2024 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Spring Football Game

Georgia Tech head football coach Brett key making his way onto the field here at historic Bobby DOD Stadium on an absolutely perfect day on the flats for the annual white and gold spring game after a gas Barilla Bowl victory last December there's a lot of optimism surrounding this team it'll be the fans first opportunity to see what this 2024 Yellow Jacket team looks like before their opener August 244th against Florida State in Ireland hi everybody couple of Irishmen here in the booth cter and right looking forward to this spring game and there is a lot of optimism because For the First Time in 5 years Georgia Tech's coming off a bowl game absolutely and there's a lot of expectation for this offense and some expectation for a better defense so going it's going to be very interesting to see how they perform this afternoon well let's start with that offense because that was really the strong suit of this yellow jacket team last year and it should be in 2024 because they bring back a lot of Firepower just take a look well you look at the production from all four of these players over 6,000 Ys 54 test towns nobody knew about them last year we knew a little bit about Hanes King because of his time in Texas A&M everybody knows who they are now and there is an expectation for these guys to continue to Blossom and get better yeah everybody on that screen eats plus a lot of new players and new faces we'll talk about today defensively though and you mentioned it got to have Improvement last year they were 128th in the country in run defense Kyle eford one of those in that linebacker spot that's got to have a good year well he had 81 tackles last year that front seven has to be better it starts to me with that defensive line they've got to do a better job of keeping those offensive linemen from climbing to the second level and those linebackers have to be slippery and get down to those ball carries coming downhill the defense will wear gold all game long the offense will wear white we will have two teams you have reham and swarm but but to my knowledge they aren't playing for anything like you think about when you're in your playing days in the spring game did you guys play like the winning team would get steak for dinner and the losing team had Franks and Beans or something like that there has to be something up for grabs right I I think I'm bragging right right now that was enough and and you know what also as up for grabs are jobs well that's that's true too for sure because in the spring you can be great the past season but the spring is an opportunity for you to prove that you can continue to have that job but it's also an opportunity for someone else to prove that they should have your job Aiden bur kicks off and it'll be a fair catch for every kickoff today on special teams as Christian l makes the catch gave you a little taste of the format here's a little bit more in terms of specifically what we'll do we'll have 12-minute quarters first and second quarter right standard game clock so it'll stop when you would normally expect it to then we'll have a running clock in the second half I mentioned offense is going to wear white all game long defense will wear gold even though they've split up into two different teams so hannes King takes the field in the quarterback green jersey for this first possession and his weapons will be split in half and don't be surprised Force and we see this at every spring game if players switch sides at some point in time and one of the things I think Co the coaching staff has looked for with Hanes King throughout this spring is protecting the football they don't want to take away his playmaking ability and his improvisation but they want to make sure that he keeps the ball on their side of the field as opposed to giving it to the defense yeah he did have 16 interceptions last year so you want to cut those down quickly the swing pass out to his tail back Jamal Haynes and Haynes shows you his versatility you know he was one of those guys that you highlighted in the open that kind of came out of nowhere last year and you know not necessarily a guy you would expect to carry the ball 20 to 25 times in a game but he showed his his toughness last year with about 175 carries on the season and I think what makes HS such a versatile player he came in as a receiver and he converted to the running back position so when he gets in the open field he knows how to read what the defense is trying to do to get to him Haynes looking for a place to run gets it to the out sign he gets big yards 45 into opposing team's territory so Haynes with a couple of big plays from scrimmage to start this white and gold game and a good job by the offensive lineman climbing up to those second level Defenders covering them up that's what you want to see from your interior offensive lineman your guards and your tackle excuse me your guards and your Center you want to see them climb up cover those second level Defenders allow HS to get to that level in the open field to be a special player 23 yards on on the carry for Haynes this time he's going to have to bounce it outside and switches field but he gets brought down for a loss on the play lost two yards on the play and good job by case Adams to come downhill and make that tackle that's what you want to see from your defense you want them flowing downhill that's some of the things we're going to look for from this Georgia Tech defense this afternoon are they able to flow downhill are those defensive lineman doing a good job of occupying those offensive linemen King to throw steps up into the pocket fires one too high for his intended receiver Malik Rutherford ball wased and I don't know if Rutherford expected that ball right then it looked like he wanted to clear that defense before he got the ball to him but you've got to always expect the football you don't know what kind of pressure your quarterback will be facing so you've got to be prepared for that football to come out sometimes prematurely that was a seed too from King now we're going to get a flag I think the defense may have jumped that's aot tasi right there one of the many transfers we'll talk about today he transferred in from Florida State you're alma mater and they expect big things from him too bolstering that interior defensive line you know Chris I think that's going to be the key to this defense how well that interior defensive line develops so it's third down and about seven yards for Haynes King as he switches it up now and Jamal Haynes moves over to his left in the gun tech bringing some pressure they bring five but it's picked up over the middle nice one-handed catch and a big hit now that's not something you see every day in the spring game but Rutherford was able to make the beautiful catch and took the hit 6 yards for the first down and a good job by the offensive line to pick up number 35 Jacob Cruz coming in on the blitz that allowed H King the extra time that he needed to find his receiver down the field that is what you look for from your offensive line be able to read and know where to pick up those blitzing linebackers off the edge King nice job finding his receiver that's Eric Singleton freshman allamerican last year makes the catch and they move the chains take a look at Rutherford's catch the play before and this what coaching staffs look for you can have players make the easy catch but Rutherford knows he's going to get hit he's coming across the middle on that short Crossing route but he's able to squeeze the football get it close to his body before the contact comes so Ru thef and Singleton backto back catches as Georgia Tech in the Red Zone here on this first offensive possession Haynes wrestled down after a gain of one maybe two yards Kade Adams on the tackle Kate Adams one of the four captains today coach key made sure that these captains the four captains today were guys that were Scout team guys that put in the extra work and he wanted to reward them by naming them captains for today's game as you see Georgia Tech's offense last year near the top in those categories eighth play of this drive to open up this white and gold game nice move by Haynes and he'll score I would say number 11 in white is carrying uh picking up right where he left off last year and the difficulty with this play is you've got the Jet Sweep action coming so the linebackers have their eyes on that action and then you get the ball to the versatile hes and he's one-on-one with the linebacker and I think the do Tech coaching staff will take that match up any day of the week there you see coach key with a pat on the helmet to Jamal Haynes as team War takes the opening kickoff and marches down the field mixing in passing and running and putting it in the end zone bur with the point after try eight plays 75 yds and 6 and2 minutes off the clock finished off with Jamal haes taking it to the house first time in Five Seasons Georgia Tech coming off a bowl game and it was a successful sojourn down to Florida gas Barillo Bowl against UCF UCF took the early leading it wasn't looking good for Georgia Tech with the jackets came back Haynes King scoring on the ground and then he took to the air an impressive performance finding Rutherford here for the score as Georgia Tech came back got the win after dominating in the latter parts of this game and 30 to 17 was the final so Tech you know at one point time last year they were in a little bit of trouble right I mean they that game in Miami they probably should have lost it they would have been two and five at that point a miracle they got the win and that was sort of the impetus they needed to get him through the second half of the year and get him to that b well it was kind of a house of horrors for Florida teams playing against Georgia Tech in the State of Florida because they would give them the lead and then find a way to come back and win in dramatic fashion so you love that the team was able to develop that kind of continuity in tough situations something coaches can't really coach up they have to experience it and see them pull through it so now Zack pyron he's chased out of the pocket on the Run that's a nice throw hits his receiver loses the ball out of bounds but it'll stay with that side is Abdul janang makes the catch there's pyron reg sophomore from Pinson Alabama got some playing times too playing time as you can see there 2022 had to come in for a few gam so he's got some snaps under his belt well it interesting because Hayes King didn't come in and just get the job last year he had to battle pyron for this starting roll so he is very capable when he gets the opportunity third down and one and they gave him a first down on that one so it'll be first down pyron's going to run it eford gives Chase and they blow a dead that's something you'll see in the spring game too is they're not going to have ORD bury Zack pirate on the edge you see what they did on that play they went for wise they spread it out the defense and they had the edge I think number 52 Harrison Moore the young offensive lineman has to do a better job of hooking that defensive lineman on the outside that defensive end you've got to get to that outside