Georgia Tech wrapped media availabilities during the first week of school on Thursday with seniors Ryan Johnson and Pressley Harvin III and junior Juanyeh Thomas talking about how fall practice has gone. Johnson and Harvin also spoke about the possibility of having an additional year of eligibility.
The legend of Jeff Sims continues to grow, Juanyeh Thomas said if he had to guess two freshmen that play this season he would pick Jahmyr Gibbs and Jeff Sims.
Clearly Gibbs' status as a camp legend continues to grow. Juanyeh said he is like a video game character on the field with the spin moves, jukes and cuts. He is said Gibbs is one of the most talented if not the most talented guy on the field on offense and he gives them something he has not seen in a long time on the field!
Juanyeh said that it will be a really big year for the GT defense and the secondary and the team is still really young but the consistency is starting to improve.
Juanyeh said it has been hard for him to not dap or hug his teammates, he is a very social player and it has taken time to get used to the protocols and how to show that love without physically sharing space with a teammate.
Juanyeh said that Derrik Allen is one of the most talented people on the team and he is starting to catch on fast to the defense, said he will be a sight to see on the field this year in the secondary.
Juanyeh said that he looks forward to being a bigger part of the return game this year. He said he got banged up last year and it hurt his confidence some and he wants to be like he was as a freshmen flying around on returns.
Juanyeh said he read about the possibility of an extra year of eligibility and it is not something he has thought much about, but it would be cool if he wants to use it.
Juanyeh said he has grown a lot learning the game and it takes time to understand the game and he feels like being an older guy now the game is getting easier for him and his reads are faster and he is playing faster than ever on D.
Juanyeh said that since they started OTAs coach Collins let them know they had to bring their own energy or juice to games because it was likely to be a small group of fans at best. After hearing about the 11k number he said he is viewing the games like a regular game and they will just have to hype themselves up during the game when they need that.
Talked with Pressley Harvin III and he said he had to workout in the CRC on the fields during the pandemic because everywhere else was locked up. He said it was weird and he would film himself and do his training work on his own.
Harvin said the kicking competition has been pretty lively so far. He said they have six guys now in that kicking room compared to like three or four last year. He said he has rotated holding for each of the kickers and they are competing with each other a lot. Harvin said he is trying to bring that group together as a leader. Other than UCLA transfer Austin Kent (kickoff/backup punter) they are all really young in that room and he is taking up the leadership mantle. He said one thing he really focuses on with them is being respectful of the equipment managers and support staff. He said they lose a lot of football and he wants to make sure the guys in his room are good players, but also good all-around people.
Harvin said he likes that the NCAA is willing to give them another year for free, he said for him he has a goal of beating UGA and that is important to him since they haven't done it since he has been here and he was very disappointed that they were not going to play this year in his final season. He said that alone would be a nice bonus of coming back for a fifth season.
Harvin said he has worked a lot on his directional punting with coach Popovich and ball placement. He said they had some mistakes last year with that allowing some big returns. He said they are also working on having everyone be more accountable on punt team so his part of that is making sure his hang time is good so returners can't sidestep the tacklers.
Harvin said he did like punting more than 35 times like he did in 2018 last year, said that it taught him a lot about consistency and he said punting that much really helped the punt team improve and now he has to be better about punting the ball where his players can make a play.
Ryan Johnson said he has seen a lot of improvements on the offensive line as a whole and that coach Key has been working a lot of different combinations of guys trying to find the right group and develop some position flexibility at the same time. Johnson said he has seen a lot of growth from the OL in the last few months and he is really excited to see what they can do.
Ryan Johnson said it was really helpful to come in and have the spring to work with coach Key in his development and make improvements on his technique and craft. He said that coach Key has brought a lot to the table for him on football and just life in general. He said they've watched a ton of film together and that Key is one of the best coaches in the country and the offensive line room has really bonded. He said the OLs are like his brothers now.
Ryan Johnson said he has heard the news about having this year for free basically and he likes the opportunities it presents for players, but he is focused on this season and not thinking about next year right now. He said the pandemic changes things by the hour so he is going to let God take care of tomorrow.
Ryan Johnson said that people on campus have done a pretty good job at social distancing as a student body. He said they have to watch out for their fellow Yellow Jackets and everyone is wearing masks and trying to social distance and it goes beyond the athletic department to the student body and local government as well. He said he is excited about the safety measures they've put in and the effort to stay safe and hopefully they can have a great season.
