his HS was a little house with 100 students and a fireplace in every classroom and that it was very old. He said they were shocked being used to Atlanta public schools and the size of those.
Kicker Gavin Stewart said schematically they have completely changed and people will see that throughout the season with special teams. He said his thing is mostly the same with the operations with Freer and Shanahan (snapper/holder) and perfecting that operation. He said they have everything really well set up.
Stewart said that kicking off and kicking FG/PAT is a lot of wear on his leg, but he enjoys kicking off and it shakes the nerves off especially when he hits a touchback and that is when it is really time to go play ball.
I asked him if he has been lobbying for some trick plays given his athletic ability (very good HS WR) and he said that is absolutely something he hopes happens one day, but he said for now his job is pretty simple PATs and FGs and kicking off.
Stewart said a lot of the things they are doing very similar but the coaching has changed because Brumfield is very nitpicky about how they execute things. He said they worked on punt block today and Brumfield was very specific about it compared to the past.
Dylan Leonard was the outlier today as they had the TEs go on specialist media day since they only had Buster Faulkner on his day.
Leonard said that it is bittersweet going through his final camp in college, but he is pushing himself and in year five he really wants to be All-ACC as a TE and just win games. He doesn't really care if he isn't All-ACC if they just win. He said in his four prior seasons they have not lived up to the potential they thought they had as a team and this year is strictly about winning and that is how Key has it set up and the mentality of the team.
Leonard said the 100-degree heat is a big difference from last year, but he doesn't think it is more physical in practice necessarily just the heat element amps things up and today that had the first live periods and then they have a 100-play scrimmage on Saturday and that will be more of a physical test.
Leonard said things don't get easier at Georgia Tech and he said he was asked if school gets easier as you move up to JR or SR year and he said no, "I'd just say you get tougher and that is what Tech does to you. It just makes you a tougher human being off the field and on the field." He said he told a parent it doesn't get easier, you just get tougher so it may feel easier. "That builds you into being a beast of a human being in this place."
Leonard said he likes the WRs they've added and Dominick Blaylock and Chase Lane and some other guys and the two Zachs and Haynes King are doing a great job of distributing the ball.
I asked Leonard about the role of the TE and how it kept being hyped but really has yet to be a key part of the offense and he said that that was a common storyline in the past, but it really changed later last season (after Jeff Sims got hurt) and they started to be a part of the offense finally in the passing game. He said that Buster Faulkner likes to use them all over the field and create one-on-one matchups and that is exciting. He said the QBs like using the TE now and that helps and they have great relationships with all of the QBs.
Leonard got the QB question and he said he has no idea who will be the starter and he is just as interested as anyone else is in finding out. He said that all three have done well and it will likely be a skin of the teeth edging out who wins it. He said that Zach Pyron and Haynes King are just guys who love football and playing it and they can both get out of the pocket and run and are very similar in how they play. He said whoever they name he will ride with and he is looking forward to seeing who wins the job.
Brumfield splits his time between working with the specialists and helping coach the Jackets' secondary with defensive backs coach Travares Tillman. He explained to JOL how he splits his time during a typical practice session.
"I'm working with the DBs and the way we have it set up, I'm Coach Tillman's assistant. So whatever coach Tillman needs. I help him out with it whether it is drills or just throwing the ball or just extra eyes. I'm his assistant and whenever we do special teams, I go handle special teams and then my focus shifts to defense after that," he said. "Our specialists do a good job of working on their own and they have a regimen and a plan of what they are supposed to be doing and they do that on the side. I make sure they are managed and taken care of during that time (when he is with the defense."
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Brumfield said that Gavin Stewart and Aidan Birr have both done a good job with kickoffs and field goals and they are going tit for tat out there. They just started doing a lot of team field goal work and before that they were doing snapper, holder, kicker work and charting that. Now they are using the rush to get an idea of how they perform with bodies flying around.
WIth KR and PR, Brumfield mentioned a lot of guys they are working, Malik Rutherford who he said is really fast and can make plays, Christian Leary has been doing a good job, Eric Singleton has some good speed they want back there. They have Taye Seymore back there, Dominick Blaylock and DJ Moore catching punts. They are looking for who is the most consistent with punts. Even Rodney Shelley is in the mix there
On KR they have Taye Seymore and Eric Singleton and those other guys they used before.
They brought in two new punters as walk-ons to help depth Logan Weighall (who can also PK) and Joshua Taylor and Brumfield said it is huge having those guys to compete but more importantly when they get into the season it gives David Shanahan a break. He will have Shanahan do the normal punting that they would do on a Tuesday, but then those guys can do the scout team punting on Wednesday so they can work on returns and punt blocks. Last year Shanahan had to do all of that because they failed to have a backup punter on the roster and Brumfield said is so much extra wear on the punter or kickers legs if they have to do all of the kicking for the scout team and the the normal competitive stuff in the season.
Brumfield said ideally he would have a kickoff guy and a separate field goal guy and both Gavin Stewart and Aidan Birr are competing for that. They've been good. David Shanahan has done a great job punting and Henry Freer has been good in camp and they've carried that over from the spring.
