Both teams are very efficient and Vandy has a great special teams unit and up for and excited to play.
On health
We have a couple of guys, the whole team came over and we have a couple of guys out who had surgery right after the game. They won’t be playing, but other than that we will be a full go. Kyle Efford and Rodney Shelley had surgery after the season.
On seniors
It might be their last game, but this isn’t their last time being a part of this program. Whether you are here six months, six years ,one year, Georgia Tech is special and once a Tech man, you are always a Tech man.
On his Bama ties being a factor in the game
It is not about that, it is about these guys having one more time playing together. The stands will be filled with white and gold, 100%, but I know we will have a great turnout for Georgia Tech and our fans will make the short drive over to see our guys play on Friday. I’ve been fortunate to not be at a lot of places, the most impactful people in my life start with Jack Wood my HS coach. He was a lot of things to me and the longer you are out of high school the more you learn.
On what he learned from Nick Saban
I worked for George O’Leary for almost 20 years of my life (joked it was tough) and then Coach Saban, those three men have impacted my coaching and my coaching style. Then I’ve learned a lot from these guys on this team. It is not a one-way street, it is a two-way street, I want to give them everything they need. It is not about everything I need or they need, it is getting feedback from them. Since the midpoint of the 2022 season, that is when we made that change and it was a two-way street and they can come in and ask for things or share thing from the locker room. That two-way communication builds a lot and it helps hold people accountable. When we got here the police were telling our guys where to go and not go and I wasn’t worried about them. I want them to have fun and be the most disciplined team on the field, but to ask them to be the most disciplined and have fun and celebrate with each other and have no stress. You can’t ask that 12 times a year, you have to live your life that way. That is one of things that in engrained in my head from coach Saban, discipline is making the right decisions no matter the circumstances. Also seeing how he recruited and how he evaluated. It was starting 9th graders and you never stop evaluating, Miles Brooks I offered in 9th grade at Bama, every moment in our program we evaluate our guys to help make them better.
I’m really proud of these men and this season, but also these guys at Georgia Tech finished with a 3.0 GPA, the highest in-season GPA in program history. They aspire to be great on and off the field. That is what I’m most proud about.
HAYNES KING QUOTES
On the drop in his turnovers
Big goal this offseason, one was knocking down the turnovers and that was a big battle this past season and it was turnover margin, when you don’t turn it over you have a chance to win in every game.
On momentum
It shows the growth and maturity this whole team has with the ups and downs this season and momentum coming into the bowl game, hopefully that travels through the next season as well.
LAMILES BROOKS QUOTES
On momentum
Momentum, we see it but we don’t, we view everything as a one-game season, but we do see it catching strides as a team and hopefully we can keep it going this weekend.
On the bowl
I love the camaraderie and the making the most of this opportunity outside of the football trying to hang out as a team. We have a big senior class. Golfing will be a good chance to compete and we have bowling later this week.
On his last game
Sadness, I’ve embraced my journey and what it took to get here, leaving a lasting impact on my teammates and what it takes to keep this ship going.
On health
We have a couple of guys, the whole team came over and we have a couple of guys out who had surgery right after the game. They won’t be playing, but other than that we will be a full go. Kyle Efford and Rodney Shelley had surgery after the season.
On seniors
It might be their last game, but this isn’t their last time being a part of this program. Whether you are here six months, six years ,one year, Georgia Tech is special and once a Tech man, you are always a Tech man.
On his Bama ties being a factor in the game
It is not about that, it is about these guys having one more time playing together. The stands will be filled with white and gold, 100%, but I know we will have a great turnout for Georgia Tech and our fans will make the short drive over to see our guys play on Friday. I’ve been fortunate to not be at a lot of places, the most impactful people in my life start with Jack Wood my HS coach. He was a lot of things to me and the longer you are out of high school the more you learn.
On what he learned from Nick Saban
I worked for George O’Leary for almost 20 years of my life (joked it was tough) and then Coach Saban, those three men have impacted my coaching and my coaching style. Then I’ve learned a lot from these guys on this team. It is not a one-way street, it is a two-way street, I want to give them everything they need. It is not about everything I need or they need, it is getting feedback from them. Since the midpoint of the 2022 season, that is when we made that change and it was a two-way street and they can come in and ask for things or share thing from the locker room. That two-way communication builds a lot and it helps hold people accountable. When we got here the police were telling our guys where to go and not go and I wasn’t worried about them. I want them to have fun and be the most disciplined team on the field, but to ask them to be the most disciplined and have fun and celebrate with each other and have no stress. You can’t ask that 12 times a year, you have to live your life that way. That is one of things that in engrained in my head from coach Saban, discipline is making the right decisions no matter the circumstances. Also seeing how he recruited and how he evaluated. It was starting 9th graders and you never stop evaluating, Miles Brooks I offered in 9th grade at Bama, every moment in our program we evaluate our guys to help make them better.
I’m really proud of these men and this season, but also these guys at Georgia Tech finished with a 3.0 GPA, the highest in-season GPA in program history. They aspire to be great on and off the field. That is what I’m most proud about.
HAYNES KING QUOTES
On the drop in his turnovers
Big goal this offseason, one was knocking down the turnovers and that was a big battle this past season and it was turnover margin, when you don’t turn it over you have a chance to win in every game.
On momentum
It shows the growth and maturity this whole team has with the ups and downs this season and momentum coming into the bowl game, hopefully that travels through the next season as well.
LAMILES BROOKS QUOTES
On momentum
Momentum, we see it but we don’t, we view everything as a one-game season, but we do see it catching strides as a team and hopefully we can keep it going this weekend.
On the bowl
I love the camaraderie and the making the most of this opportunity outside of the football trying to hang out as a team. We have a big senior class. Golfing will be a good chance to compete and we have bowling later this week.
On his last game
Sadness, I’ve embraced my journey and what it took to get here, leaving a lasting impact on my teammates and what it takes to keep this ship going.
