JSU - Georgia Tech Post Game Comments and Quotes

Offensive Coordinator Ronnie Letson

What was the gameplan:

"We had a couple of things we didn't know totally about them. We were prepared for a couple of different defenses and we knew their defensive line was really good so we knew we were going to have to keep them from making plays. They still did make [some] plays on us. [But],they are really talented. They are the #15 team in the nation.

Offensively we were trying to take the approach that we were going to have to take some shots at them and hopefully avoid negative plays. We had some negative plays that I wish we could have done away with. Then, their band or someone was blowing whistles and our quarterback stopped and they did it again later in the game. That's just not right. But, other than that I thought they were a great football team, we are a step further as a team than we were last year.

We could have scored a couple of more touchdowns I thought. We threw the interception down on the one. We have to get better coming out of the break and being on time with that. It should not have been a turnover, we should not have had that."

How did Ivory do, making his first start in place of suspended Perrilloux?

"Marquez did great, but he could have played better, which everybody could have played better. We get Ryan back next week and he is a [premier player] on our football team, but Quez will stil have a role. He was close to 60% today which I was proud of, his last throw at Georgia Tech was a touchdown. I thought he played well, moved the ball with the team, showed great leadership so I know the future is positive for us at quarterback."

What about the throwback pass to Robinson that went for a touchdown?

"I had actually started to call another play and I changed my mind and called it. Luckily it worked. We worked it a bunch. Heck, it never looked very good in practice."

Assess the offensive line (no sacks):

"I thought they played well. We had a couple of question marks there. #91 [Derrick Morgan] is one of the best lineman we will ever play against. Maybe, Florida State might have some that are equal to him, but 91 is the best one we have played against this year and even last year. Overall, I thought our o-line played well. I'm really excited about them."

How about the running backs:

"I thought Calvin played well. We had three tailbacks and one fullback that played exceptionally well. They all bring a different type of punch. You have Calvin who is a bigger guy who can play tailback and fullback. Then you have Alphonso Freeney who played well at fullback, then you have Brandon George and Jamal Young who have two different types of punches. Its good for us."

James Wilkerson (5 rec)

On getting the season started:

"I felt good coming out in the first game. It feels good to be back out on the field again. I had a couple of good catches and the team pulled thru."

What did Tech do to take you out of your gameplan?

"We went over [their coverages] all week and it was the same. Nothing really took me out of the game. But as a team, we can get down after big plays happen for them, but not us."

On his kick returning duties (Wilkerson had several solid returns)

"Me and Jamal trade off, but he got hurt a little bit so they put me in back there to return a couple kicks."

Defensive tackle, Brandt Thomas:

On the gameplan:

"It went alright. They got us on that very firt play. We decided to do something a little too risky, but overall you take away a couple of big plays and we're in the game. So, overall I think it was a good day for us."

How many snaps did you play

"If I had to guess, 65 or 60 or something like that."

Was Dwyer as good as advertised?

"I was very impressed with Josh Nesbitt."

How did Florida transfer Torrey Davis do today?

"I think Torrey played really well today. He got nicked up there at the end, but he's everything that was expected."

How about FSU or you looking forward to that?

"Definitely. Its already on my mind. This game's over so we move on to the next one."

Wide Receiver, Greg Smith

On his return to Ga. Tech?

"It was exciting. It was homecoming coming back, but it was tragic that we lost."

Did your former teammates say anything to you after tackles?

"No, they didn't say anything to me. There wasn't too much trash talking out there."

Did they do anything in particular to take you out of your gameplan?

"No, they just played a better game than us today."


Kicking expert Rex Keeling

On Patrick Tatum's performance (kicking, punting, field goals):

"He did real well with the kickoffs. Placekicking and field goals were fine. We just have a lot of work to do with the punting. I think we tried to rush ourselves and its all about timing. He's a good athlete."

How hard is it to do 3 aspects of the game:

"Its really not that bad because I did it myself so I can understand what they are going thru. He's very talented and it doesn't really make that much of a difference."

On a couple of punts that went out of bounds too early:

"Sometimes you get too precise. You try to let your body do more than it can do. We are always working on what we call pushing the ball out and he pushed the ball out a couple of times so we'll work on that."

What happened on the punt return for a touchdown?

"When you do punts you are supposed to cover certain areas. We just got down there and got excited. We just weren't in the right place. Maybe we didn't kick the ball high enough to get them down there. We will look at the film and get better."

Who would have come in if Tatum would have gotten hurt?

"We've really got two. We have Rogers that plays linebacker and Chamazhad who is like Patrick. He can do all three [aspects of the kicking game] too."

How do you feel overall about the team's performance?

"I think we showed that we can play with these guys. Anytime you take a step up guys are going to be bigger and faster. It takes you a while to realize they have two arms and two legs, too. We have a lot of good guys. They work hard and they are dedicated. There is not a lot of slack in anything."

Did former Gamecock Gavin Hallford get any NFL looks?

"He had a tryout with Cincinatti and he really had a good workout. If something happens at Cincinatti, you might . . . see him in a Bengal uniform."