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Coordinator Speak: Thacker on the GT defense 8/29

Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker spoke to the media on Friday breaking down where things stand two weeks prior to kickoff of the 2020 season. Thacker talked about his linebacker room, various positions and about building depth for the upcoming season with so many variables in play with COVID around.

On the depth behind David Curry, Quez Jackson and Demetrius Knight at LB

On the linebacker situation, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about who you mentioned David Curry, Quez Jackson and Demetrius Knight, those guys obviously have game reps, and those things are irreplaceable. So those guys are using all of the experience that they have to parlay that into a sizable OTA and fall practice. We've had more time to prepare for our first game than ever and they've taken advantage of that and how to move to a mature approach. So I just don't want to be remiss and not say that those guys have not improved gotten better relative to what they were playing at a high level, specifically, Demetrius where linebacker was new to him coming into this past season and just all of the tools and trades that that takes time to learn over, over time and then just, again the development, of course, Jackson and not taking David Curry for granted, which I'll often do because he's so solid and so locked in behind that competition is king.

I know there's cheesy and cliche within our program but that is a pillar and tonight will be very telling. We learned a lot about our guys last Saturday when we had a live scrimmage. And how we set them up for a tough situation as we worked through OTAs where it was non-contact we went through the front end of fall camp to where we were very tag oriented or thud oriented, and then we got into a live setting. I was just privy to listen to Dave (Patenaude), where we had to defend elite running backs in college football, and it showed it. the gap we had between live tackling reps and where we need to get to a game scenario. So those running backs put a lot of stress on us this past week, and the struggles that we had were or moments of truth tackling in space.

So based on guys performance (Friday), they've made a huge push on live tackling this week and we put them in more scenarios. this week that that'll be very telling.

Jerry Howard has been over in the room, and again he wears number five for a reason. His approach, his off the field approach, his leadership regardless of his role on the depth chart is huge within our program, his special teams' value is huge, him learning the linebacker traits just like Demetrius Knight did the year before. It is a big gap, it is a big learning curve. He's doing a great job of taking the coaching.

Then some of the young guys that you did allude to Tyson Meiguez, Khatavian Franks and Khaya Wright all at the linebacker position in that incoming recruiting class, and they have showed moments.

Just like Dave talked about some of the young freshmen. It is hard man it is hard at any position to come and play as a true freshman. It is just such a huge learning curve from the mental piece and from the physical piece but those guys have had the advantage of the OTAs specifically in a longer fall camp with the pushback schedule. So really those guys, although they get pushed back in the summer. It really fortunate to get all the reps that they have had before we play our first game and all those guys are fighting for reps tonight.

Coach Thacker makes a point during his media avail on Friday
Coach Thacker makes a point during his media avail on Friday (Kelly Quinlan/JOL)
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On Tariq Carpenter playing safety at 240 now and if he will move closer to the LOS

Heck no, you want a six-foot-three, 240-pound in the middle of the field.

We can teach a lot of schemes, we can teach a lot of techniques, we can teach a lot of fundamentals, but we can't teach that size right there. Tariq is just blessed by the good Lord is his body profile, his height and his weight should say that he needs to be closer to the line of scrimmage.

The reps that he has had which we've had to modify those things for some for him being a little bit behind the curve with some injuries, he has come back and then the reps that he has. He is moving like an elite level safety, so we don't have to do that, but obviously, within the scheme we have the luxury of having that body type, as we move forward. So, we have multiple different schemes, where we have him closer to the line of scrimmage but by all means in our base defense, he is a third level of safety that can cover, that can be a post safety, that has the range and has as good of movement patterns as anybody in the in college football at the safety position. So we just see it as a luxury.

I'll be honest with you. We all as a coaching staff and then even Tariq we were a little bit concerned that maybe he did get too heavy and he couldn't carry that weight as well. He looks really good, carrying on that weight. He looks like that he can naturally carry that weight and still go through the course of a game and play it at elite level safety so it's only an advantage for us to be able to put him in different places when he is in there. We are a different defense to his credit, we look different, we play with more of a physical edge, and he's a big piece of what we did this past season and I look forward him to the big piece what we do.

On if Antonneous Clayton is a bell cow defensive end or not

I'll answer your AC question but as always want to take the time to compliment, Larry Knight and Marco Coleman who have had the ability to focus on the defensive tackles to focus on the defensive ends.