shoulder and that's something that he will learn as he continues to adjust to the college game yeah Harrison Moore one of a handful of true freshman offensive lineman that they brought in that we're going to see play significant roles today and probably in the fall pyron to throw a pressure on the edge but it's picked up had a tight end over the middle could be brought in check that that's Bailey Stockton he's actually getting some playing time I had a couple the practices this spring and on bayy Stockton who's redir freshman out of buard Georgia played with another one of the true freshman that came in for Georgia Tech Aaron Pho who set all kinds of Records in high school throwing the ball so he was one of his receivers in high school so you know they have a good good feel for each other now he's getting with some of these other quarterbacks P who chased out of the pocket thought he might be throwing it away but he finds a receiver downfield that's a heck of a catch by Jan and you saw what janat did he came back to his quarterback for young receivers that's what you have to do when the quarterback is in scramble Mode come back to your quarterback give him a Target to throw to don't wait for the football remember the defense is Flowing where the quarterback is Flowing so you have to give him a Target so you want to give him a moving Target towards him a good job by Jana to help his quarterback on that play yeah they need him huh he's a 63 he's a big receiver hon keeps it and they'll blow this one dead as again eford 44 was given jaseon gold but they need a guy like J I mean you think about it receivers like Malik Rutherford Eric Singleton these are guys who are under 6 feet tall granted very efficient and very productive but I feel like they need a big receiver at some point in time whether it's in the red zone or downfield that that 6-3 guy that can go get the ball yeah you want it in the corner of the end zone you want that guy that can go High Point the football another player to look for is Isaiah Canyon the young kid coming in 6'4 he's got that unique size that you look for to be that third receiver and it's open right now Chris we don't know who the third receiver is going to be we know Singleton and we know Rutherford are the two main targets for Hayes King but who's going to be that third guy yeah Canyon the high level recruit was once in odored AIM commit not playing in the spring as he's still getting healthy from an injury he had before he got here but he took part in a lot of drills here during spring practice and coaches are really high on him and what what he might be able to do come fall see these receivers Christian ly of course had the big touchdown catch in that Miami game Avery Boyd hurt today he's another one of those big guys you know 63 230 almost like a hybrid tight end receiver he won't play today but Boyd is the guy who's going to be in the mix in the [Applause] summer give the Dickens in the middle he runs into a solid wall of gold jerseys maybe give him a yard it'll bring up fourth down by talk about the third receiver you know the third and fourth guy how about the third and fourth running back you got Jamal Haynes and you got Trey Coy those are the two that come back from last year but they'll be looking for other backs to carry some of the weight you've got a guy like Evan Dickens in the mix you also got a true freshman Anthony krey we'll see him at some point in time today and everybody's really high on him and what they love about car is he's one of those guys that always seems to get six or seven yards when he cares the football he's one of those fall forward backs you know if you stop him he's still going to fall forward and get two to three yards he's just one of those guys or full timeout full media timeout and before the punt we got a Timeout on the field we'll take it with him first quarter here the white and gold game on the flats former Heisman Trophy winner quarterback's coach here for Georgia Tech Chris wanky on the side Sidelines and you can see the numbers there Forest this offense fastly improved last year led the ACC in rushing and that had to make Georgia Tech fans smile that they could move the football on the ground at will when they needed to well they discovered their potential in the second quarter of that Louisville game last season when they scored 28 points and I think from that point on offensively they knew what they had the capability to do speaking of capability let's see what Aiden Burke can do on a 61 yd attempt he's got enough leg and he's got it and look at his teammates mom him okay and look at PR key he knows I got a guy who can hit a 60 yard field goal that's a great thing to know going into the season pretty impressive and it didn't look like he put a whole lot of effort into it it just looked like a very smooth kick and it cleared that could have been good for maybe 65 66 yards it cleared the crossbar very easily got a career long of 48 coming into this season so well you you got to feel good Chris when you know you can cross the 50 yd line and anywhere on the other side of the 50 you can put your field goal kicker out there for a legitimate attempt you can see how much it means to his teammates and the coaching staff I love kickers a kicker allowed me to win a National Championship so you better you better love those guys Florida State finally got their kicker and it finally led to a national title right exactly shout out to Scott Bentley man team SW takes over first and 10 on the 25 BR key second full season and you know you talk about the difference in this team and last year's team from a confidence standpoint coming into the year knowing you can get it done because it's one thing to talk about it as he said but it's another thing to have proven it on the field and now the kids know they can do it one thing about Coach key I love meeting him last year he's a high energy guy he's a true offensive lineman by heart the way that he carries himself and what his expectations are he wants a tough minded disciplined ball club and when you play and excuse me when you coach under Nick Savin uh you know George oiry that's the type of Coach I expect him to be Those Were disciplinarians King finds a tight end that'll move the sticks R Ryland go is one of the tight ends transferred into this program from Mississippi State 11 yards and key of course was a great offensive lineman here all AC ACC offensive lineman in the Joe Hamilton days what I liked about when I asked coach ke about last season he said look what we did last year has nothing to do with what we're going to do this year last year we set a standard we want to continually raise that standard so I like that he's continuing to challenge these guys yeah we had a great season last year but that's dead that's over this is a whole new season let's accept the challenge now King on the Run tried to hit single but he was well covered down field and that one was as much thrown away as anything Cedric Franklin the second true freshman in coverage saw hannes King's arm on the Run being able to throw that ball about 30 40 yards and that's one of the things that makes H King such a weapon for this offense because he can tucking and run the football very effectively as seen by the 10 touchdowns he rushed for last season and he's got the arm strength to hit the ball down the field four for six throwing the ball so far today Haynes has a big hole to run through picked up about six on first down T Seymour coming up to make the tackle brings up a third down situation for team SW [Applause] third down and four there's Haynes mentioned how he exploded onto the scene last year now Trey coie get a look King to pass he's flushed out of the pocket throws downfield ball TI and intercepted k Adams on the pick returns at 21 yds and you saw [Music] pressure as you said pressure forcing Hanes King out of the pocket ball tipped Adams with the pick white and gold spring game continues in Atlanta Brent key overhauled his coaching staff in the off season the big hire was Tyler santui as his new DC coming over from duke and after that interception perfect time to talk about what he did at Duke last year and a big part of the reason why coach key wanted him was Duke was at the top or near the top at so many defensive categories in the ACC and he said if he can do that a Duke I think he can do that here well he brings pressure he doesn't sit back he allows his guys to be special on the football field they get up the field they pressure offenses you saw last year they gave that Florida State high powerered offense everything could handle in the first half prior to their quarterback going down and who's to say they don't possibly win that football game with the defense performance that we saw in that game in other games from that Duke ball Club just saw the interception Georgia Tech was actually decent at creating turnovers last year but that was pretty much the only thing they were decent at on the defensive end well when you give up almost 440 yards a football game you're going to allow an offense to be very successful so they've got to do a better job and I think it once again starts with that defensive front that front seven they have to do a better job it starts with the two Big Fellas down inside lock it in Biggers being Ace Gap Stoppers not allowing offensive lineman to climb up to those second level Defenders and eord and the other linebackers have to continue to develop one of the things I like that the coaching staff said is we're not looking for the best athlete we're looking for the best players and that's what they want to see is guys that play well together and that can get up the field and stop the run that will be key for this offense Josh Robin EXC this defense yeah Josh Robinson doing his part from the defensive end spot there and stopping carry tech fans are getting a dose of this true freshman running back Anthony kry comes in 6 feet 200 lbs at of Tampa Florida and one of the other things I think the the defense is bought into is the coaching staff they have to buy in two new staffs uh when you see Biggers and you see locket both dropping 15 to 20 pounds that allows them to be on the field longer and be more active and you can have both on the field where you used to be interchangeable have one on one off now you've got both of those big guys in the middle of that defense I don't know who's going to be able to run between a gaps when those guys are out there on the field you saw horse locket there 15 lbs is like throwing a deck chair off the Titanic for horse Lockett was 340 lb last year nice job defensively knocking the ball away Warren Burell now Warren barell is another one another one of these transfers came to Georgia Tech from Tennessee he's a local guy from North Gwynette now you're neck of the woods here in the Atlanta area but they're very excited about what he's going to bring to the table and barell does a good job of breaking on the football and playing the football and not playing through the receiver a lot of times you see defensive backs kind of panic out there and run through the receiver play the football he does a good job of doing that and getting his hand in there and knocking that ball down Gavin Stewart now will attempt