DTs
Zeek Biggers was 350+ lbs last year for Fall Camp this year he is down to 327 and looks great, he said he is much more mobile and quicker now. He said sitting out the spring was tough but the trainers did a good job getting him rehabbed and healthy. He said his mindset for this year to is play a lot more than he did last year and to be disruptive.
D'Quan Douse said that his emergence in the spring was in part due to his bond with the coaching staff with coach David Turner and coach Travares Tillman standing out in particular. Tillman coached him in HS when he was a sophomore so having him back in his life is big and they have a special bond. He said Turner's resume and coaching style have been a big lift to that room as well. He said that Coach Turner is a big ball buster and is very serious on the field but fun to be around off the field.
Makius Scott has also trimmed down from 308 when he got to GT to 295 now. He said he feels faster and quicker now than he did. Scott said that Turner teaches some different techniques than Larry Knight did as the DT coach. He said from the 3-I to the nose tackle they work a read and react method now and that fits their personnel well.
Daniel Carson may be the happiest guy on the team to be at GT. He knew Kenyatta Watson II and that coupled with some interest from GT led him here. He said that working with Coach Turner is exciting for him and that he has pushed him past his own limits already in their brief time together. He is just hoping to carve out a role for himself this fall.
DEs (Ironically I forgot to interview any of the field ends before we ran out of time, but I'm sure we will get Keion White and Josh Robinson at least both a lot)
Noah Collins said he now weighs 245 pounds after coming in at 210 last year as a freshman. He said that Coach Knight is a nitpicker when it comes to your technique and that is good for them as they've been able to refine their pass rush as a DE room under him. Collins thinks they will be much more productive sack-wise this year.
Kyle Kennard said the focus in their room is attention to detail and that will be the thing that will yield more sacks for them and QB pressures and negative plays. Kennard said he really believes they are being coached by the best in the world right now in the DL room and that they are going to be a lot more productive overall because of that.
Bama transfer Kevin Harris was a little bit nervous as this might've been his first interview at GT or in college, he said his focus has been on his fundamentals and that is where his play wasn't on point in the past and that led to being ineffective at times. He said the competition is really healthy at the rush end spot right now with the top 3 guys, him, Kennard and Collins all vying for playing time. He said the overall DE group is pretty special and he thinks they will be much more productive this year compared to 2021.
LBs:
Tyson Meiguez was excited to talk and just happy to be on the field. He said he is backing up both Charlie Thomas and Ace Eley at both MIKE and WILL battling for playing time with the other LBs and trying to get in that two-deep. He said he is comfortable with both LB spots. Meiguez said he is 215 now after coming in at 190. He is very ready to play after having to watch for so long.
Trenilyas Tatum said he has had a bit of trouble adding weight, but he is not as bad as Charlie Thomas with that, he said the staff still want him to buik up a little more, but he has been battling a minor illness so he lost a little bit of weight before camp. Tatum said he has really enjoyed coach Jason Semore who took over the LB room and his coaching style and what he has planned for them.
NBs:
Kaleb Edwards loves playing the nickel spot and he likes the adjustments to the role that DC Andrew Thacker and HC Geoff Collins have added for the upcoming season. He said they are being more aggressive with how they are using him and he gets the best of both worlds playing safety, corner and LB depending on the play call and what the offense is doing. Edwards is up to 218 pounds after coming in at 193. He said he has also toned up a lot too. Thacker is working a lot with his group per Edwards in practice.
The other nickel I spoke with was ND transfer KJ Wallace. Wallace said that he visited Boise State and ODU but got a late call from GT and it was too good of an opportunity to turn down. He said he has really enjoyed being back in Atlanta and he likes his role at nickel and how the D is built to let them blitz and play man to man and zone coverages too. He said he feels like he has a lot of things in his toolbox he can bring to the table at the nickel spot.
Safeties:
LaMiles Brooks said he is pretty much fully healthy for the first time in a while. He still has to wear a shoulder brace for a bit, but he feels much better. He said he is still working all three positions CB, S and NB but is spending more of his time at safety at the moment. On his name change, he said he has always been LaMiles and known as that but somehow that stopped in football while he was coming up, so he wanted to be true to himself and use his real name. Brooks said he has tried to help fill the leadership role in the secondary as well behind the veteran guys like Myles Sims, Zamari Walton and Jaylon King.
