FB: Ali Jennings Week 1 press conference (Aug. 29, 2023)

start with Andy on the front row uh after the entire offseason how much are you looking forward to this particular matchup especially going up against your old team I would say it's kind of more exciting to finally be back uh in season rather than uh facing my old team I know it's going to be a little weird because I I was with them for so long now I'm on a plan on the opposite side of them so I could say it's going to be a little weird I talked to uh deej and uh coach Greg about it because they got the experience it last year but I mean I'm really excited to be playing another game I know uh last year didn't end well for me so I'm excited to finally be back out there do you talk with those guys a lot or did you kind of shut it down in a game week or what is that line of communication with uh any foreign it's been pretty quiet throughout Camp just because both sides are focusing on their teams but uh talked a little bit over the summer time and throughout the spring just uh just chatting it up nothing too crazy a little bit of competitive talk but nothing like uh like them guys saying I have a Target on my back or anything it's all love and I mean it's just just another game and uh I'm excited to play when we talked in Charlotte at AC media days you said you grew up at Virginia Tech fan you were so excited to play in Lane Stadium it doesn't feel real that this is game week and and how excited are you to take the field and and uh what's the ticket situation looking like for your family I know you've got a lot of people coming I'm stoked uh finally get out the Run uh out of the tunnel here in the inner Sandman it's gonna I get chills every time I think about it and the closer we get to it it's just it's like electrifying just to like even like think about it but uh the ticket situation is insane I told my family when I first got here I was like we only get four tickets that's the only thing NCAA allows so I told them buy the tickets and back in January so they would be the cheapest and the closer I get to the game the more I'll know about how many tickets I can get from my teammates but it's been pretty hectic because we have a lot of Virginia guys we have a lot of guys who are within three hours even if they're from different states so a lot of families are coming and it's been really hard to get as many tickets I usually I usually get about 15 to 20 tickets for my family they come in deep they come in they come in the pack but it's it's been they're all going to be here you're the veteran of this room and the four starters you Quan Jalen and Steven have been around a long time the four guys behind you are very very young what have you seen from those four guys the second group that's made you go okay when these guys get in the game they're going to to keep the level going and and what if maybe they surprise you with I would say that especially with the younger guys they're all Playmakers they have came in or just stepped up from last year a lot from what I've seen throughout the spring the summer up until this point and they've been coming every day with the mature approach just trying to limit as many mistakes as possible especially learning uh offense that they've never been in before and just going out and uh playing their hardest and trying to make the plays when they come to them and you can see it they've been making a lot of plays and I'm excited about them when they get the opportunities front row Damien and then we'll go back to Hampton Ali you have a unique perspective is you're going against a defense that you faced in practice countless times during two years old dominion conversely they probably know how to scheme against you is there going to be a little match-ups or some little intense battles going on between the lines I feel like it'll be a kind of a chess match especially starting off the game um going in with our game plan um just getting a feel for how they're going to play us and different ways that they're going to do things in different disguises I know they like to disguise a lot of things but definitely uh once we uh go in and play physical and aggressive and make our uh adjustments to what they're doing I feel like it's going to be a pretty good game you feel it'd be a lot easier if Jason Henderson had gone to the league and instead of coming back for another year oh that's my boy he is he's a specimen honestly and uh I I'm glad I'm not in the in the box with them sometimes but he's a good player and we just got to try and stop him from making those plays but he's definitely he's definitely a scary player to play against Ali obviously we heard that Grant Wells is the starting quarterback last week how has your chemistry and relationship with him grown since you got here and then what did you notice from him in Camp that that you think maybe led him to win the starting job consistency he was very consistent throughout Camp um and he has a very mature approach every day he he's being more of a vocal leader than uh when I got here he is just embracing his role and stepping stepping into his role and I'm excited about him he can make every throw in the field he does a great job of being a field General being our quarterback and I can't wait to see him all out Ollie you were part of a team that beat Rick that a lot of hokey fans are not happy about how do you kind of shift that mindset and now you're the team that wants to be your older team and the concept that fans kind of need this and and want this back to hold on to I mean it's definitely funny being on the team that uh was kind of like our rival and then now switching to the opposite team and trying to go out and get wins for them but I mean I'm just excited about our games and I've been focusing on my team all year building chemistry with these guys here and I feel like we've done a great job we've done a great job elevating our game and we're going to go out and play our hardest give our best effort and I know that will bring us more wins in this season cider information that you maybe share with the guys you don't have to tell us but you know little secrets that you might know that doesn't show up on film that you can help Virginia Tech with um not really I just being in being a part of that team for so long you know guys Tendencies and things like that and you try and capitalize off of those and just try and give my new teammates a little bit of pointers and stuff like that of things that I've seen but not really like inside Secrets or anything it's nothing like crazy like that no problem last one what kind of goals do you set for yourself this year man I I shoot for the stars honestly I wanna maximize every opportunity I get I definitely want to be a thousand yard receiver 60 70 plus catches over 10 touchdowns just establishing myself as the guy especially in the ACC I know we have a lot of good receivers in the ACC and all across the country and it would definitely be nice to follow up the past two years with another thousand yard season for my final year and I mean I'm just trying I'm just trying to reach those goals the the higher you aim the less the less you're going to fall short of it on Zoom we'll start with ankles um being on the this side obviously you guys are a power five is expected to beat a group of five teams especially at home the history of the series is is what it is and obviously every team goes into a season full of optimism how important is it for you guys to come away with a good result on Saturday night I mean every Saturday night we want to come out on top honestly but uh this first game is definitely going to set the tone for the rest of our season um and we've been preparing our hardest and just going out every day grinding all winter all summer all spring and I feel like we've put in countless hours and so much effort that uh we have we have the team to do it and we have the schemes the offense and the defense we have the coaches to pull off the win and I feel like my team is going to come out on top and I'm just hoping for a good game great crowd great atmosphere and uh just ready to show out for the country honestly thank you any final questions on Zoom all right Travis you've gone up against these group of this group of DBS on your team so many times in practice what have you seen from the young guys and what makes the trio of Derek and Mansour and Dorian so hard to go up against I know people might be overlooking them a little bit but but it's a group that kind of came together this off season well they're all vets now especially uh even though Minnesota's a young guy he was All-American last year he is uh he us from what I've seen he stepped up a lot um a lot this this off season just working hard and they've all been trying to bring the young guys along standing doing extra drills and working on techniques and stuff with the younger guys like Dante Braylon um JP pennix just helping those guys come along a lot because we need everyone this is a long season and you don't know how things are going to play out and those guys leadership have been bringing our offense I mean our defense along and helping our offense uh helping me the other receivers get better each and every day and those guys are polished man they're athletic polished great ball skills and when you have those three combinations at that position it's it's hard to go against bro thank y'all