So we've got two coaches down there the defensive line which makes a difference with how are we better. Dave alluded to, to their line of scrimmage. When we go to Team Run, which is my favorite period of the entire day. It is a 12, 16, 20 play script, and those 20 plays are my favorite part of the day. I know that four out of five reps are going to run the football, the fifth one's going to be a bootleg or a play action. Dave knows that, I know that, and our kids know that we know that. We just get to get there call base offensive plays base defensive plays and the line of scrimmage in general, looks different than when we first got here, body types, size, strength, use the words girth. It is just a more violent more disruptive more powerful bigger line of scrimmage right now.

That's how we can be better. Our numbers statistically were not great last year defending the run with body types and then just base technique and fundamentals that we're doing with our base defenses that's how we can be better. And then the interior, so those guys have done a great job. We always talked about as we prioritize our defense effort being one technique being too scheming third that's tertiary to everything but just based techniques fundamental staying square, having bigger bodies in there and being able to defend the run, allows us to be so much more complex on the back end so they've done a great job.

AC is a guy that really represents a lot of what we're about culturally, he's going through a lot, you know when you talk about adversity that a young man is going through a lot. He had his waiver denied this past season, not to get on his business but he has a lot he has to manage in his life. He's got a young family. He's living over a family housing and I can literally see to where he lives right here outside. He's managing a lot in life every single day he comes here with an attitude with a maturity that we need for our cultural peace. Now, all he has to do is what Marco Coleman is coaching him to do. He has size. He has power, he has pushed pass rush ability to know his strengths and do his job, and he gives us an outside defensive and five-technique that allows us to be firm, it allows us to be physical that allows us to set edges in our base defense that's at the line of scrimmage.

Where we need where we had some youth and we had some guys with lighter bodies this past season, that helps us be better, then we can go to all the other stuff where he talks about production and TFLs and pass rush that secondary fair Antoneous Clayton, in base technique in gaming him on first and second downs being heavy-handed having strong edges makes us a better defense, so very pleased with his mindset. His mature approach, and then where he's at physically.

On Antwan Owens and Sylvain Yondjouen's progress coming off significant injuries last season

Antwan's thing has been documented so he is back doing some training so he feels great. He's got a great mindset a great attitude. When he gets back full into the mix, we're excited that he is a big piece of what we do. His last game of the season that he had was against Pittsburgh. He literally had to walk off sack I use the word walk-off loosely obviously don't want to walk off with an injury but it was a, he had a squeeze on the defensive end, he went high off of a bootleg got him a sack and then he suffered the injury right there but he probably had his best game, but best two games at that end of the season so Pittsburgh he played well, and then he's had a long trek to have an opportunity to get back, set a great outlook has been great with the trainers and the and the staff there and is moving well he is a part of the practice, just limiting what he can do with a full deal.

Sylvain Yondjouen's dominant trait is his size and his power. So, now being with these guys for more than a year. How do we use their dominant traits? The things that they're deficient at the things that they're, they need work on, obviously, that's a big piece of what they're doing in their individual drills they're getting their constructive criticism from Marco Coleman, but what are his dominant traits. He is a first and a second down dude, they can set the line of scrimmage. Just like I was talking about Antonneous Clayton being a field five-technique, and that dude is heavy-handed. He is strong he can set edges he can play tackles he can do one gap movement right there. I don't need him to be Von Miller necessarily on third down and just bend off the edge and run a hoop and have his hips all the way to the ground and make some sexy plays but what he can do to create a strong line of scrimmage. We talked about building a wall with a lot of scrimmage setting edges he's a big piece of that.

On Wesley Walker and Tobias Oliver and their progression in camp

I see progress every single day, which is our mission, how do we get a little bit better every single day. To just like I talked about those other guys the Jerry Howard's, Demetrius Knights has a big learning curve. (Oliver) has all of the tools required by coach Collins said he has NFL tools at that position. But then you get there, and every single rep is incredibly valuable, it's a bridge to get right there. Once you get into live reps, all of the movement traits that you need to be an elite corner, he has it, the mentality. He has the competitiveness, he has it off. Build, study and desire to be coached he has it. Now it's just reps are unbelievably valuable and again that's where OTAs open his mouth although he missed you know we got through sixth practices in the spring. The otas where the backend was able to get more live reps than we were physical contact. Back on the interior, or go for him. So really like where he's at. He is as conscientious of a football player as we have on all the defense in terms of wanting to be coached and wanting to be critiqued, and that's the culture. That's him and Tre (Swilling) Zamari (Walton) in that group have built which is really cool for us. But now it's it's very simple things that he has to improve his releases from what he's in press, it's eye control, eye discipline on every single play because it's not athleticism. It's not the ability to play the technique, it's just discipline, and then just experience at that position but he is going to help us in a lot of ways and he has made plays, which is the goal in football.