CBs:
Kenyatta Watson II said this is the first time he has been fully healthy since maybe early in his career at Texas and he feels really good right now. He said the injury took a toll on him mentally and physically and being away from teammates and not being able to do everything was tough. He said he is in a much better place now. Kenyatta said having his dad on staff has been a real blast for him and it has been cool to see the opportunities his dad is getting like the NFL thing with Washington and he is able to share some tips with him and other players about how pros handle their business and prepare and that has been great. Watson said the CB room competition has picked up a ton this year and they are a deep group with a mix of older guys and some talented younger guys as well.
Eric Reed Jr. he said that he came to GT to get a fresh start and that Kenyatta Watson II and LaMiles Brooks were two guys he immediately clicked with along with Coach Tillman. Reed said he really is just interested in helping the team win however he can. He is enjoying playing CB and likes Tillman's teaching style.
Myles Spyder Sims was very talkative and informative, he said he switched to #0 after writing a letter to Coach Collins about why he wanted that number and he had wanted #6 but Keion White has it so he opted for the next best thing. The 16 was because he wanted 6 or something with six in it. Sims said his mindset really has helped him become a significantly different and better player than when he got there. He quoted Gandhi to me.
Kenan Johnson said he is the ultimate team player and will do whatever the staff wants, he is cross-trained at CB and NB and can play either. He is working a ton of CB right now, but he will go wherever coach needs him to play.
Specialists:
Cade Long was great, always enjoy talking to him, he said they feel pretty good about their operations going into the season on FG/PAT. He said that Gavin Stewart and Jude Kelley both had great springs and he thinks that will carry over into continued improvements in the kicking game.
David Shanahan said he felt like he improved throughout the season with his best performance coming in the UGA game and he now has a sense of danger and the timing and speed of the game that was missing early last season because that is hard to replicate without live game reps. Coach Semore has worked with their group a lot and they just hired a new staff assistant to help with special teams.
Zeek Biggers was 350+ lbs last year for Fall Camp this year he is down to 327 and looks great, he said he is much more mobile and quicker now. He said sitting out the spring was tough but the trainers did a good job getting him rehabbed and healthy. He said his mindset for this year to is play a lot more than he did last year and to be disruptive.
D'Quan Douse said that his emergence in the spring was in part due to his bond with the coaching staff with coach David Turner and coach Travares Tillman standing out in particular. Tillman coached him in HS when he was a sophomore so having him back in his life is big and they have a special bond. He said Turner's resume and coaching style have been a big lift to that room as well. He said that Coach Turner is a big ball buster and is very serious on the field but fun to be around off the field.
Makius Scott has also trimmed down from 308 when he got to GT to 295 now. He said he feels faster and quicker now than he did. Scott said that Turner teaches some different techniques than Larry Knight did as the DT coach. He said from the 3-I to the nose tackle they work a read and react method now and that fits their personnel well.
Daniel Carson may be the happiest guy on the team to be at GT. He knew Kenyatta Watson II and that coupled with some interest from GT led him here. He said that working with Coach Turner is exciting for him and that he has pushed him past his own limits already in their brief time together. He is just hoping to carve out a role for himself this fall.
DEs (Ironically I forgot to interview any of the field ends before we ran out of time, but I'm sure we will get Keion White and Josh Robinson at least both a lot)
Noah Collins said he now weighs 245 pounds after coming in at 210 last year as a freshman. He said that Coach Knight is a nitpicker when it comes to your technique and that is good for them as they've been able to refine their pass rush as a DE room under him. Collins thinks they will be much more productive sack-wise this year.
Kyle Kennard said the focus in their room is attention to detail and that will be the thing that will yield more sacks for them and QB pressures and negative plays. Kennard said he really believes they are being coached by the best in the world right now in the DL room and that they are going to be a lot more productive overall because of that.