Ryan Johnson said that Jordan Williams and Charlie Clark have improved a lot thanks to coach Key and he said the OL have gotten a lot bigger just in the time he has been at GT thanks to the S&C staff.
The legend of Jeff Sims continues to grow, Juanyeh Thomas said if he had to guess two freshmen that play this season he would pick Jahmyr Gibbs and Jeff Sims.
Clearly Gibbs' status as a camp legend continues to grow. Juanyeh said he is like a video game character on the field with the spin moves, jukes and cuts. He is said Gibbs is one of the most talented if not the most talented guy on the field on offense and he gives them something he has not seen in a long time on the field!
Juanyeh said that it will be a really big year for the GT defense and the secondary and the team is still really young but the consistency is starting to improve.
Juanyeh said it has been hard for him to not dap or hug his teammates, he is a very social player and it has taken time to get used to the protocols and how to show that love without physically sharing space with a teammate.
Juanyeh said that Derrik Allen is one of the most talented people on the team and he is starting to catch on fast to the defense, said he will be a sight to see on the field this year in the secondary.
Juanyeh said that he looks forward to being a bigger part of the return game this year. He said he got banged up last year and it hurt his confidence some and he wants to be like he was as a freshmen flying around on returns.
Juanyeh said he read about the possibility of an extra year of eligibility and it is not something he has thought much about, but it would be cool if he wants to use it.
Juanyeh said he has grown a lot learning the game and it takes time to understand the game and he feels like being an older guy now the game is getting easier for him and his reads are faster and he is playing faster than ever on D.
Juanyeh said that since they started OTAs coach Collins let them know they had to bring their own energy or juice to games because it was likely to be a small group of fans at best. After hearing about the 11k number he said he is viewing the games like a regular game and they will just have to hype themselves up during the game when they need that.
Talked with Pressley Harvin III and he said he had to workout in the CRC on the fields during the pandemic because everywhere else was locked up. He said it was weird and he would film himself and do his training work on his own.
Harvin said the kicking competition has been pretty lively so far. He said they have six guys now in that kicking room compared to like three or four last year. He said he has rotated holding for each of the kickers and they are competing with each other a lot. Harvin said he is trying to bring that group together as a leader. Other than UCLA transfer Austin Kent (kickoff/backup punter) they are all really young in that room and he is taking up the leadership mantle. He said one thing he really focuses on with them is being respectful of the equipment managers and support staff. He said they lose a lot of football and he wants to make sure the guys in his room are good players, but also good all-around people.
Harvin said he likes that the NCAA is willing to give them another year for free, he said for him he has a goal of beating UGA and that is important to him since they haven't done it since he has been here and he was very disappointed that they were not going to play this year in his final season. He said that alone would be a nice bonus of coming back for a fifth season.
Harvin said he has worked a lot on his directional punting with coach Popovich and ball placement. He said they had some mistakes last year with that allowing some big returns. He said they are also working on having everyone be more accountable on punt team so his part of that is making sure his hang time is good so returners can't sidestep the tacklers.
Harvin said he did like punting more than 35 times like he did in 2018 last year, said that it taught him a lot about consistency and he said punting that much really helped the punt team improve and now he has to be better about punting the ball where his players can make a play.
Ryan Johnson said he has seen a lot of improvements on the offensive line as a whole and that coach Key has been working a lot of different combinations of guys trying to find the right group and develop some position flexibility at the same time. Johnson said he has seen a lot of growth from the OL in the last few months and he is really excited to see what they can do.
Ryan Johnson said it was really helpful to come in and have the spring to work with coach Key in his development and make improvements on his technique and craft. He said that coach Key has brought a lot to the table for him on football and just life in general. He said they've watched a ton of film together and that Key is one of the best coaches in the country and the offensive line room has really bonded. He said the OLs are like his brothers now.
Ryan Johnson said he has heard the news about having this year for free basically and he likes the opportunities it presents for players, but he is focused on this season and not thinking about next year right now. He said the pandemic changes things by the hour so he is going to let God take care of tomorrow.
Ryan Johnson said that people on campus have done a pretty good job at social distancing as a student body. He said they have to watch out for their fellow Yellow Jackets and everyone is wearing masks and trying to social distance and it goes beyond the athletic department to the student body and local government as well. He said he is excited about the safety measures they've put in and the effort to stay safe and hopefully they can have a great season.
Ryan Johnson said that Jordan Williams and Charlie Clark have improved a lot thanks to coach Key and he said the OL have gotten a lot bigger just in the time he has been at GT thanks to the S&C staff.
