Sept. 8, 2007
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– Georgia Tech Head Coach Chan Gailey
On scoring early in the game
“I challenged our team to go out and set the tempo in the first 10 minutes of the ball game and I thought they did that.”
On Jonathan Dwyer
“He’s got good vision. He has good power. He has great instincts. That’s a pretty good combination for a 200 pound guy.”
On Taylor Bennett
“We would like to throw the ball down field a little bit more, but we didn’t have to. I thought he managed the game again very well. He was very accurate with his throws today. I thought that was a real plus. We wanted to get some good things going in the passing game, but we didn’t have to use it. Really I would have liked to thrown it a little bit more, but we didn’t have to.”
On the team’s execution in the red zone
“I thought we got better in the red zone. I think everybody realizes though that we were stronger than this team today. We can take a lot of good things from this game today, but we’ve got to get better this week to play a tough Boston College team coming in here next Saturday night.”
Would you have gone for it on fourth down in the red zone if you were playing Boston College?
“That’s a good question. Fourth and one, yeah probably. But fourth and three, maybe not.”
A short day for Tashard Choice, how did he run the ball?
“Extremely well. I couldn’t believe he had 110 yards. Somebody told me he had 110 yards after 11 carries and I couldn’t believe that. He’s running extremely well right now. The offensive line blocked well early in the ball game. We were able to get a lot of other people in the game and see them. That was great for all these other guys.”
“I’ve said it all along, he has great vision. He’s like a point guard. He knows where the other 21 guys are. And he knows where his guys are going to be and how they should block them. He has a great feel for where the crease is going to be.”
Is the challenge now to get carries for both Choice and Dwyer?
“Choice is the starting tailback, and he’ll be the guy that caries the brunt of the load. We didn’t use Rashaun Grant today, he was available but we want to get him ready to go full speed next week. We’ve got some good backs, and I think we have lots of different weapons to use.”
On getting some of the backups in the game today
“Those guys work so hard in practice. That’s what you hope to be able to happen is for guys like that to be able to play. All the guys that play on that scout team offensive line and scout team defense and don’t get a lot of action in games, it’s wonderful for those guys to be able to play. It’s rewarding for them, but it’s rewarding for us as coaches, too. They are the unsung heroes, because they go out and work every day with none of the accolades. They give us a great picture on offense, defense and special teams.”
On getting more players in the game, and the effect on the program
“Two things. You hope it gives you more depth because you have guys who have played in games. And anytime you can get a guy in a ballgame, it really helps his psyche. That’s what you want. You want everybody to feel good. You don’t want anybody to feel like the game is drudgery.”
Samford Head Coach Pat Sullivan
On today’s game
“We had a bunch of young guys, and this is not excuses by any way, shape or form, but we had a bunch of young guys and they came out and were kind of like a deer in headlights. Georgia Tech is a good football team.”
“Just like you talk about every week, you can’t make mistakes in the kicking game. We turned it over twice and gave them two touchdowns in the kicking game. We don’t cover anybody on a kick, and they had field position all day. And, when we had people open, we dropped passes and you can’t do that against a good football team.”
“I told them this is all of our faults. We didn’t get it done, but we’re fortunate that we go back out on the field in four days. We’ll go back home and watch film tonight and tomorrow and we’ll start getting ready for our next game Thursday night.”
Even though it was a lopsided score, were there any positives?
“Without question there were some positives, although right now it’s kind of hard to look and find any. You look out there one time when we stopped their first group and we had four freshmen lineman out there playing for us. Those four guys were there for us every time. I talked about the kicking game and we had six or seven freshman out there on special teams, and while that is a growing thing, we’ll have to draw from that. Jeff Moore dropped a couple of passes early and then came back and made a couple of big catches for us late in the game.”
GEORGIA TECH PLAYER QUOTES
Quarterback Taylor Bennett
How does a game like today prepare you for Boston College?
“It’s good to be able to go out and play as good as we did today, to get everyone in there, to get the guys deeper on the depth chart to get some reps. That’s good. It’s very comforting to know that we’re that deep as a team. Jason Davis, for example, that fourth-down run that he had, when he picked up those extra yards, that’s very comforting as a team.
How do you feel about your performance?
“It was good. I played a quarter and a half, and what were we, 8 for 9? I thought it was pretty good, considering last week I missed some open throws. To come back and make some completions it felt pretty good.
On his one incompletion:
“We ran a boot and that (to Demaryius Thomas) was the last read on it. I came to him late. I threw it high and kind of away, I was hoping he got it or nobody got it. I didn’t get to see it – I got hit.”
On the team’s success two weeks into the season:
“This is amazing. We’re on a roll right now. The rushing game, it speaks for itself. I’m not sure I’ve seen this much chemistry and this much production this fast. It’s nice.”
On improving the offense’s red zone production from last week:
“That was something we wanted to work on this week. Last week we got in there and sent Travis (Bell) out there five times to kick field goals and we wanted to keep him off the field this week. That was something we really pushed for and prepared for. We wanted to go in there and boost our red zone production.”
On depth at running back:
“It means I don’t I have to throw the ball a lot. Tashard (Choice), (Jonathan) Dwyer, (Jamaal) Evans and Jason Davis – those running backs — they had a day today. I’m so proud of them. Dwyer had a big game – that long run he had – he was blazing. I was very happy for him. Having depth at running back, that keeps Tashard’s legs fresh. You can send a guy in there for a couple of plays and give Tashard a break. When you’re able to do that, you can do a lot more things with your running back. Having a rushing attack like that, people have to respect that. They’re going to start bringing safeties down in the box, and that means you’re lining up more outside. Hopefully that will open up the passing game for us too.”
Running Back Tashard Choice
About gaining 100 yards so quickly and going out of the game:
“Coach isn’t worried about the awards and all the things they’re talking about. He just wants me to understand that we’re trying to win a championship, so he wanted me to get rest and be ready to go for next week. That’s going to be a big-time game, so we’ve got to be ready to play.”
On keeping the 100-yard games streak alive:
“I don’t think about it; people keep telling me. It’s a thrill to be able to run the football with those guys. Your offensive line and your fullback want you to get over a 100 every game. Having a long run today – they blocked excellently. It’s just fun to have a chance to keep it going.”
Fullback Mike Cox
On Tashard Choice
“He’s always an inspirational leader on the field. His mouth never stops, which is good. He picks everybody up and makes sure they stay on top of their game. He talks to offense, defense, everybody.”
On today’s rushing total:
“The lineman and I always take pride in how many yards Tashard has and total yards. Looking up there (scoreboard), I saw we had 300 and something yards by the end of the third quarter so we were all smiling, laughing, having a good time.”
On bringing that against Boston College:
“We try for that type of performance every single week. We had a good showing last week against Notre Dame; had a good showing this week; hopefully we keep it rolling next week against Boston College.”