Bama transfer Kevin Harris was a little bit nervous as this might've been his first interview at GT or in college, he said his focus has been on his fundamentals and that is where his play wasn't on point in the past and that led to being ineffective at times. He said the competition is really healthy at the rush end spot right now with the top 3 guys, him, Kennard and Collins all vying for playing time. He said the overall DE group is pretty special and he thinks they will be much more productive this year compared to 2021.
LBs:
Tyson Meiguez was excited to talk and just happy to be on the field. He said he is backing up both Charlie Thomas and Ace Eley at both MIKE and WILL battling for playing time with the other LBs and trying to get in that two-deep. He said he is comfortable with both LB spots. Meiguez said he is 215 now after coming in at 190. He is very ready to play after having to watch for so long.
Trenilyas Tatum said he has had a bit of trouble adding weight, but he is not as bad as Charlie Thomas with that, he said the staff still want him to buik up a little more, but he has been battling a minor illness so he lost a little bit of weight before camp. Tatum said he has really enjoyed coach Jason Semore who took over the LB room and his coaching style and what he has planned for them.
NBs:
Kaleb Edwards loves playing the nickel spot and he likes the adjustments to the role that DC Andrew Thacker and HC Geoff Collins have added for the upcoming season. He said they are being more aggressive with how they are using him and he gets the best of both worlds playing safety, corner and LB depending on the play call and what the offense is doing. Edwards is up to 218 pounds after coming in at 193. He said he has also toned up a lot too. Thacker is working a lot with his group per Edwards in practice.
The other nickel I spoke with was ND transfer KJ Wallace. Wallace said that he visited Boise State and ODU but got a late call from GT and it was too good of an opportunity to turn down. He said he has really enjoyed being back in Atlanta and he likes his role at nickel and how the D is built to let them blitz and play man to man and zone coverages too. He said he feels like he has a lot of things in his toolbox he can bring to the table at the nickel spot.
Safeties:
LaMiles Brooks said he is pretty much fully healthy for the first time in a while. He still has to wear a shoulder brace for a bit, but he feels much better. He said he is still working all three positions CB, S and NB but is spending more of his time at safety at the moment. On his name change, he said he has always been LaMiles and known as that but somehow that stopped in football while he was coming up, so he wanted to be true to himself and use his real name. Brooks said he has tried to help fill the leadership role in the secondary as well behind the veteran guys like Myles Sims, Zamari Walton and Jaylon King.
CBs:
Kenyatta Watson II said this is the first time he has been fully healthy since maybe early in his career at Texas and he feels really good right now. He said the injury took a toll on him mentally and physically and being away from teammates and not being able to do everything was tough. He said he is in a much better place now. Kenyatta said having his dad on staff has been a real blast for him and it has been cool to see the opportunities his dad is getting like the NFL thing with Washington and he is able to share some tips with him and other players about how pros handle their business and prepare and that has been great. Watson said the CB room competition has picked up a ton this year and they are a deep group with a mix of older guys and some talented younger guys as well.
Eric Reed Jr. he said that he came to GT to get a fresh start and that Kenyatta Watson II and LaMiles Brooks were two guys he immediately clicked with along with Coach Tillman. Reed said he really is just interested in helping the team win however he can. He is enjoying playing CB and likes Tillman's teaching style.
Myles Spyder Sims was very talkative and informative, he said he switched to #0 after writing a letter to Coach Collins about why he wanted that number and he had wanted #6 but Keion White has it so he opted for the next best thing. The 16 was because he wanted 6 or something with six in it. Sims said his mindset really has helped him become a significantly different and better player than when he got there. He quoted Gandhi to me.
Kenan Johnson said he is the ultimate team player and will do whatever the staff wants, he is cross-trained at CB and NB and can play either. He is working a ton of CB right now, but he will go wherever coach needs him to play.
Specialists:
Cade Long was great, always enjoy talking to him, he said they feel pretty good about their operations going into the season on FG/PAT. He said that Gavin Stewart and Jude Kelley both had great springs and he thinks that will carry over into continued improvements in the kicking game.
David Shanahan said he felt like he improved throughout the season with his best performance coming in the UGA game and he now has a sense of danger and the timing and speed of the game that was missing early last season because that is hard to replicate without live game reps. Coach Semore has worked with their group a lot and they just hired a new staff assistant to help with special teams.