this field goal this is 41 yard yards puts a leg into it and misses it wide right no byav so with 5 seconds left in this first quarter still seven to three the Swarm on top of reham we think Florence and I are still trying to figure out who's playing for who I think we've already had a player switch this is spring game this happens Every Spring guys switch from one team to the other I think we had I think we had Hayes king switch before even the first snap of the game hey man Georgia texman you know that most that's you're right that's all tech fans all they care about is we're winning we'll talk about it throughout the day too with their schedule coming up man they better get prepared theyve had they play tough schedules cuz you think they play Georgia every year in the SEC they usually play another SEC team but you look at their schedule coming up opening in week zero the proverbial week zero in London on the 24th and it's just it's tough throughout and although they should beat Georgia state that will be a tough game because it's a inner city rivalry it's Midtown versus downtown so it be interesting game when they play against one another first quarter in the books Brent Keane is Yellow Jackets continue with the white and gold game there's some quarterbacks that run for first down some quarterbacks run for touchdowns Han King Hanes King does them both you see on this play watch hannes and Hanes I want you to watch the running back hes he climbs up to the second level does a good job of stalking that linebacker and watch H's King read that and go off of that block and you see the ability in the open field the next play the power read King fakes the hand off he reads the linebacker and once the linebacker and the defensive ends commit he keeps the football he does a good job of keeping his eyes down the field that's what makes him such an effective Ball Carrier from the quarterback position the fake right there Jet Sweep you see the commitment and he gets up the field and once again getting to the end zone and now the quarterback counter the eye candy watch the Jet Sweep action allows for him to read those linebackers they're going with that action because of how well Rutherford plays that position and that role they go with it and you see read and get up the scene for the touchdown once again great job by HS King reading what the defense gives him and taking that and making to work for that time H King finding his tail back out of the back field Trey who slipped and fell Eddie Kelly on The Tackle there you see what king king was able to do last year was 10 rushing touchdowns to go along with 27 through the air Singleton on the receiving end on that strike that'll be a first down 14 yds on the pitching catch Cedric Franklin in coverage this looked nice from this angle here offensive line is doing a good job of giving King the time that he needs to get the ball down field for the gar they have to do a good job with the center of keeping the depth of the pocket you want to allow the quarterback to step up with those throws and for the tackles you want to keep the width so you have to keep that outside shoulder back don't give up a short corner to those defensive ends King quickly to the outside Ball Carrier brought down after maybe a yard Jackson Hamilton from the linebacker spot transfer from Louisville 17 there he is he's going to get every opportunity to play next fall he and lights see the transfer from Georgia battling for spots and coachi said he loves the battle at the linebacker position because it allows for those guys to be great because no one knows who's going to be that guy they're continuing to compete Ro the fer makes the catch out in space about five yards and I like what Kane did on that play he knew he had bre but he looked down the field to see if he had anything in the middle of the field once he saw there was nothing there then he went back to his safety valve brother because he knows you get him the ball in space he can make a play for you yeah he trying to hit Singleton on the post just didn't quite have him at least in his own mind he didn't so he was able to get five out of it give him six third down and four as a receiver wide open that's Rutherford again cuts it back inside brings it down about the 38 yd line Taj Butler the true freshman makes the tackle downfield but that's 23 more yards and go and going well we'll go to this replay now but I wanted to talk about that previous play but a good job again by recognizing what the defense is giving him and getting the ball to a playmaker in space but going back to that previous play one of the things the coaching staff talked about with hes King this spring was working on him protecting the football and I think last year he would have maybe tried to force that pass that he looked at possibly throwing the play before as opposed to going to a safety Val now he throws it away they may have blown that one dead that looked like a sack a spring game sack to me King was able to roll P out and throw it away second down and 10 again it looked like he wanted to go downfield to the end zone thought better of it it's a fine line though isn't it cuz what you're talking about you don't want to lose and Brent key was searching for the words when we talked to him earlier he said I I don't think Gunslinger is quite the right word but I want him to take those calculated risks you know I want him to be able to feel like that's a tight window but I can get it there because I've gotten it there before now the option Quick Pitch Out nice move by his running back check that that Singleton out no Rutherford rather Malik Rutherford was able to take that that's going to be a pass that looked a little forward see haes King last year and what he did in the single season just put up some massive numbers you got to think he'll be preseason favorite uh for ACC player of the year uh one of those guys that they talk about in the preseason in the conversation for sure absolutely he's just got to clean up some of those interceptions some of those turnovers SP but I think it's also it's also The Moxy like the Miami game in those games you got down against UCF in the bowl game it was like he was never phased you always felt like you had a chance I think if you're a tech fan with him in the ball game and I think people have to remember too he comes from Texas and Texas high school football is a whole different Beast so he knows how to play Under Pressure and under the rest and you saw that continued development he's one of those guys that continued to get better every game last year and you see by that graphic right there again they never felt like they were out of it with him calling the shots go another opportunity on the catch tight end is an area that they really need a lot of help with and they got a couple of transfers in goate and in this Jackson hws from Yale we'll see him a little bit later on today but both of these offenses directed by haes King on the opening drive of the game where they scored a touchdown and on this one really mixing in the run and the pass really well and the one thing that continues to be a problem for this defense and it'll be a problem from for every defense that faces a Hanes King is when he steps up in the pocket like he's going to run the football you have to react if you're a defense and then he can do the stop the jump throws there's a lot that he can do because of his ability to run the football and influence defenses go has a blocker as the runner picks up about four [Music] five Jackson Hamilton in on the tackle there's Trey coie transferred in from Louisville before last year got a lot of play in time last year here you see kie with 274 and three touchdowns that's the backs that come back Haynes the big th000 yard season but also Haynes King 10 rushing touchdowns no Dante Smith this year so the yellow jackets having to replace him very productive back in his ears here on the flats that ball is loose picked up by the defense and then they'll blow it dead but I think they're going to rule that as a turnover well there was immediate pressure in the middle of that offensive line the guards have to do a better job of sitting down especially when you open up those HS to P the guards have to do a better job of allowing the other offensive linemen to get on their hip and not allow that immediate pressure you see right when the ball carrier got to the line of screamers there were defensive linemen waiting on him because they were able to get past those offensive linemen he has to squeeze the football I think that's going to be down I don't know I think was the ball carry I think KN down he might have gotten a hand punching that out before he before he went down but I think they're going to rule him down anyways we don't we don't got time for instant replay today got but it looked like his knee may have been down we got to move on you're the benefit of the doubt he's probably going to have stadiums run right just even if it wasn't ruled the fumble he run he definitely going have to run some stadiums for that just for making it close all you have to do is say remember the Miami game last year sometimes a fumble isn't a fumble and it isn't a fumble and it is a fumble just hold on to the ball this time King keeps it gets it out to Rutherford makes one man miss and gets into the end [Applause] zone well Ki G won't be very happy with himself that he let Rutherford Escape his clutches but he won't be the first one or the last one that Rutherford will do that to and a good job getting the ball out to your playmaker in space and you see his ability in the open field he's very slippery so you've got to hold on to Rutherford and try to get him down or at least hold him to Pursuit gets there but a good job by Rutherford breaking that tackle to get to the end zone looks like Ki G might have gotten Thumb in the eye or something shaken up a little bit down there at the 5 yd line Burr with the pat splits the uprights team swarm jumping out to a 14-3 lead ruer getting the ball in space let him make some happen here he makes a touchdown happen second quarter action here in the white and gold game look at the schedule coming up in 2024 for the jackets mentioned that opener on August 24th against Florida State in Ireland lot of hype rounding Syracuse too they got to go to the Dome and take on Syracuse and look at the right side of that schedule that is brutal every week it is a gauntlet they get a break between Virginia Tech and Miami but it's a gaunlet of a schedule the second half of the Season new quarterback is Aaron Pho and this is Chad Alexander another young player that they have some pretty high hopes for 27 in white Kyle eford on the tackle but Aaron Pho specifically record-breaking quarterback passed for almost 14,000 yards in high school at Prince Avenue Christian up in Bogart there you can see his numbers broke the state record previously held by Trevor Lawrence so 12 can sling it 56 touchdowns a senior year here's pray for that for a career mean nuts it really is crazy with the prolific offense he was in there and so there's always the hope that that translates to the next level and obviously coach key and his staff saw something they really liked in him other than just the