Georgia Tech is looking for a major turnaround on defense this season, and there may be no unit that needs a turnaround more than its run defense. Georgia Tech had one of the worst run defenses in the nation last year, but it returns some leaders up front, including defensive end Kevin, who had 27 tackles and one sack last season. It's Harris. Harris will be one of the key players on the defense and spoke to the media after practice Thursday. This is all he had to say.
1. On being the leader of a defensive end group…
“This is definitely a big step that I have to take, and I think I'm ready for it. I want to give a shout out to the people who have been here before, and the new people here. There are some of us. You know, we have a certain amount of mortality ahead of us.''
2. About working with Coach Pope…
“I think he's a great fit for my personality. So it's always great just hearing his opinion, like when we're in the boardroom. And he gives me my opinion. I like to listen, too, because I might see something.’ Or I might catch something that he might not see. But yeah, it's definitely a great relationship. Well, a little history. I think Pope was, and Pope was at Alabama when he was hired. So, I just remember seeing his face, and I just remember seeing his face, I remember seeing his face, and I I remember seeing his face, and I remember seeing his face, and then you laid me aside and I thought, I remember you. . I remember being like a little spider, which was definitely cool, but he was a great coach and had a lot of energy. He was the loudest coach we had. So I was like, yeah, it's really good for our team. ”
3. About playing under Coach Santucci…
“Good. I mean, it's just defense, it's just like a ball. – Oh, I mean, this doesn't really involve anything. It's very offensive. Our players It’s going to be very aggressive.”
4. Regarding goals for spring…
“I want to be a good leader. I want to be a good leader for the team. I paved the way for the guys behind me, especially when I was younger because I know I needed that, so yeah, just paved the way. Just leading the way and setting a great example.’ And just like we want to win games, we want to go win as long as we improve. I know what I need to do, I just need to play the game. ”
5. About Coach Simpson and Coach Pope…
“There's a five-star coach out there, Coach Simpson. Yeah, he's a great coach. He's been in the league. Everybody knows what he's done. He's the one who scouted me out of high school. I had a great relationship with him, and he's everything.'' It's something I'm used to teaching. And I think they will definitely benefit greatly. Just being with him like the last few weeks, it's been great. Just look at what he’s been able to do on our D-line. The line and just moving forward, I think it’s a good audition for the team’s defense.”
6. If there's one player fans should know about…
“At my position, we've got Jordan Boyd, we've got Jacob Cruz, we've got Ayo, we've got Zeke, all of them are good, all the way down to the walk-ons, it's crazy, this is the progression we've seen.” “I've just been watching movies the last few days and everyone's working hard right now. I'll definitely say, yeah.”
7. About freshman Jordan Boyd…
“Yeah, it's important. It's not like all the things that I needed to do when I was younger, like me trying to go back, meeting him after school, all those different kinds of things, yeah And just to make sure that we're in our books, you know right on and off the field. So, this season, we're going to see him blossom into a great player. I hope you can see it.”
