Fall camp continued today at Georgia Tech and after practice, offensive line coach Geep Wade, OT Jordan Williams, RG Keylan Rutledge and LG Joe Fusile spoke to the media. The Yellow Jackets’ offensive line was not only one of the most improved in the country, but also one of the best in the ACC, helping Georgia Tech lead the ACC in rushing yards per game. Wade proved to be one of the best additions of the offseason and is hoping for more success in year two. Here’s everything he had to say after practice.

1. About Jordan Brown…

“Just very consistent. You know, he got hurt a year ago and we came out of that year. And he’s fought back. He’s a fighter every day. You know, he’s one of those guys that I told Coach Faulkner that you can just trust him to do it right out there. If he gets beat, he just gets beat. But he’s just very consistent. He’s earned the spot that he’s in now.”

2. To support coaching by analysts…

“I think it’s huge. Mo’s a good friend of mine, Coach Mo, Alan, and we have a great rapport, and that’s huge. You know, on this thing, you know, you, and Mo’s been great, you know, what’s our language? I want to be on the same page with you, you know, because one thing I don’t want is I don’t want our guys to be thinking, you know, and I don’t want too many calls or, or I don’t want them to be thinking in the moment of a game. So, I think it’s even gotten easier for our guys. They got more reps in the beginning. Sometimes you can get too many reps. You have to back off, but it’s been really, really, really good. I told coach, I don’t know if I can go back without help like that, you know.”

3. On Keylan Rutledge’s progress…

“Well, yeah. I know he was banged up, but I feel like he fits in with our guys. So, you know, yeah, I trust Joe. I trust Keylan. So I knew he was going to come back. Let’s just leave it at that.”

4. About Harrison Moore…

“Yeah, you know, he’s played multiple positions inside for us. He was center and now he plays guard and center as well. So, you know, the thing about Harrison is he’s got the right mindset that we want here. So he’s ready for the challenge. He’s not going to let anything scare him. And that’s what makes me so happy about Harrison. And he’s, you know, put his weight up. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s a tough kid. Every rep out there is important to him. So he’s getting a better and better player with every practice.”

5. To combat the complacency of this group…

“Well, you know, last year was good at times. You know, we watch our cut-ups, you know, and, you know, with coaches, we’re like players. We want to get better, you know, with the way all this recruiting is going on every day, it’s hard to develop professionally as a coach now, you know, and that’s one thing I don’t want to do: ever take a step back from my role as a coach. So, you know, this summer, when we were on vacation, I called coaches, Zoomed some coaches and got better because there are things in our areas. We need to get thicker, or, you know, so there’s a lot of things we need to get better at. The one thing I preach to these guys, and I really believe in it, is this: If you have a certain mindset, you’re going to be a winner. You may not win every rep, but if you have a certain mindset, you’re going to be a winner in the long run, and that’s what I want with these guys. And, you know, I think we’re going to have 10 guys here in a couple of weeks with mentality. And that’s, we don’t know them yet, but that’s what I’m excited about. And, you know, that’s all we preach, the mentality, and that’s all.”

6. About the newcomer Kai Greer …

“It’s hard to catch up, you know, because at camp, I tell our kids every day, the window of opportunity closes pretty quickly. And if you don’t come early now with the portals and everything, it’s very, very hard. And you know, our luck is that we don’t need Kai right now. But Kai is a, Joe, he’s laughing right now. Kai, I sleep here some nights, OK? And he woke me up in the morning and I was just like, dude, sleep in, man, you know? So eager, that’s what I like about it.”

7. About how the chemistry develops between the young people…

“It’s been great. The competition has been great, on both sides of the ball. You know, the defense goes at us, and then we try to attack them. That’s made us a better team, and that’s why these freshmen have to put their foot down because they can’t back off, you know, we, some of them run the twos, and that’s the way it is right now, and I don’t see them as twos, you know, we’re making two-minute plays, and there’s a lot of new guys out there, I’m like, a couple of freshmen out there, you know, but I like that, you know, that’s a challenge for me as a coach and for us as an offense to play with guys like that, and you know, that’s our job as coaches, if somebody goes down, we’ve got to have somebody there. So I think we’ve got more depth. We just have to focus on depth, you know, at the end of this week, and we’re going to meet with Coach Key and Coach Faulkner and get it. We’ve been focused on getting our two players deep to be able to play with the game preparation.”

8. What you can improve…

“Well, in a lot of areas. You know, I think we can improve because our kids are sophomores. Honestly, guys, I’m just going to be honest. I think we figured out who we are as a group in the second half of the year. And that’s what we’ve taken from there. We put our kids in better positions and make it easier for them. And I think our kids really don’t have to think. And I think that’s what we’re getting good at. So, you know, our job as coaches is to do the same thing over and over and over and over and over and then just do it differently, like put lipstick on. You know, does that make sense?”

9. Competing with the D-Line during training…

“Oh, that’s great. I’ve known Coach Simpson for 20 years. I’ve always loved her and respected her a lot. I used to pitch for a school and I’d hang out all day. The rest of the day I wouldn’t get anything done because he’s such a great coach, great guy. He gets the guys going and you just have to give it your all every day. And now in camp, you get put in situations and stuff, so you have to learn that situation. So there’s a lot of things you can’t get through outside of the game and I tell our kids that they’ll get better when they’re playing against these guys and hopefully we’ll take it slower when we play a game.”

10. About Ethan Mackenny…

“Ethan has put on the weight that we asked him to because he came here and he had to kind of play. You know, Ethan, if you look back, he wasn’t a mid-major a year ago. So he came here June 1st and was thrown in the deep end, and I don’t think he could take a breath until week nine. And that’s tough on these guys. And he’s a type of guy, very conscientious. He’s played a couple different positions for us, kind of our swing guy. You know, we’ve got to work our way in and find a spot for him. But he’s doing well. He’s a talented kid, and we need him to play at a high level this year.”