numbers he's allaround guy homecoming King uh threw a no hitter in baseball I mean this guy can do it all Charmed Life doesn't he things are going to get a lot more difficult for him on the grid IR now at the ACC level but getting an opportunity here to show what he can do fires that one too high for his intended receiver Zion Taylor another young player boy they just roll off the tongue with so you think about it they have a ton of early entries right plus all these transfers that have come in in you're going to have even just for this spring game there's a good 25 players that weren't suiting up for this team last year that we're talking about today that are getting significant playing time and then we'll have another 15 coming in in the summer true freshman class well the great thing about all of these guys reporting early they start to develop that continuity that you'll need to be successful on both sides of the football now whistle this one dead as Pho was about to be sacked they lost 22 players in the transfer portal right so they bring in 10 plus 15 early in R Le here in Spring ball and here are just some of the names and when I look at this list I I'll go up and down on both sides They're all playing and and Coach ke even said he I didn't bring him here to sit him down they're all going to be playing for me and not only playing but there's an expectation for them to produce on the football field so I one of the things I I like about Kos key is he's very straightforward and he's going to tell you what his expectation is of you and he's going to continue to ask you to satisfy that expectation I love the challenge that he presents to his players saw Jordan Vandenberg on that list he's coming in from Penn State yet to enroll so we won't see him today but we'll see him in the summer and Coach santui called him a tank so they're looking forward to getting him on campus why gold game [Music] continues yeah NFL draft later on this month of course in Detroit so Slim Shady with the background music and it's going to be a big draft for quarterbacks and it's always interesting to see whenever you have a draft where you have five or six guys that are Elite quarterbacks where they go what team has a need what team trades up to get that quarterback that they think is going to be their future the most interesting one to me I think Chris is is Michael M uh we know he has the arm Talent uh there's a concern about his injury history so that to me is the most interesting of the quarterback yeah and you can see Mel Kyper top five and quarterback quarterback quarterback one receiver here Marvin Harrison Jr I think everybody pretty much feels like he's a number one as soon as he steps on the field but quarterback [Applause] heavy you know it's such a big decision when you're looking at quarterbacks because quarterbacks can either make you a great evaluator of Talent OR can put you in a position to be looking for a new job so you got to make the right decision and I think too the quarterback has to fit what you do and it's almost impossible to make that right decision cuz you just it's you just don't know yeah evaluating talent from the college level to the NFL level is so difficult to do is you see more of Zack pyron here throwing the ball trying to get it to Christian ly and Taj Butler from that linebacker spot in coverage a true freshman out of Louisiana Butler's out of the New Orleans area there's Christian [Music] ly getting a chance to see dayon Gordon carry the ball a little bit 21 in white another one of the captains that we talked about earlier scout team guy who puts in the work so getting rewarded today with the captaincy and carrying the ball here on the pitch what's interesting on that play Christian lry got knocked back I'm surprised that he's out there coach the coaching staff talked to us about him having some hamstring issues you see him walking off the field right now with a little bit of a limp to his gate I just don't think he's healthy I know he wants to be out here with his teammates but he's more valuable to this team when the season begins then in Spring practice and in the spring football game so it'll be interesting to see we see him again in this game that's a good point you make a good eye to see that is that's why we see so many players not playing today if you've got any type of a Nick or or banged up at all today might be the time to sit it out that might be it for Christian ly two-minute warning if you will here in the white and gold game defensive tackle Zeke piggers is smallers in 2024 but he's not not small he's just lost some weight you talked about it earlier between he and locket the two interior defensive linemen have just shed a little bit of weight gotten a little quicker and you know talk about your own personal experience about that's not easy when you're 66340 lbs to lose some weight and get that stamina so you can go the whole game I know exactly what they they're going through as I went through that when I played at Florida State University and they had us on what was called a blue plate diet where you would get white rice with a pad of butter you'd get boiled chicken or make chicken they even gave you the butter though okay boiled chicken it was a sacrifice that you made to get on the F you know when I played they didn't have roasted chicken and all of the rotisserie and the things that we see now it was either baked boiled or fried and fried there was no way you were getting no way you would get fried chicken but you know you've got to look at the sacrifice that these young men are making because one of the things I think that makes Biggers and lock unique they're both 6'6 so they got long arms and as a defensive tackle what you're trying to do is get inside hands just like the offensive lineman because then you can dictate where the lineman can go you can hold on to them and keep him from those second level Defenders so their development will be key to this defense developing especially with the youth that they have at the linebacker position yeah no question and it allows micaa Scott to be able to move around and do some things you can do things with him and and micaa Scott is is athletic enough to drop back into Zone coverage so that's what makes him such a Difference Maker when he's able to move around with those two big guys if they're able to be an anchor in the middle of that defense of course you expect to see Silva yanjun back in the knee injury he suffered last year the beginning of last year iron now facing another third down goes down field has a receiver just overshoots Chase Lane first time we've seen seven in white today Chase Lane he coming back from an iny last year was really came back at the end of last year was never really 100% but he was great last year before he got hurt so they expect big things from 72 in that rece deep receiving cores you can see micaa Scott and Horus Lockett those three right there you know coach Kei talked glowingly about the potential to have the best three interior defensive lineman that he's had or he's seen here at Georgia Tech in years between those three guys then you've got depth with all the transfers coming in here's Burr again with another bomb this one from 59 yds and he missed it left although he did have the leg on it no so if nothing else you know 33's got the leg to get it there minute 9 seconds left in this second quarter a reminder we'll have an 8-minute halftime and then we'll have a running clock in the second half half get an opportunity to see some of the players on the depth chart as we already have a little bit here with Brent key final practice of this spring session so you know a lot of people you just have to be reminded it's not like a month's worth of practice every day you only get I think it's 15 practices right and this is one of those 15 you got to make these days count well you talk about making it count they had two different scrimmages one 150 play and one 130 play full pad scrimmage and Coach he talked about this spring being tough and developing that toughness that he wanted to see from this ball Club there's M Scott did you have an option to wear number eight as a lineman I mean think about that it's like I mean that's more of the defensive line guys trying to be cute those are the guys that tie they tie their shirts up they want to show the muscles in their stomach you know offensive Lin we don't have stomach muscles you know we we don't carry six-packs we carry kegs in our stomach an offensive lineman refers to a defensive lineman is trying to be cute yeah we don't do all that Pho On The Run showing his athleticism out of the pocket EJ lay transfer from Georgia the linebacker chasing him out of bounds so we're getting a really good look here at Pho he and Graham nolles the other true freshman quarterback also prolific High School quarterback from South Lake Carol one of the top high school programs in the state of Texas those two true freshmen are certainly I I'm you know a big part of the future at that quarterback spot for this Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket team and we're getting a good eye at Pho here Dickens on the carry runs to a big hole he'll pick up the first down Carri lightsy again on the tackle keep an eye on two in gold Pho to throw has time over the middle this is going to be a big play by Taylor all the way inside the [Applause] fives Clayton Powell Lee finally tracked him down that's 35 yds down field and Lighty lost him on the short Crossing route he's got to do a better job of staying on top of that reer you see right here you see him across the screen right there Lighty lost him you've got to stay and that's one of the toughest routes to cover from the linebacker and safety position because you've got these guys coming across and you're usually in trail mode from the defensive position but you've got to do a better job of reading that if you're light SE one of the things that Co sanui talked us about you know was he likes lighter linebackers he doesn't like those big bul 240 250lb guys he wants these guys about 225 or lower because he wants them to be able to run and move around the football field but when you're a smaller linebacker you've got to be slippery I played with one of the greatest Derek Brooks and one of the things that made him so great was you could never block him because he was so slippery he didn't want to take on blocks you know it's a l we want to want you to try and take on the Block and I think that's what we saw a lot of last year from the linebacker position from Georgia Tech is those linebackers are trying to take on those blocks so for ly and the rest of the linebacking core they have to continue to work on being slippery you're the better athlete when the linan is coming out to block you so you've got to be slippy but from the coverage standpoint you've got to make sure you're bending at the knees being able to turn those hips and run especially on those Crossing marcks you saw Lighty there mentioned transfer in from Georgia from Fitzgerald Georgia down in South George not Fitzgerald if you're from Fitzgerald it's Fitzgerald so after the big gain they move the team back as receiver one and catch the beautiful catch it that by Stockton gets dropped at the five