July 24, 2011
Quotes from The ACC Kickoff, held Sunday at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.
Senior A-Back Roddy Jones
On the team’s excitement to start the 2011 season…
“We are very excited. Especially coming off a season like last year, that was very disappointing but a very humbling experience. We are very hungry to get back out there and show that last year’s team was not the Georgia Tech team that we want to be seen as. We have been working hard in the off-season and are ready to see an opposite colored jersey.”
On if the team is confident that they will get the offense back on track this season…
“I definitely think so. If you look at our stats from last year, we moved the ball, had a lot of yardage, our yardage per carry was up, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the endzone. That was attributed to a number of things — Penalties in the redzone, fumbles, little things that are correctible. We feel like if we go out and execute like we did last year in terms of moving the ball, but correcting some of those mistakes like the fumbles, the penalties and little things, then we will be able to punch the ball into the endzone and score more points.”
On the team being able to replace a quarterback like Joshua Nesbitt…
“I know Tevin [Washington] is going to be the starter, he won it in the spring and he has a vice grip on it, he doesn’t want to let it go. He has done a great job of running the offense. He was put into a difficult position last year and he did a great job of managing through it. It will really help him and give him a lot of experience for this upcoming season.”
On how he feels about the NCAA making Tech vacate the 2009 ACC Championship…
“It doesn’t affect me one bit. I get to keep my ring and tell people we won the ACC championship in 2009. I get to go out this year and it has no bearing on what goes on this season. We are very focused on getting back to an ACC Championship and that would really alleviate all of the stuff that has been going on.”
On how Coach Johnson addressed the sanctions with the team…
“He had to address it when it came up but he said it doesn’t mean anything to the 2011 team, it doesn’t mean anything to the team that goes out on the field this season. A lot of these guys on the team now either didn’t play then or weren’t at Tech at the time, so for the older guys it’s about us setting an example and moving forward.”
On the team’s struggles with turnovers last season…
“When you look at the fact that we led the nation in rushing, you can see we moved the ball very well, we ran the ball very well. But when you look at our redzone offense and scoring, we had a lot of penalties that `put us behind the chain’ as we like to say. Second and longs and third and longs, our offense doesn’t do well in those situations just because of the way it’s built, and then turnovers were another big thing that hurt us in the redzone. It is something that we have been working on very hard to correct in the off-season. We just need to do a good job of correcting the little mistakes we made in the redzone last year to get the ball in the endzone like we did in 2009.”
Senior Nose Tackle Logan Walls
On teammate and linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu being a freak athlete…
“When he rushes off that edge he gets so low that, let’s just put it this way, if it were me getting that low then I would have to get a new knee. It is amazing how flexible and strong he is. He is a specimen that’s for sure.”
On teammate and cornerback Louis Young having a huge off-season…
“I feel he is a lockdown corner. Just from watching in 7-on-7’s, he can bait people and he is deceptively fast. He will bait you in and if it is not a perfect ball, he will pick you off, so I am excited to watch him. He is big enough and strong enough to play out there and very developed for how young he is.”
On how much they are looking forward to new facility…
“Just getting out of the sun will be a big thing. Hopefully we will get to use it for preseason with the weather being as hot as it is.”
On what has been the biggest improvement on the defense from last season to this season…
“The biggest improvement is the communication. Last season we weren’t communicating like we should have been. This year everyone knows what they need to say and when to communicate from the back to the front, and I am excited about that. Everyone wasn’t on the same page. You’d have a guy rushing that shouldn’t be rushing and that would open up a flat rout. Being on the same page will cut huge gaps in the pass rush and even the running game.”
