ATLANTA- Georgia Tech heads back down to Tallahassee to play Florida State riding a four-game regular season win streak over the Noles and a two-game win streak overall. Current Georgia Tech quarterback coach and Noles legend and former quarterback Chris Weinke spoke to the media on Wednesday along with several current players to give updates on where things stand going into Saturday's crossover game.
Weinke did not shy away from talking about the status of injured starting quarterback Jeff Sims. Weinke shared that Sims was in full pads on Wednesday and that Florida State could see Sims, Zach Gibson, and Zach Pyron on Saturday or any combination of the three top quarterbacks.
Defensively, linebacker Ayinde Eley spoke about FSU quarterback Jordan Travis and the revitalized Noles offense that should be a challenging matchup.
"He has that escape ability and on offense, they've got good athletes across the board and they are good up front. They seem pretty solid in what they are doing, have a solid scheme and Jordan likes to get out of the pocket. He is really good outside of the pocket and he keeps his eyes downfield. He throws a pretty good ball on the run, he is a good player and a playmaker and they've got a couple of playmakers over there," Eley said of the FSU offense.
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Chris Weinke spoke about the ties with Sims, Gibson and himself with FSU.
We've been focused on preparing for the game and there haven't been a lot of talks about Florida State and going down there, I know Zach Gibson grew up a FSU guy, it is a homecoming for me and there is excitement and there is excitement and our focus has been preparation and there hasn't been a whole lot of chatter other than that.
On Pyron, Weinke said the D will predicate the plan and QBs understand what to do and how to do it on each play, we are prepared for when the QB is in there that hasn't played a lot. We will rep things and get comfortable with some things on the call sheet for whoever is playing QB
On playing with Zachs, Weinke said they don't know who is going to play, Jeff was in full pads today in practice, he is day-to-day, both Zachs took a lot of reps and their skillsets are different so they can do different things, they'll be more specific for each guy on what they want to do. We have three guys who may see the field on Saturday. That leaves a lot up in the air for FSU to defend.
Eley said he feels like the defense has taken the next step in terms of run defense, he said the execution has improved and they've taken a jump.
Eley said they had a handful of little plays they missed here and there and want to minimize those mistakes because they had too many 50/50 plays not go their way.
I asked Ace about going against his dad who is now the RB coach and he said they have not done as much 1v1 RB/LB drills as they do in camp or the lead up to the season, but the RB room is really competitive and they are bringing it every day.
Eley said that the defense and LBs in particular are executing better overall and the defense know their responsibilities and that has led to more solid play overall.
Eley said one of the changes with coach Key is how they approach practice and they try to take every rep like it is a game rep and have that mentality in practice to minimize the gap between game speed and practice speed.
Eley said that Coach Semore has been really helpful and a great mentor for him and he likes the way that Coach Semore teaches football and even things about life. He has really been pushing the LB room.
I asked Eley about the younger LBs and he said that they are making progress everyday and he is excited about the future with guys like Kyle Efford, Sirad Bryant, Tyson Meiguez and Trenilyas Tatum. They handle their business the right way.
Eley demurred when asked about his talk with the offense on Thursday night during the game, he said that he was not the only player to go over and try to fire up the offense and he said they have to pick each other up when times are tough and that is part of being on a team.
Zamari Walton said the improved secondary play has a lot to do with the guys playing without egos in there and no one is bigger than anyone else in that room and they are also practicing hard and it is carrying over into game reps.
Walton said that not much has changed from a scheme standpoint since the coaching change midseason just a few more rotations in the secondary. They are just doing a better job of translating things from practice to the field.
Walton said the improved play by the DL has been a real help for the secondary because they don't have to hold down receivers as long and they are getting pressures and sacks forcing some bad throws.
Walton said that Jordan Travis is one of the best QBs they'll face this year and he throws really well on the run and is a good runner too. He said the big key is containing him and then they take shots downfield so they have to defend those as well.
Walton said when the offense is struggling like Thursday night, the D just has to put the ball down and play and that remains their motto and they need to put the offense in a good position when they retake the field to help them.
Walton said he is looking forward to playing at FSU with a real crowd after the 2020 game during covid. He said he has a lot of family making the trip up for the game about 5 hours of driving from his hometown.
EJ Jenkins said he has good chemistry with all the QBs and they really are not sure who is going to play so they'll adjust to whoever is throwing the ball whether it is Jeff Sims or one of the Zachs.
Jenkins said they not going to lose focus despite the loss to UVA on their main goal. He said that the UVA game was a reality check after the success with coach Key taking over, but they've gone back to work this week to fix things.
Jenkins said the big focus this week in practice has been sustained drives and keeping the defense off the field for GT.
Jenkins said that Gibson came in the game and took charge running the offense and he feels like Gibson prepared well, it just didn't work out the way he or they expected.