told you about this little guy 87 and white he's getting a lot of playing time and practice and he's just a spark for this offense well a good job by Pho trusting his linan staying in the pocket not worrying about the pressure that he's seeing and you see Stockton on the Deep Crossing route do a good job of finding the football getting his hand on it guiding it to his body and then reading the block to get to the outside to get an additional 10 yards after after catching that football that's what you want to see from your guys not only making the play but after they get the F football knowing where to go 31 yards that brings a first and goal 14 seconds left in the half so good situational offense here for Philo to try and get it into the end zone play fake over the top [Applause] touchdown and that's that Big 6-3 Frame we talked about earlier with and you see what pho put the ball where he could High Point the football where the defense never had an opportunity to make a play on it that's what you want to do you want to lead your receiver but also put it in a position where only he can make a play on it watch Jenna there's no one else that can make a play on that football but Jenna if he's not going to catch it nobody else is that's what you want to do as a quarterback give your guy a chance but no one else Stewart for the try and it's good so reham bounces back and Aaron Pho The Freshman guiding them downfield for the score Abdul Jenna with the catch and with 17 seconds remaining in this first half it's 1410 team swarm on top [Music] contemplating in deep thought we'll talk with that man right there at the end of the first half when these team two teams come back out to finish the white and gold game he won't be satisfied I promise you that seen some things I think especially offensively that he has to be happy with in this first half one of the things though defense it's easier for a defense to kind of get together come together and be better as opposed to an offense so you've got to hang your head on that and know you're still developing a new system with these guys let's see what Pyon is going to do here with the clock ticking down quick one to go they'll stop the clock or will they yes they will second time [Music] out go from Kennesaw Mountain High School Northwest suburb of Atlanta came to Tech from Mississippi State hadn't seen Jackson Halls yet today 85 also another transfer he was impressive uh this last week at at watching him at practice I mean he's physically impressive have you seen him right both of these guys are 6566 hws can move too as you see C's numbers there you think Jackson Hall is coming from Yale right obviously he's a smart kid but they saw him as more of a straight line prototypical tight end but since he got here Buster Falkner the offensive coordinator said he was surprised at his athleticism so I can split him out I can put him in the slot and get a mismatch and he can use that athleticism in space I mean think about you've got if you get a nickel trying to cover a 6'5 255 lb tight end that's the grank factor right there all over the place right that's why you can never cover him that's why he was always Tom Brady's favorite receiver pyro now out of the pocket going to throw deep has a man down there makes the catch and that's going to be out of bounds inside the five thought they might give him the scores Chris Elco got lost behind the defense ball hit the pylon but they're going to Mark him out of bounds inside the five the clock has hit Triple zeros but watch pyron here as he's chased out of the pocket and just lets it fly but he keeps his eyes down the field that's what you ask for your quarterback to do and I was wondering why the official called him out I thought he reached over and got the ball over the pylon or against the pylon before he went out of bounds look at his legs going out of bounds yes he did you're right hit that pylon before that knee touched out of bounds 46 yds for the score plus this a spring game Mr fist will give him the touchdown give Elco the score the red shirt freshman from Roswell as a defensive coaching staff though that's not going to sit well with you right before the half is it absolutely not it's a rule of thumb is do not allow anyone to get behind you from a defensive standpoint that is the end of the first half Buran the pat 2110 is our score at the half swarm go into the half with the lead we're awaiting coach key will chat with him for a moment here at the half students out here enjoying this beautiful day in Atlanta absolutely gorgeous Spring weather here for this white and gold game [Music] as coach key is conversing with his coaching staff and Sh with him in a moment there's coach key and his two coordinators here are touchdowns on the day opening drive of the game Jamal Haynes as Haynes King was able to mix the passing and the running very well and then on this this one just a little Outlet pass here to Malik Rutherford voids the defender he scores so Haynes King directing a couple of touchdown drives and this was impressive the true freshman Aaron Pho came in let him all the way down the field and I love the way Pho where he placed the football he did a good job of allowing only Jana to make a play on that football and here you know you talk about scrambling pyron he never panicked he kept his eyes down the field and a good job by the receiver squeezing that football Elco and reaching over to hit the py lon Brent key joins us right now coach uh what did you make of that first half especially I think offensively you had king with a couple of drives and Pho with an impressive Drive yeah you know get a chance to get a lot of guys playing today that's what it's about uh you know really we know a lot of the older guys can do at this point so it's a chance to be able to get you know a lot of these younger guys in there that are new and uh you know guys that are you know really good backups in there get get experience and see what they can do really with in game situations coach talk about your defense there adapting to a new scheme how do you think they've played so far in this football game yeah I think they've done some good things you know we had a three and out one time you know we got a it's different I mean the the both offenses have experience on the on both sides uh so I think the defense has done a nice job I think Jacob Cruz has shown up a couple times in the D line I there's several in there that probably would have been sacks uh if they didn't pull off on a quarter back there in the green jersey so uh you know I think we got to tighten up some coverage in the back end but then again I mean some of the receivers made it couple good plays one of the most excited I've seen you in a while was when Aiden Burr hit that 61 yd field goal it's got to make you feel pretty good you got to kicker like that with a leg that you can count on how about that I mean you we were deciding if we're going to Sky punt it or not and he he comes out and says no I want to kick the thing and you know that probably would have been good for another four or five yards so uh that was great to see then we wanted the other one was a tougher shot it was a little bit shorter but you know the tougher angle uh with the wind blowing so you be able to get in these you know different conditions with you know wind and uh get those guys some really live reps man it's it's good to see all right coach we appreciate your time we'll get you we'll let you get right back to it all right thanks guys go jackets all right coach Bren key at the half pleased with what he's seen so far getting some depth in action here in the second half still to come in the white and gold game beautiful day in Atlanta 2110 team swarm on top of the break [Music] annual Georgia Tech white and gold spring game team swarm on top 2110 at the half this team will open on August 24th in Ireland against Florida State and not only do you have two Irishmen in the booth today with Conley and C but you've got one on the field and David Shanahan Georgia Tech punter he explains the difference in snacks between the Irish snacks and American snacks three for the El jackets punter I am from Kerry Ireland in the southwest and today we got a Patty box and we're going to show some of my teammates some Irish snacks and some Irish Cuisines first up potatoes smell test smell like L eight out of 10 eight out of 10 these are like a smooth eight oh these ain't too bad I I'll eat the rest of these next up we have rri's mini Tiff Toof in the toffen Tiff Toof in the tofen let the camera see no not five wa hold on now this aftertaste kind of hitting next up my personal favorite the snack kind of tastes like a a Kit Kat oh yeah I like this one you like that one this a n out of 10 Leo br's Mega milk chocolate this is high-end stuff you know oh Rich yeah this is stuff you SA for Christmas yeah I'd say 8 and2 n to 8 and2 n strong this is dairy milk standard nothing in there just pure milk chocolate let say some much Hershey's oh this one good too good to the bread y got some good chocolate good this is dairy milk Golden Crisp like a Crunch bar yeah yeah pretty similar love crunches D this one is more crunchier than a crunch though about 7 and 1 half 7 and a half crunch is good you know I wouldn't got it in Texas next up dairy milk fruit and nut seven seven a lot of seven TS it's smooth smooth seven out of 10 smooth seven this is dairy milk mint crisp tastes like some of those uh good you get from restaurant little chocolate with oh they got a strong mint smell too oh uh-uh not a hit zero the good look good big thank you to the Air Lingus college football classic for sending us over the box of goods I know the lads really enjoyed it and got to taste some Irish Cuisine and Irish culture really looking forward to the game in August hoping Ireland will get behind the yellow jackets can't wait go [Music] jackets beautiful day here in Atlanta annual white and gold spring day 2110 Georgia Tech with the team swarm ahead of Georgia Tech with team reham at the break first drive of the game Jamal Haynes picked up where he left off finding the hole finding the end zone then you had Malik Rutherford who's all over the field on this drive finally culminating in about a 10yd touchdown catch the true freshman Aaron Pho came in and found Abdul janah with the score and then finally final play of that first half you saw Zach pyron Scamper to his left and just Chuck it to the pylon and Chris Ela was on the receiving end reached across the pylon for the score and that's how we got to where we are today Malik rord receiving the kick from Gavin Stewart and a reminder to everybody we've got a running clock here in the second half so a more traditional clock in the first and as soon as they snap the ball here for this first play that clock will start rolling and coach fauler and Coach winky have to be happy with what they've seen especially from the quarterback position production wise in the first half of this football [Music] game you saw Jamal Haynes carry that ball across the goal line in the first half he joins us right now and Jamal looks like you picked up right where you left off offense is huming along pretty good yes sir just trying to pick it up keep it going well Jamal talk