Everything From Aaron Philo and Jamal Haynes After Georgia Tech's Win

Aaron Philo lit up Gardner-Webb for 373 yards and a touchdown, overcoming his early struggles to lead the Yellow Jackets to a dominant win. Haynes rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Here is everything they had to say postgame.

Aaron Philo on when he found out he got the start and his reaction…

“I mean, Haynes practiced the whole week, you know, and it was just going to be a game-time decision with him. So really it was just I had to be ready to go if my number was called. Earlier today I found out my number was called, so I was just prepping the whole week like I was going to be the starter without knowing if I was going to be. So it was good.”

Philo on the home field advantage at Bobby Dodd….

“All the students coming out has been a big thing. Like, they really showed up today. You know, they were loud, and there was a bunch of them, as well as fans, loud, and there was a bunch of them. So, it was awesome just to see Bobby Dodd getting packed like that. Now we need that again next week.”

Haynes on what went through his head on the touchdown run and the offensive line play…

“We definitely talked about it on the sideline, but really just seeing Malachi when he got his first  counter move, I noticed that there were no backers there, and the line did a great job of washing down and then kicking and inserting. So I already knew that if we called the counter again, it would be one of those same type runs. Malachi said you're next, and literally that exact same play came up, and I just knew what it was. So hit the hole open and it looked great.”

Philo on overcoming adversity and what gets him going…

“Yeah, I mean, it was a bad start.  You just can't start like that.  So definitely have to clean that up. It's always a next-play mentality, so you can't worry about the last play. You just got to move on to the next play. You can't let those two turnovers affect what's going to happen the rest of the game, because then you're putting yourself in trouble if you do that. So really just next play mentality and just keep taking shots.”

Philo on how playing experience last year helped him…

“Haynes has been a tremendous role model for me. Picking his brain about certain things in the game and just learning from him each and every day, with how much knowledge he has of the game. The toughness and the grit that he shows when he plays. He's just been a great role model and a friend as well. So, yeah, it's just been awesome learning from him.”

Haynes on rivalry games and Clemson playing next week…

That’s just a mindset I have; any game I go into is a rivalry game. That's just how I play. That's just what I come into the game with. I don't look at any opponent any less or any bigger than who we played before. Coach Key talks about it all the time, faceless opponents. So it doesn't matter who's coming into Bobby Dodd or where we have to go to play, you've got to bring your A game.”

Philo on the blocking from the receivers and the tight ends…

“Yeah, for sure. They all blocked their tails off today. It was something that we saw on film. We knew we could get the ball out to the flat, and that had a chance to be some explosive plays out there. So they did a really good job blocking out there, and obviously we got some explosives from it.”

Haynes on the perimeter blocking....

“Just from perimeter blocking, like Coach Brock, the tight ends coach, and the wide receivers coach did a great job of just harping all fall camp on perimeter blocking and just getting that squared away. So, anytime he puts the ball into the flat, so the ball gets on the perimeter, they do a really good job.”

Philo on completing passes to 11 different wide receivers….

“Yeah, I didn't even know that's crazy, but it's awesome. Knowing that you have the depth where you have a bunch of people that can play. That's awesome that we have that many guys that can play, and it was good to be able to spread the ball out and have some big explosive plays.”

Haynes on home field advantage..

“People always think it's just the players on the field that's really defending the home field. But at the end of the day, it's the fans, it's the student section, it's everybody that's inside the stadium that's a part of GT that's defending that home field. And rather they put a voice in there, or rather they're stomping their feet, bringing any type of energy to the players, that's what gets us motivated, that's what gets us going. So we just really appreciate the fans and the student section for really popping out and showing up today. We need that for the rest of the season.”

Philo on what he has seen Zion Taylor….

“Yeah, for sure. I think it's really just the mental aspect of knowing where to get lined up each and every play. When you know where you're supposed to be and what you have, it lets you play faster that way. You're not thinking while you're trying to do it. So just the mental side of it is allowing him to play faster each and every time he gets on the football field.”

Haynes on his handshake with Malachi Hosley…

“We actually came up with the handshake yesterday during our little Fast Friday practice. It was just something we just thought, we was running a lot of two-back. As far as what we're doing for this game plan, so we just knew that at some point we both were gonna be inside the end zone  on the field at some point. So we definitely came up with that yesterday. Just having Malachi as a special back,  that's just a great complement to our game. We both complement our game very well. So it's just great to have another explosive back in the backfield that can also go out there, make plays, and have no type of drop off.