Georgia Tech Football: Recapping the Jackets time at the ACC Kickoff

On Thursday, Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins, wide receiver Jalen Camp, and linebacker David Curry traveled to Charlotte for the 2019 ACC Football Media Days fielding questions from the media throughout the day.

The trio of Geoff Collins, Jalen Camp, and David Curry spent their Thursday being grilled by the football media during the second day of the 2019 ACC Football Media Days. The three talked to reporters throughout the day, but spent 30 mins of their time in front of the cameras on the main stage.

Jalen Camp – What was said:

Wide receiver Jalen Camp was the first up representing the newly minted offense. During his time on the stage, Camp discussed a wide variety of topics but left some quality notes for the media to come away with. The first notable is that unshockingly, the entire Georgia Tech wide receivers room is pretty excited about their new roles in the offense in 2019. The Jackets receivers were used sparingly in non-blocking roles under Paul Johnson but will have more chances to make big plays this upcoming season.  Camp said that the focus so far has been on footwork and releases to improve their skills as overall players. Camp also mentioned that the wide receiver groups had been working with the quarterbacks to build a better relationship with each guy before the season starts, spending three to four days a week in the indoor practice facility.

Jalen Camp – The Takeaway

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The major takeaway from Camp’s appearance on the stage was that the wide receiver room is in a good place mentally and have been getting ready for their new and improved roles in 2019. The Jackets wide outs will be used a lot more this upcoming season so communication and chemistry will be huge in any success they have. Camp should have a major role this season for the Yellow Jackets.

David Curry – What was said

David Curry took the stage representing the defensive side of the ball. Curry during his time on the stage was asked about the new coaching staff for the Jackets and what has been the major differences. Curry noted during his answer that the coaching staff’s energy especially that of Geoff Collins has been huge and while it was a stark different at first, the players have totally bought into the energy. In the Geoff Collins’ era of Georgia Tech football players will be expected to attack everything they do every day with a ton of energy and passion in efforts not to just make themselves better the team as a whole better. When asked about defensive changes in general Curry said that the biggest difference was the accountability that the coaches hold each defensive player to in practice.

This accountability is a signal that overall responsibility is going to be critical for every player on the team next season. Curry himself said that in terms of his own development that the coaching staff was helping him develop physically and mentally at a faster rate than he felt he had developed in the past.

David Curry – The Takeaway

With Curry’s time on the stage, we got an insight look at how the staff feels about the new coaching staff and really the major differences between the staffs. While Paul Johnson was loved by his players, there’s no doubt that he lacked some energy at times and it could be seen in his program. Additionally, with the new coaching staff being critical of the small things, an extra sense of accountability which the program in the past has certainly lacked at times. It’s not to say that Paul Johnson and his coaching staffs didn’t care about the small things but the new coaching staff has certainly raised the attention to detail.

Geoff Collins – What was said

Geoff Collins took the stage last, and for the first time as head coach of the Yellow Jackets. Collins, since he was announced as the new head coach of the team, has seemingly been living out a lifelong dream to come back to the school that gave him his start in coaching. That excitement comes out every time he is interviewed about coming back to the Flats. Coach Collins really spelled out his vision for the team and for how he wants the program to be run during his time saying repeatedly that the goal each and every day was to attack the day and find ways to make improvement from the day before.

His overall theory for the program is that by focusing on the individual success of each player the team will find collective success as a unit. His use of data to measure athlete performance and help the individual visualize where they are during any given period and show with numbers where they can give a little more or where they can work on individual skills to make themselves better. Collins did tiptoe around questions about expectations or any type of prediction for how the season would go in favor of a more general approach of attacking each day with intensity and becoming a better team every time you go out.

Geoff Collins – The Takeaway

Collins press conference didn’t really give much insight into the program this upcoming season outside of how Collins has planned on taking the Yellow Jackets to the top of college football. Outside of that there wasn’t much to much to takeaway from the press conference. He did have a nice moment remembering Brandon Adams however.

Overall, for Georgia Tech, Thursday really didn’t tell us much but that was to be expected. More so than not, media days in college football are coaches going through the motions and giving bland answers not trying to give anything away for the upcoming season. The good news however is college football is now just weeks away.