about coming into this season last year nobody really knew about you guys and the offensive talent that you bring to the table now there's an expectation out there talk about coming into this season and how you guys are preparing definitely we just want to build off last season and definitely keep it up going we've been working hard trying to hone down in on the details and definitely just want to get it together before we all start um kickoff for college football as we see a trick play here and it's going to be incomplete almost picked off covered up very well that time by Omar Daniels Jamal tell me about the competition in the room I mean last year you guys had a deep room at the beginning of the year good competition but it seems like this year with the influ of a guy like Anthony KY there's got to be some good competition with you guys every practice absolutely it's great competition in the room and is definitely a great depth Builder um Anthony KY just want to harm in on him great young guy Great Character he been coming up he been working he working really hard and absolutely a great addition into that running back room and Jamal last question talk about the transition from wide receiver to running back what did it take for you to become such a special player at the running back position honestly the same mentality that I had at wide receiver I mean come in get the get the play be ready to work H in down on the um on the Playbook and honestly just be ready to work you got to have you got to have that mindset of just being ready to work at any position you're at and J definitely showing that versatility of what I can do on the offensive side hey Jamal last question for me when you coming into this year what what were you trying to work on was it something where you were trying get stronger bigger what was it that you had personally that you wanted to get better at coming into this season uh definitely with the change from going to rivver of running back I definitely needed to put on pounds and I absolutely wanted to get faster so right now I'm weighing in about 190 and I'm I will be way faster than last season so y'all have a good test for that way faster than last year all right that had to put a smile on tech fans faces thanks Jamal we appreciate it absolutely thank you all right Jamal Haynes coming in now about 190 says and quote way faster than last year year that's he comes from impressive you know what he comes from a great high school program in Grayson in Loganville Grayson High School they've got an abundance of athletes coming out of that program so the ability for him to go from a wide receiver to a running back is not surprising because of the versatility of the guys that come out of that program and all that they do whether it's catching the football out of the back field or going running routes from the position receiver position or shifting from a receiver to The Back Field to get the football in open [Music] space so swarm will take over up 21-10 you got a chance to see Graham nolles a little bit the true freshman from South Lake Carrol High School in Texas on that last position Zack pyron will come out now and lead the Swarm Squad he was with reham for much of that first half [Music] pyron On The Run incomplete trying to hit Chase Lane and you see pyron with his hands up at Lane I think he's trying to tell Lane to come back to the football when you're covered up like that pyron's coming towards you that means the defense is coming that way as well with Pursuit so what you asking your receiver to do is to help you out come back to the football to get possession of that football don't wait for it to get there coie out of the back field wide open that'll be enough to move the sticks Jack Collins was able to run him out of bounds 12 yds and those are the plays that make defensive coaches lose their head you cannot lose a player like kolie in the flat like that there was no one there until he was 15 yds down the field you've got to have some defensive player looking at covering that up pyron has a receiver open downfield makes the connection inside the 30 it's Elco again and that pyron Elco I know El be leading the team in receiving yards today that's another 36 and what I like about what pyron did he didn't put too much on the football often you'll see a quarterback get excited when their guys that open and they overthrow him he allowed Elco to run under the football that's what you want to do as a quarterback put a little air under the football pirron to throw again has time over the middle has a receiver open hits him inside the 10 this is elos and it is his day and ELO is making a great case to be that third receiver we were talking about I mean he's catching balls over his head he's catching and you know Hil Marys before the half and now he's going across the middle catching it fearlessly knowing he's going to get hit now in the Red Zone pyron over the top behind his receiver defended nicely that time by Cedric Franklin the second as he was trying to find Leo Blackburn now tech fans will be happy even though he didn't make the catch just to see number one in white on the field because Blackburn has been just set by injuries in his time at Georgia Tech but getting close to 100% And he is a big Target 65 220 if he can stay healthy I think tech fans think that's their number three receiver see him at the top of your screen and that should have been a back shoulder throw right there and those are some of the things that the coaching staff will work with the quarterback pyron and some of the other younger quarterbacks when you see the defensive uh the defensive back playing with inside leverage throw it to the back shoulder allowed that big receiver to use his body to box out that defensive back third down and goal Pyon again to throw has him in the corner this time he and Blackburn [Music] connect and it almost looked like they were playing a Zone coverage on the back end of the defense cuz you'll see the defender right there he'll let Blackburn run by [Music] him so you have to wonder was that a zone defense you saw the defender Pat his chest saying it's my fault Ashton patas freshman from Centerville Georgia in for the pat no good pulls that attempt so it's 27-1 swarm on top Leo Blackburn is back number one in white on the receiving end of this Zack Pyon [Music] pitch 2710 our score swarm over reham here in the annual white and gold spring game MAA Scott defensive tackle joins us right now with the headset on makas first of all what's been the biggest difference for you guys playing you know with Tyler sanui defensive coordinator SCI and Jess Simpson now your defensive line coach this year as opposed to last year uh yes sir the only difference is uh scheme and just like building their terminology building a bond with them coaches a relationship with the guys and just trying to just move forward every day to trying to get better well m one of the things the coaching staff talked about was getting locket and Biggers on the field together to allow you to kind of move around talk about that adjustment and how that's going to affect you being a more effective player uh this upcoming season uh yes sir us three on the field together would be a great great job cuz I feel like it'll bring us like more more experience on the field and just setting up guys to make plays that's what we all trying to do to make make plays and just get 1% better every day and I feel like that's something we can do Maas you guys struggled against a run last year is there some is there like a mantra or something something that you guys talk about or coming into this year in terms of we're not going to let that happen again in 2024 yes sir uh our off has been demanding a new line of scrimmage each and every day at practice through spring and just every time we step on the field on the P we just trying to get 1% better and just create a new line of scrimmage before our linebackers come off and make plays as well any of these young cats on defense impressed you this spring uh yes sir uh no doubt um spice spice Adams he's been coming up for the D line as well he been working his he been working his butt off uh also guys like said young guys like freshman linebacker uh 15 coming in he been making some plays as well and yes sir I didn't realize Kate Adams went by spice yes sir my fa uh yes sir that's his nickname in our room spice Adams anybody else got any good nicknames we need to know about uh no that's about it that's about it for the dline all right I'm going to remember that one yes sir makas appreciate your time man yes sir appreciate you guys all right see you learned something new every day not only do we learn about the new mantra with that defensive line but spice Adams one of the team captains for this game today nice Maas is an impressive young man well he's got Elite size at 6'4 290 and the ability to play inside and outside which makes him such a valuable player to this defense because he's interchangeable and you could go to different formations and not have to change Personnel when he's on the football field so that's what makes him such a dynamic player for this defense and with the ability to move him around he's one of those guys that can stand up and drop back into coverage in a Zone scheme so I think that is what's going to be different about this defense as opposed to last year Zion Taylor getting some good run today made that that last catch it's Brody rhods is now showing his athleticism at that quarterback spot still on his feet before he gets touchdown Brody rhods redir Jr from Canton Georgia went to Creek View High School guiding the yellow jackets on this play L miles Brooks shaken up on the play that is not good one and gold hobbles off the field and he'll take a seat on the bench and be looked at by that staff after a 25 yd run from Brody rhods so we'll keep an eye on number one in Gold L miles Brooks projected as a starting safety when the season begins on August 25th fourth against FSU and one of the things I think coach key and his staff are doing a good job of is keeping local talent home and getting local talent to transfer back home into the program out of the portal yeah there's a good look at Brooks right now on the sideline looks like they might be looking at that right leg that's like that's definitely the one thing that's the one thing you don't want to get out of today anything else is fine you don't want to get a player hurt on your final spring practice he's also one of the vocal leaders of this defense as well so you definitely want to have him around AO Tas on that stop transfer in from Florida State there you see Brooks he and Clayton pow Lee going to form that safety tandem this fall both have really good size on the back end at 6'2 uh both about 190 so they've got length as well from that safety position roads to the corner of the end zone incomplete covered really well that time Rodney Shelly coaching staff talked about him and how he's one of the more improved players on this defense from the beginning of Spring practice until now battling the receiver well a good job uh hand fighting on the outside and the coaching staff talked about rotne they said he came in and he was playing Rodney football yeah but he