Jenkins said that when he met Leo Blackburn he thought he was a veteran older player and was shocked when he learned he was just a R-Fr. He has tried to impart some wisdom with Leo and how to read defenses and coverages and he called Leo a lockdown listener. He said it has been cool to see him develop this season and gain confidence and Leo is now being more vocal.
Weinke did not shy away from talking about the status of injured starting quarterback Jeff Sims. Weinke shared that Sims was in full pads on Wednesday and that Florida State could see Sims, Zach Gibson, and Zach Pyron on Saturday or any combination of the three top quarterbacks.
Defensively, linebacker Ayinde Eley spoke about FSU quarterback Jordan Travis and the revitalized Noles offense that should be a challenging matchup.
"He has that escape ability and on offense, they've got good athletes across the board and they are good up front. They seem pretty solid in what they are doing, have a solid scheme and Jordan likes to get out of the pocket. He is really good outside of the pocket and he keeps his eyes downfield. He throws a pretty good ball on the run, he is a good player and a playmaker and they've got a couple of playmakers over there," Eley said of the FSU offense.
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Chris Weinke spoke about the ties with Sims, Gibson and himself with FSU.
We've been focused on preparing for the game and there haven't been a lot of talks about Florida State and going down there, I know Zach Gibson grew up a FSU guy, it is a homecoming for me and there is excitement and there is excitement and our focus has been preparation and there hasn't been a whole lot of chatter other than that.
On Pyron, Weinke said the D will predicate the plan and QBs understand what to do and how to do it on each play, we are prepared for when the QB is in there that hasn't played a lot. We will rep things and get comfortable with some things on the call sheet for whoever is playing QB
On playing with Zachs, Weinke said they don't know who is going to play, Jeff was in full pads today in practice, he is day-to-day, both Zachs took a lot of reps and their skillsets are different so they can do different things, they'll be more specific for each guy on what they want to do. We have three guys who may see the field on Saturday. That leaves a lot up in the air for FSU to defend.
Eley said he feels like the defense has taken the next step in terms of run defense, he said the execution has improved and they've taken a jump.
Eley said they had a handful of little plays they missed here and there and want to minimize those mistakes because they had too many 50/50 plays not go their way.
I asked Ace about going against his dad who is now the RB coach and he said they have not done as much 1v1 RB/LB drills as they do in camp or the lead up to the season, but the RB room is really competitive and they are bringing it every day.
Eley said that the defense and LBs in particular are executing better overall and the defense know their responsibilities and that has led to more solid play overall.
Eley said one of the changes with coach Key is how they approach practice and they try to take every rep like it is a game rep and have that mentality in practice to minimize the gap between game speed and practice speed.
Eley said that Coach Semore has been really helpful and a great mentor for him and he likes the way that Coach Semore teaches football and even things about life. He has really been pushing the LB room.
I asked Eley about the younger LBs and he said that they are making progress everyday and he is excited about the future with guys like Kyle Efford, Sirad Bryant, Tyson Meiguez and Trenilyas Tatum. They handle their business the right way.
Eley demurred when asked about his talk with the offense on Thursday night during the game, he said that he was not the only player to go over and try to fire up the offense and he said they have to pick each other up when times are tough and that is part of being on a team.
Zamari Walton said the improved secondary play has a lot to do with the guys playing without egos in there and no one is bigger than anyone else in that room and they are also practicing hard and it is carrying over into game reps.
Walton said that not much has changed from a scheme standpoint since the coaching change midseason just a few more rotations in the secondary. They are just doing a better job of translating things from practice to the field.
Walton said the improved play by the DL has been a real help for the secondary because they don't have to hold down receivers as long and they are getting pressures and sacks forcing some bad throws.
Walton said that Jordan Travis is one of the best QBs they'll face this year and he throws really well on the run and is a good runner too. He said the big key is containing him and then they take shots downfield so they have to defend those as well.
Walton said when the offense is struggling like Thursday night, the D just has to put the ball down and play and that remains their motto and they need to put the offense in a good position when they retake the field to help them.
Walton said he is looking forward to playing at FSU with a real crowd after the 2020 game during covid. He said he has a lot of family making the trip up for the game about 5 hours of driving from his hometown.
EJ Jenkins said he has good chemistry with all the QBs and they really are not sure who is going to play so they'll adjust to whoever is throwing the ball whether it is Jeff Sims or one of the Zachs.
Jenkins said they not going to lose focus despite the loss to UVA on their main goal. He said that the UVA game was a reality check after the success with coach Key taking over, but they've gone back to work this week to fix things.
Jenkins said the big focus this week in practice has been sustained drives and keeping the defense off the field for GT.
Jenkins said that Gibson came in the game and took charge running the offense and he feels like Gibson prepared well, it just didn't work out the way he or they expected.
Jenkins said that when he met Leo Blackburn he thought he was a veteran older player and was shocked when he learned he was just a R-Fr. He has tried to impart some wisdom with Leo and how to read defenses and coverages and he called Leo a lockdown listener. He said it has been cool to see him develop this season and gain confidence and Leo is now being more vocal.