I asked Brumfield about the mess that punting was last year with the blocks and then the TDs after they fixed the blocks. He said he watched the tape and saw things he would help Shanahan with. The biggest was he wants him to be a two-step and not a three-step punter. He said they are focused on 2023 and not what happened last year but you can learn some things even if they had been the #1 punt team in the country which clearly they were not close to. He said he feels like Shanahan is really progressing with what they are asking him to do. He said they need him to progress with his hangtime and getoff time and the low hang time and the slow get off time was a recipe for disaster last year. He said Shanahan knew he needed to improve as well and was willing to really work on it.
I asked Brumfield about his experience coaching both offense and defense on the FBS level and how that impacts him and how he does his job as a special teams coach. He joked that when he is on defense he hates the offense and vice versa. He said it is more about his mindset as a coach. He said the one thing it does help with is he uses some terminology that the side of the ball he helps with uses in his special teams calls and assignments to make it easier to pick up.
David Shanahan talked about the new special teams scheme and he said they were overly complicated last year (shocking) now it is going down the has or rugby and it is very back to basics and about being consistent every single time on every punt. He said he really practiced a lot over the summer. Today was the first live drills and live rush so that was different but he is excited about the progress he has made.
Shanahan said they go out an hour before everyone else at practice and get a lot of work in then and he said the one thing that has changed is Brumfield and Key hold them accountable more and there is a much high expectation for them. They meet twice a day for 20 minutes and go every every kick. Everyone is held accountable for their performance that day and that is raising the standard in their room.
He said the two freshmen punters Joshua and Logan have helped a lot, they are both adjusting to college but he has had a lot less work on his leg and that has helped keep his leg healthy and fresh throughout camp so far.
Shanahan talked a lot about the trip to Ireland last month with his teammates. He said they went to his hometown and his mom cooked lunch for everyone (she tried to make an American style meal of beef and rice) and they went to Killarney for a July 4th party and they had all the American stereotypes you can imagine like cowboys and hot dogs and they all got a kick out of it. He said the guys were shocked by all the cows everywhere and how country where he is from was. He explained his HS was a little house with 100 students and a fireplace in every classroom and that it was very old. He said they were shocked being used to Atlanta public schools and the size of those.
Kicker Gavin Stewart said schematically they have completely changed and people will see that throughout the season with special teams. He said his thing is mostly the same with the operations with Freer and Shanahan (snapper/holder) and perfecting that operation. He said they have everything really well set up.
Stewart said that kicking off and kicking FG/PAT is a lot of wear on his leg, but he enjoys kicking off and it shakes the nerves off especially when he hits a touchback and that is when it is really time to go play ball.
I asked him if he has been lobbying for some trick plays given his athletic ability (very good HS WR) and he said that is absolutely something he hopes happens one day, but he said for now his job is pretty simple PATs and FGs and kicking off.
Stewart said a lot of the things they are doing very similar but the coaching has changed because Brumfield is very nitpicky about how they execute things. He said they worked on punt block today and Brumfield was very specific about it compared to the past.
Dylan Leonard was the outlier today as they had the TEs go on specialist media day since they only had Buster Faulkner on his day.
Leonard said that it is bittersweet going through his final camp in college, but he is pushing himself and in year five he really wants to be All-ACC as a TE and just win games. He doesn't really care if he isn't All-ACC if they just win. He said in his four prior seasons they have not lived up to the potential they thought they had as a team and this year is strictly about winning and that is how Key has it set up and the mentality of the team.
Leonard said the 100-degree heat is a big difference from last year, but he doesn't think it is more physical in practice necessarily just the heat element amps things up and today that had the first live periods and then they have a 100-play scrimmage on Saturday and that will be more of a physical test.
Leonard said things don't get easier at Georgia Tech and he said he was asked if school gets easier as you move up to JR or SR year and he said no, "I'd just say you get tougher and that is what Tech does to you. It just makes you a tougher human being off the field and on the field." He said he told a parent it doesn't get easier, you just get tougher so it may feel easier. "That builds you into being a beast of a human being in this place."
Leonard said he likes the WRs they've added and Dominick Blaylock and Chase Lane and some other guys and the two Zachs and Haynes King are doing a great job of distributing the ball.
I asked Leonard about the role of the TE and how it kept being hyped but really has yet to be a key part of the offense and he said that that was a common storyline in the past, but it really changed later last season (after Jeff Sims got hurt) and they started to be a part of the offense finally in the passing game. He said that Buster Faulkner likes to use them all over the field and create one-on-one matchups and that is exciting. He said the QBs like using the TE now and that helps and they have great relationships with all of the QBs.
Leonard got the QB question and he said he has no idea who will be the starter and he is just as interested as anyone else is in finding out. He said that all three have done well and it will likely be a skin of the teeth edging out who wins it. He said that Zach Pyron and Haynes King are just guys who love football and playing it and they can both get out of the pocket and run and are very similar in how they play. He said whoever they name he will ride with and he is looking forward to seeing who wins the job.