started playing Georgia Tech football and started making plays and when you've got ability sometimes you think you can do a little bit extra do what you want to do on the outside because he was a special player but he's also not that big so he's all probably had that little man complex to say hey I've got to show out and make that play every time I'm on the field roads to the end zone that one's intercepted Warren Burell came down with it and he continues his impressive spring with the int and he's letting everyone know about it too and like Shelly on the play before he fights through he locates the football he does a good job of high pointing and squeezing the football and bringing it to his body to not allow Jana to rip it and strip it from him so that's what you want to see from your Defenders I like what I'm seeing from the fight on the back end from these Defenders Shelly a good job on the back end fighting on the play before and then on that play a good job to get the interception by barell locating the football not panicking but locating the football and squeezing the football senior offensive lineman Jordan Williams is going to join us right now and Jordan offense looking like it's clicking just like it did at the end of last year you guys hadn't skipped the beat oh but yeah yeah we have it really for sure and that's really a good sign going into next year even though we lost like we lost a couple guys we didn't really lose a lot and so going out there still looking the same that's always and not not just looking the same we going we definitely going to try to be better we going to be a lot better than last year and that's always a good thing going into the next year well talk about that Jordan talk about the expectation this season there wasn't a lot expected last year there was the unknown now everybody knows what you're capable of doing talk about that coming into this season the expectation was always the unknown for everybody else but inside the locker room it don't matter it it didn't matter what we were doing we knew what the expectation was and we we were short of it last year we wanted it to at least be at least ACC Championship so that's the expectations this year and just to overall be a lot better than last year up front on the offense on the defense on everything just making sure we clicking on all cylinders all the time Jordan how difficult is it to move around on the offensive line I mean we see it a lot where the player might move from the outside to the inside like mckenny is moving from tackle to guard this year you might have to move some pieces around to make sure you get the top five guys on the field at any one time how tough is that for an offensive lineman oh no it's tough for show because you always got to it it's tough playing my first time going from tackle to guard I feel like that made me a better tackle overall because that at guard the action like right up in your face immediately so you got to have like different footwork different hand speed different technique it's just everything switching up but when you get used to playing all them different positions you you just going to see yourself getting better as a player overall and talk about that versatility with your younger players coming in is there a young guy that has impressed you one of the young offensive linemen that are here early on the o uh you got Jameson rigs he out he out there right now big 70 uh my boy T Tana a dog T gonna be a dog at Center he a dog t a dog and then love it um my boy Harrison Moore he like what do you call it he like the Dark Horse right now he can play all five and that and that's really me oh yeah yeah come my way oh yeah see if they they came over to the sideline I had to lower my shoulder on them but it's all good though and then Jordan Floyd got great size great speed he can move for a big guy so we definitely got some good freshman in on the o line right now well Jordan we appreciate your time thanks my man I'll let you get back with the teammates thank you all right Jordan Williams Senior tackle out of Gainesville and I love that offensive lineman mentality man I love it they love [Laughter] Tana Alo tupua who is really their center of the future I mean they've got Weston Franklin who coach Keith said Franklin and Jordan Brown were the two most improved offensive lineman here in spring so you got Weston Franklin who's who's could could be a potential all ACC type Center but then you got Tana who's a true freshman who's your center of the future so to have Tana Harrison Moore he talked about Jame Rings could start the year at left tackle the future's bright for these young offensive linemen and I think it's kind of rare as you see Blackburn on the receiving end here rare to see so many true freshman offensive linemen getting a lot of play in time that is the end of the third quarter timeout we've reached the end of the third quarter one more still to come here from Atlanta white and gold game continues start of the fourth quarter here in Atlanta 2710 team swarm on top of team reham as we continue to talk to some Players let's talk to Kyle eford starting linebacker with the headset on and Kyle for you now I mean you're not exactly like uh one of the old heads on the team but you've got a big leadership role coming into this year don't you how has that changed kind of your outlook coming into the season yeah I mean it's it's always a good thing to be a leader of you know Forefront of the team but you know being a young guy don't mean none just how you got to car yourself how you do care yourself you got to lead by example and whatnot well Kyle you guys lost six players at that linebacker position where it be transfers or to graduation talk about the development of the younger players that are coming in stepping in trying to earn those roles oh yeah I mean there's there's a constant development for our young guys you know you know especially put in this new defense you know knowledge of the game trying to get put into our heads you know uh I mean definitely you know bringing in some new guys got a couple transfers so the boys got some experience um for you personally what are you doing in the off season to get ready for next year whether it's changing your body changing your mindset what do you do personally uh I mean for me right now it's straight mind you know cuz I mean at this level the margin of margin uh Talent is so small so I mean everything is mental so at this point you know it's just going to be knowledge for the game you know just trying to get everything put in my head what has been the biggest adjustment with Coach santui coming in and changing this defense for you and the Defenders on that side of the football I mean it hasn't been too much of an adjustment you know we just got to adapt you know it's it's definitely a much more defined defense so I mean they'll to stop the run so that's that's what we going to do all right Kyle we appreciate your time best of luck this season man yes sir thank you all right Kyle eford linebacker as this team is trying to put it in the end zone right now Chase Lane on the receiving and saw a really nice play from ta Seymour I think we need to mention that coming from his safety spot to make a tackle on the play before and those are some of the plays that coach Keith talked about at the half that he's seeing from his defense you're seeing flashes here and there it's not all going to come together in jail like you think it should or would early in the game but as they continue to work together and develop that continuity you'll see it all come together so you've got to see those plays those highlight plays right there so fourth down for Graham nolles he's going to go to the end zone trying to get it to Lane again nice catch did he get a foot in no Cedric Franklin on coverage but that was a perfect pass and Lane was able to bring it in just could not get that one foot into the end zone he's looking back at the board no that right foot just couldn't quite get it down and hit the chalk hell of an effort though and that's a perfect pass from nolles absolutely and a good job by the defender not to panic but to just play through a good job by Cedric Franklin a freshman and that's what you want to see those types of plays you know he did not panic because a lot of times you'll see a young player panic and grab the receiver which we see was going to be a ball that he would not have been able to bring in for the touchdown but that would have been an instant first down if he panicked so a good job on the back end of the defense by Cedric Franklin another true freshman getting playing time today from Mableton went to Kell High School there's the quarterback room seen a little bit of everything Haynes King got it started had two scoring drives in that first half Pyon showed Aaron Pho led a scoring Drive Long scoring drive as well and there we saw Graham nolles taking the team down the field even Brody rhods we've seen a little bit from today and you see Graham NOS at 6'7 220 lbs number 14 he is going to be a big time addition to that quarterback room Pho back in swing pass that's Evan Dickens on the receiver leaving in maybe picks up a [Music] yard and to me Chris this is the more important part of the scrimmage because these are the guys that are you're going to depend on the be backups and guys that you depend on to com to the football game Bailey Stockton again look at that speed too as he outruns a Defender gets a block down field Stockton is going to score well B Stockton and Chris Elco are battling it out for the receiver of the game award and a great job by number four Abdul Jan to get down there and give him the block that he needed to get back to the inside what I like about what Stockton did on this Crossing route is he got to the edge he got to the outside he was able to stay in bounds with the defender and then he allowed his receiver to get a block to get him that lane that he needed to cut back across the field apparently he stepped out of bounds when he made that cut back across the field and I'm just giving him credit for staying in bounds and any steps still 53 yards on the pitch and catch again Pho quickly Jan avoids the first tackle but can't avoid the second and third but once again although he stepped out of bounds you like the fact that the receiver came across his teammate to help him and get that extra block on the outside a lot of times receivers don't want a block on the edge but to be a successful offense you've got got to be all in and you've got to do your 11th and that was a good job again by Jenna to get that block and allow him to get to the inside although he was out of bounds injury Timeout on the field that clock continues to run remember we got a running clock here in the second half taking you right up to the top of the hour Pho continues to guide the offense got one-on-one coverage to the end zone touchdown catch made by Zion Taylor 22 yds and the red shirt freshman from Norcross Georgia hauls it in well he's one of those skill position players on offense we thought we might see a little bit of today and we're seeing a lot more of them today and there's nothing else uh the defensive back could have done on that play Clayton Lee Powell he's right