Post-game comments from Georgia Tech kicker Jude Kelley, defensive end Curtis Ryans and quarterback Jeff Sims following the Yellow Jackets win over Florida State Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla.
Jude Kelley
On the lead-up to the game-winning kick:
“Coaches made the decision about a week ago. So they gave us a little bit of time to mentally prepare. Leading into this week, it’s been about seven months since I last played a football game, so it’s going back to our old routine – try and get a feel for things. Obviously, the game didn’t start the way that I would have wanted, obviously. A couple of errors, but I’m really proud of the way that the team as well as myself, fought through it and came up big when we needed to.”
On how he felt going into the kick:
“For the last couple days and warmups, I was hitting the ball really well. Didn’t have any concerns about anything with my ability. Not, not too sure (about what happened on the kicks), I haven’t got to see anything (on game video). But, I mean, obviously, a couple kicks got blocked. That’s probably the biggest mental battle I’ve had to deal with, because in that period, you’re sitting, you’re questioning yourself, right? You’re like, I just let some people down, I let myself down. But what you can do in that situation is stick to your guns and make sure you bounce back when it’s needed and thankfully it was and I was able to make one.”
On what teammates told him before the game-winning kick:
“That was easily the best part of everything. I don’t want to say surprised, but the encouragement and support everybody gave me definitely, definitely helped. I mean, I didn’t have one person come up to me and point blame. Everything was encouraging: ‘Get the next one,’ ‘Head up,’ ‘We’ve got faith in you.’ And thankfully, I provided.”
Curtis Ryans
On his approach to his fourth-quarter strip sack:
“The whole game when I was resting, (defensive ends coach) Marco Coleman kept saying looking at the quarterback all the time, looking in the backfield. So I finally looked at my keys and looked at the tackle’s hands and I did a simple cross chop and just sprinted to the quarterback. I saw the ball, and I said ‘I want the ball before the sack.’ So just got the ball.”
On his reaction to the play:
“At first, I was like, No, I just did it. But then when I stood up, it was like, yeah, I did.”
Credit: ACC
Jeff Sims
On the win:
“It’s definitely a big win. First game of the season, in Tallahassee, away. So I’m just glad we got the win and we continue to work, we continue to get better.”
On his up-and-down start:
“First half, we made a lot of mistakes, I made a lot of mistakes. We were driving the ball good, we just couldn’t finish. So at halftime, we just locked in, talked about it and just told ourselves that we’ve got to cut out the silly mistakes and just go out there and execute.”
On how his faith helped him:
“I feel like (God) being with me helped me throughout the game. I just put my trust in him and that helped me get not too frantic.”
On lessons learned from the game:
“I would say, not trying to force big plays, live see another down. I definitely tried to go out there and force some things, but I fixed it and just told myself, ‘Just live to see another down.’ I don’t have to be a superhero. I tend to do that sometimes, tend to try to put everything on me and put too much pressure on myself but tell myself just take some of that pressure off and not try to force things.”
On his sideline pass to Marquez Ezzard and his touchdown throw to Malachi Carter:
“On the one to Marquez, I was supposed to hit the seam to (Ahmarean Brown), but I felt edge pressure, so I stepped up. I was about to run it, but then I saw Quez convert (the route) down the sideline, so I saw him and I threw it. Then the one to Malachi, we had four verts called, and I saw press-man (coverage) on him, so I just got the ball, (and) catch, rock and throw.”
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