Following practice on Wednesday a trio of Georgia Tech upperclassmen spoke to the media about the preseason preparations and getting ready for Florida State. Among those who spoke was senior offensive lineman Kenny Cooper who has been recovering from a serious hip injury and is battling his way back into the lineup. Juniors Malachi Carter represented the receivers and nickel/safety Kaleb Oliver was the lone defensive representative who spoke.
Carter said he feels like his unit has matured more a lot in the last year after working with coach Kerry Dixon and the staff.
"Honestly I see a lot (of development) in terms of mindset and physicality. Just the way that all the guys handled a business, how comfortable we are with the coaching staff and the way things go in practice, even down to getting places 30 minutes early has just been second nature to everybody. (Coach Collins') really got everybody's mindset right, we've really gone into real grown man and really see how this is a business and we all treat it like such on on the field is so much different. We are so much more comfortable and we really love what we got going on,. "We're loving this offense and we love where we're headed as a team and we really see a bright future that this year and the years is coming."
Carter said the chemistry with the QBs is really good right now. He said the WRs have a great understanding of what defenses are trying to do now against their offensive scheme and that has made a real difference in practice and they are playing at a faster pace as well.
Carter said the team goals for this year are to put Georgia Tech back on the map and win some games and show major improvement over last year.
Carter said that coach Dixon has crosstrained all the WRs on all three spots and they feel comfortable moving around if needed to bring some versatility.
Carter said that Marquez Ezzard is a freak athlete and he finally understands the offense and will be a big contributor this year.
Carter said that Avery Boyd is a guy he is excited about because of his size/speed combo. He said Boyd plays with a real confidence even when he is unsure about a play. He expects him to see the field a lot this year.
Carter said he is looking forward to matching up against FSU and their DBs.
Carter said he did grab at least one of the QBs all summer and threw to keep sharp even when the team was not working out.
Carter said the CBs are better on the team this year and he likes how professional all of them are.
Cooper said that this past week was the first time he has been close to 100-percent coming off his hip injury and he felt like he could really turn things loose. Cooper said he is playing both guard and center still with more of a focus on guard compared to last year when he worked on both but was more focused on center.
Cooper said the OL is bigger than last year, but more importantly they grasp the concepts better that Coach Key has been teaching them.
Cooper said that FSU has some talented DTs and he is looking forward to going against them.
Cooper said that face guards they wear make it harder to breathe in his opinion and they are always fogging up, but he said he wants to play so it is necessary to wear to keep people safe.
Cooper joked that the nasal swab test took part of his brain with it. He said they've switched now to spit tests.
Kaleb Oliver said the buy in is just as good in year two under Collins and everyone believes in what he is trying to build at GT.
Kaleb Oliver said he does not have a preference between nickel and safety and is rolling between the two pretty regularly.
Kaleb Oliver said they have ballers in the safety/nickel room and it is very deep. He said everyone in their room could play at a high-level if needed in a game.
Kaleb Oliver said he has a better grasp of the defense after playing so much nickel and not just viewing everything as a high safety. He understands the fits better now in the run and why things work the way they do in the scheme.
Kaleb Oliver said he is very familiar with Coach Norvell from living in Tennessee and having friends who played at Memphis so he knows they run at a tremendous pace and the only question is how the FSU players adapt to his system.
Kaleb Oliver said the WRs have really stepped up this year and are giving them fits in practice as they are really on the same page as the QBs and the routing running is really crisp.
Kaleb Oliver said he thinks the LBs will be better this year and they have some good leadership from David Curry and a lot of talented guys from Demetrius Knight and Quez Jackson to Jerry Howard who has really picked up playing there.
Kaleb Oliver said his daughter is about to turn 1 and it has been an amazing year for him and his girlfriend as parents. He said the coaches and staff have really been great role models for him on how to be a dad and handle himself.
Carter said he feels like his unit has matured more a lot in the last year after working with coach Kerry Dixon and the staff.
"Honestly I see a lot (of development) in terms of mindset and physicality. Just the way that all the guys handled a business, how comfortable we are with the coaching staff and the way things go in practice, even down to getting places 30 minutes early has just been second nature to everybody. (Coach Collins') really got everybody's mindset right, we've really gone into real grown man and really see how this is a business and we all treat it like such on on the field is so much different. We are so much more comfortable and we really love what we got going on,. "We're loving this offense and we love where we're headed as a team and we really see a bright future that this year and the years is coming."
Carter said the chemistry with the QBs is really good right now. He said the WRs have a great understanding of what defenses are trying to do now against their offensive scheme and that has made a real difference in practice and they are playing at a faster pace as well.
Carter said the team goals for this year are to put Georgia Tech back on the map and win some games and show major improvement over last year.
Carter said that coach Dixon has crosstrained all the WRs on all three spots and they feel comfortable moving around if needed to bring some versatility.
Carter said that Marquez Ezzard is a freak athlete and he finally understands the offense and will be a big contributor this year.
Carter said that Avery Boyd is a guy he is excited about because of his size/speed combo. He said Boyd plays with a real confidence even when he is unsure about a play. He expects him to see the field a lot this year.
Carter said he is looking forward to matching up against FSU and their DBs.
Carter said he did grab at least one of the QBs all summer and threw to keep sharp even when the team was not working out.
Carter said the CBs are better on the team this year and he likes how professional all of them are.
Cooper said that this past week was the first time he has been close to 100-percent coming off his hip injury and he felt like he could really turn things loose. Cooper said he is playing both guard and center still with more of a focus on guard compared to last year when he worked on both but was more focused on center.
Cooper said the OL is bigger than last year, but more importantly they grasp the concepts better that Coach Key has been teaching them.
Cooper said that FSU has some talented DTs and he is looking forward to going against them.
Cooper said that face guards they wear make it harder to breathe in his opinion and they are always fogging up, but he said he wants to play so it is necessary to wear to keep people safe.
Cooper joked that the nasal swab test took part of his brain with it. He said they've switched now to spit tests.
Kaleb Oliver said the buy in is just as good in year two under Collins and everyone believes in what he is trying to build at GT.
Kaleb Oliver said he does not have a preference between nickel and safety and is rolling between the two pretty regularly.
Kaleb Oliver said they have ballers in the safety/nickel room and it is very deep. He said everyone in their room could play at a high-level if needed in a game.
Kaleb Oliver said he has a better grasp of the defense after playing so much nickel and not just viewing everything as a high safety. He understands the fits better now in the run and why things work the way they do in the scheme.
Kaleb Oliver said he is very familiar with Coach Norvell from living in Tennessee and having friends who played at Memphis so he knows they run at a tremendous pace and the only question is how the FSU players adapt to his system.
Kaleb Oliver said the WRs have really stepped up this year and are giving them fits in practice as they are really on the same page as the QBs and the routing running is really crisp.
Kaleb Oliver said he thinks the LBs will be better this year and they have some good leadership from David Curry and a lot of talented guys from Demetrius Knight and Quez Jackson to Jerry Howard who has really picked up playing there.
Kaleb Oliver said his daughter is about to turn 1 and it has been an amazing year for him and his girlfriend as parents. He said the coaches and staff have really been great role models for him on how to be a dad and handle himself.