in position but a better job by Taylor to fight for that football he may have gotten away with a little push off but if it's not called it's not a penalty so good job by Taylor finding and locating the football and winning that [Music] battle Stewart converts to Pat and ream gets right back back into it 2717 our score Zion Taylor with the one-handed grab physical In The End Zone 1112 left to go in this annual spring game here at Georgia Tech swarm leading reham by 2717 score Eric Singleton joins us right now on the field how you doing my man I'm good how do you feel about today uh it was real good day um just working on executing some plays out here um getting the young guys some work just see what they can do last year you were totally unknown commodity you came in you had an explosive season freshman All-American Now you kind of got that Target on your back like you're not you're not going to surprise anybody out there you're going to get their best cover corner so how do you adjust coming into this year knowing that now you've got to step it up to the next level uh really just work during the offseason execute get better at my technique uh fundamentals catching the ball getting open that's all talk about the offense and what your total expectations are this season you guys come in as one of the top returning offenses you've got an abundance of talent coming back talk about what your expectations are for you in this offense um a lot of big plays explosive plays coach um fogner he always preaches that explosive plays that's wins games what type of work are you doing with Haynes specifically how much can you guys work in the off season and what are you doing to get better just between the two of you guys oh we throw the ball all the time go to the field get some catches in all the receivers all the quarterbacks we always working are there any young players uh that have you know impressed you not just from the receiver position but from other positions on the offense uh on the offense uh we got we got some um Young on lineman who they threw them right in the fire and they they handled it well so I feel like um offense we got uh scooter running back um number six real real good Trey horn Isaiah he's hurt right now but he should be an impactful player when he comes back Eric when you're really going at it in practice who's the One DB that gives you the hardest time uh me personally I had to say I give it to aari because just his play style and we always go at it hey appreciate your time Eric enjoy the rest of the day you too all right Eric Singleton freshman All America last year part of this deep receiving core that Georgia Tech has coming into this year and a lot of weapons for Hayes King and Company on the receiving end and Chris Elco is been a serious weapon today look at their freshman season of Eric Singleton compared to Calvin Johnson I mean that is some High Praise indeed Deed from a number standpoint absolutely that's a mirror when you get compared to Megatron I mean you're doing something special out there on the football field and we found out a new nickname as well scooter for Anthony KY yep see we found a couple of them today already got Spice Adams scooter carry scooter carry Georgia Tech's going to set up to punt this one away David Shannon Shanahan rather the Irishman you know it's going to be a special trip for him when the jackets go to Ireland to play Florida State to open the season Bailey Stockton back to return this pump but he watches it bounce out of [Music] bounds 39 yds on the punt from [Music] Shanahan so final 8 minutes and 11 seconds of this white and gold [Music] game I've been impressed with the Poise of all these quarterbacks you know you expect it from Haynes King and from Zack pyron because they've got all the experience but Aaron Pho Graham nolles and even Brody rhods Pho has looked really good out there it'll be interesting to see if he can push pyron for that second quarterback roll see who's coming out here at quarterback got the Jersey tucked up underneath the shoulder pads not doing me any favors nice run that time though by Chad Alexander looks like Ben Guthrie a [Music] quarterback Georgia Tech shown a lot of Versatility from the running back position as well all those guys have been able to you know seem to be fall forward backs running behind their pads doing a good job of reading the blocks finding the seam and getting and hitting the scene when they need to there's a nice pass over the middle defended well though knocked away that might have been T Seymour again defending on that play it was so T Seymour making a couple of big plays defensively for the jackets and Seymour's a bigger he's a bigger safety too at 203 lb 511 he's compact but he does a good job of getting his arm in there especially on those Crossing routes one of the more difficult routes to cover third down and one Alexander will pick it up move the sticks Alexander carries theball getting tasi on the [Music] tackle Tas is one of those transfers came in from Florida State out of the portal doing a good job he's getting a lot of play in time today that's a nice strike completion to J Ben Guthrie on the money Amari Harvey on the tackle and Tas is another guy that you can stick down in the interior of that defensive line to give mcka Scott more opportunities to move around as well so I think that's why we're seeing a lot of Tas today along with Biggers and Lockett and Adams if he can be one of those guys in the middle of that defense they kind of be Stout at the point of attack it allows him to move Scott around more carry with a nice job after the catch to elude the defender but the defense was too quick to him Taj Butler true freshman bringing down carry carry showing his ball skills though receiving out of the back field carry and tried to Bounce It Up Inside right into the teeth of that defense maybe picked up a couple there you see Al out to AO number 50 the center he's got the hair coming out the back of the helmet you know what makes him such a a difficult task for Defenders he's only 6'1 330 so he's got a low natural low center of gravity and everyone knows down in those trenches you win the low man wins the B so it's very difficult when you've got a guy that's squatty and they're already you know have a low natural low center of gravity got three flushed out of the pocket throws that one incomplete and as a tackle you want the length you want that 6'4 at least 6'4 65 cuz you want those long arms and you're more dancing bear so you in in in the interior you want thicker shorter guys you don't want guys if you're when you see any Elite guard that's 65 66 that lets you know athletically they're on a whole different level because they have to be able to sit in their hips during the block as a tackle you're upright more because you're out there as a dancing bear and what your key is to keep that outside shoulder away from those Defenders you don't want to give up that short Edge to give them that short corner you want to keep the width of the pocket those interior guys those two guards in that Center they've got to sit down and be Stout at the point of attack and not allow pressure in the quarterback's face T at 613 30 big in the dumper Guthrie has a receiver open and it bounds inside the 15 Zion Taylor Again Taylor Stockton ELO that Trio probably not the trio that would roll off of your tongue coming into this spring game for Georgia Tech in terms of the receivers and jutu have played really welded they've gotten the majority of the snaps but Force they've certainly showed that when given the opportunity they can make play and Ben Guthrie with a throw right on point where the ball needed to be impressive so far by all of these quarterbacks getting the ball down the field Guth is the fifth quarterback we've seen today and all five of them have played very well Alexander now guth's going to keep it they'll blow the play dead inside the five coming into this game we knew and understood what this offense had the potential to be with what we saw last season but what's been impressive is the Bevy of receivers that we've seen in this game make big plays and that's outside of the guys that you know when you're talking about L you're talking about Rutherford you're talking about Singleton other guys are making plays and that makes this offense very versatile for defenses as they prepare to try and stop them on the outside final two minutes on the clock as you see coach [Music] key once this game hits those triple zeros his staff will now evaluate the way the spring went and you got to get back into looking at that transfer portal too it opens right back up and you got to be active nowadays and there are players getting in the portal daily so if there's a area where you see concern and there's a need you get in that portal and you find that Talent you match the talent to what you do and what you're looking for and what they capability is just because a guy was a great linebacker at one program doesn't mean he fits your scheme and I think that's one of the things that coaches have learned to do and that do coaches that do well in the portal understand you've got to find guys that do what you do well not just guys that are great players at a position they have to do what you do well when you bring them into your program Guthrie showed good elusiveness on that last play wasn't able to hit his receiver on the Run let's see what Ben Guthrie can do here fourth and five can pick up a first down just before the goal line as we're inside a minute goth three to throw to the corner of the end zone touchdown that's Chris Elco [Music] I kind of laugh to myself cuz I'm they don't keep spring game record books but if they did Chris elco's name might be written all over the Georgia Tech Spring Game record book and Elco did a good job of beating the the cornerback as well as the linebacker you had Lawson Pritchard and Tay Seymour covering him on that play he's able to get Beyond both of those guys these quarterbacks have done a good job of putting the ball right where it needs to be Burr on the try Burr who kicked the 61 yd field goal in the first half hits the pat yeah ELO has five catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns it's going to be interesting to see who gets that third receiver rooll because a lot of guys have put their name in a hat and showed up today uh to make this a very challenging decision for the coaching staff dinner in on him at the varsity someone else is buying that chili cheese SLO dog for Chris Elco and that fo and we've gone final 2724 team swarm with the win what are your final thoughts after what you've seen today this offense a is as advertised and I think they will be a problem for defenses I think defensively we saw some flashes of what coach sanui and his staff want to see they just have to continue to develop especially at that second level at the linebacker position Haynes King Jamal Hayne Eric Singleton Jr Malik Rutherford the offense just keeps humming along and we saw some big plays from some young Talent on defense as well that's going to wrap it up for us here in Atlanta for for is Conley and our entire crew I'm Chris cter thanks for watching everyone looking forward to seeing the jackets in 2024 [Music]