You talked about Wesley Walker. At the end of the season, Wesley Walker was a freshman. We were able to maintain his redshirt, he still has four years left of eligibility, but we were able to get him in some scenarios on special teams, and then late in the season and those last four games where he had some live reps so those are invaluable. Now he's playing multiple positions he's played free safety, strong safety, nickel, and he has a way of showing up. He has DB movement traits, corner movement traits, now it's been his size and his physical nature that that's really taken over and he's made some plays at that nickel position in the run fits being a violent blitzer, not just in the coverage piece which was already his dominant trait. I believe I heard coach Collins mentioned it but he's a guy you watch practice and he just kind of moves at a different rate than some guys on the screen and he's just showing up. He catches your eye on the screen. So really pleased with Wesley, now it's just you know, making sure that he doesn't have a freshman mentality.

I've been here and one of my second season I had the opportunity to redshirt sneak a few games in there. Now just the maturity and the practice discipline, like we talked about to his approach every single day.

On changing the approach some to prepare more guys to play with COVID lingering in the background and likely to cause random guys to be out for a week or two suddenly

So, that actually thought about that a lot lately, a lot lately. We see ourselves as having the newer age model where we're having to defend so many plays, and then the top end of our schedule we have some teams that they want to have the play count up that UCFs of the world, the Syracuse's of the world, and even for that matter, Florida State. What Memphis was this past season with Norvell. So, we don't have a defense that's gonna go out there and go defend upwards of 80 to 90 plays. That's impossible and you're setting your kid your kids up for failure.

There's also that other end of the spectrum to where you want continuity, you want cohesion with your defense you want guys to play beside each other every day and to have confidence in that regard, you want to make defense you want wants to be out there so they have confidence and trust in each other. You don't want to be defending, you don't want to have a bunch of players play because you're defending so many snaps because you're not getting off the field. So certainly there are those two spectrums there's that balance right there.

So we're fighting to have cohesion. What if you guys have asked this question before but with all the new protocols with a socially distancing with the way that we practice we're trying to keep people apart we're trying to separate people, you're trying to create cohesion and there are barriers in the way you know there are barriers to playing so many different combinations, but we feel convicted that it's the right thing to have multiple lineups every single day.

Again we talked about the above the line, it sounds like it's just coach speak but that is literally a part of our culture part of the way in which we think all of those guys can go in and different type of combinations, we've got to build trust, you've got to build trust with more people in a tough environment right now. And that's something that is is a difficulty but we think pays off in the end, it's going to pay off within the game where you get into longer series when you get in deeper to the game and you possibly are facing a fast tempo offense where you've got to face a high volume of plays, and that's going to help us with what is the reality of college football at some point there's going to be attrition, we don't know what it is. Our guys are protocols coach Collins our guys are going to the unbelievable job of taking self-responsibility.

But reality says that we're going to have some attrition be an injury beat whatever it is, over the course of the season we're all of those cumulative reps with above the line group are going to pay off when you get in those situations so it is a tough balance Kelly but we're convicted that getting more guys ready to play real reps is the right thing to do. And it lends itself to this environment that we're in college football right now.

On who is looking good and consistent at CB

So, you know, similar to the live-action, I want to, I'd love to answer that question on Monday, because (Friday) those young guys are going to get so many reps and, you know when I say young guys to relative to that position is in that young guys' category in terms of volume of reps.

Kenan Johnson who we had an opportunity to get in, we played South Florida the second game of the season last year Kenan Johnson is out there on our first team Prowler package out there making plays we were able to reserve his redshirt as well so he has four years left of eligibility but that's a young man that he is like you talked about Wesley Walker before, Kenan Johnson is also a young guy that is not necessarily accounted for as you guys talk about the depth chart. He is showing up on tape a lot of making plays on the ball at the moment of truth. He made multiple plays with the ball at the moment of truth in the air this past week, and then we've got guys like Tre, Zamari and even Spider Sims who had a bigger role towards the second part of the season last year in his freshman season that had the volume of reps and now they're only approving and stacking days every single day. So on that latter end again, in terms of volume of reps and experience to is in that younger group,

Kenan Johnson is in that younger group and then we got the young, young freshmen Miles Brooks and Jalen Huff and Jordan Huff that also are our high-level ACC players that that will have an option to go out and compete and finish and make plays tonight.

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