Everything From Virginia Tech DL Kelvin Gilliam At Tuesday's Press Conference

On how fired up he is for Sunday's game:

"Losing a lot of sleep over it, I tell you that. Just going, we make the most of this game. Sunday night, Sunday afternoon, Mercedes-Benz [Stadium] in Atlanta. A quality SEC opponent. You couldn't get better bigger than this. So, we're all excited. We're all juiced up to go out there."

Q: What was that uniform reveal like at Waffle House?

"Something that definitely I'm going to remember for a long time. I was excited when we found out we was wearing orange because last year's game in Boston College, it was, a great experience. So, we're just definitely excited for this game, especially wearing orange. We need all the hooks out there wearing orange as well."

Q: Are you a big Waffle House guy anyway?

"Yeah. I'll go into a little bit about that. I mean when they called me and Kemari [Copeland] to do it, they knew they put the best too to go out there and do it just because of the relationship that we have and stuff. We had a lot of fun doing it as far as you know going in the Waffle House, seeing all those customers and stuff, seeing guys in Tech uniforms. So, it was a great experience and stuff. I knew we made a lot of people happy that day."

On what jumps off the page about South Carolina on film:

"That quarterback, number 16 [LaNorris Sellers], he's a dude, He's a playmaker that can make plays all around the football field. So we going to have our hands full, but it's always going to start with this week, preparation and stuff. I always tell my guys that your belief comes from your preparation and your daily habits, and that's what we're going to work on starting this week."

On what his message has been to Caleb Woodson and teammates:

So, C-Wood, of course, like he's my brother on this team, one of the few guys that I came in coming into Tech that I started to hang out with. And my message was to him that the journey that we're about to go on and stuff, we're going to have more distractions, more adversity coming our way. But I did tell him that something good comes out of every situation. And regardless of [if] he's able to play or not and stuff, that you make sure that you ready, and like I told the team, keep the main thing the main thing, and that's going into South Carolina and coming out with a victory."

Q: As a defensive captain, how much do you meet need to make sure everyone's still bought in, cohesive even with all that the outside noise?

"Yeah, 100%. I mean, it's easy to look at all the noise that's out there, all the comments the fans say. But in my opinion, like I just said, you have to keep the main thing the main thing, focus on "what are we about to do this season?" So, I mean, I tell these guys, you have to be at least mentally tough enough to not look at that stuff and not to focus on that stuff and to really buy into what we about to do this coming up weekend."

On there being 14 defensive linemen listed in Week 1's lineup and whether Gilliam thinks that many linemen can contribute on Sunday:

"100%. This defensive line that we're going to put out this Sunday is a deep defensive line group. So, we're excited to play as much guys, [defensive line coach J.C. Price] always stated that if guys deserve to play in that game, he will play those guys. And we had a tremendous [effort] going into camp, seeing all these guys, seeing different ability that these guys can do. So, it's going to be exciting when you see a bunch of guys rolling in and out and stuff where there's no drop off at all."

Q: How much does that help in terms of energy where you know you can go a couple plays, somebody else can come in and and catch a breather?

"It helps a lot. And my my message to this defensive line is that my vision for a defensive line in college football to be the best is [that] everybody's having plays. Everybody's making sacks. It's not just one or two guys. It's everyone around the room that's contributing to this game. So, that's been my whole message this team is like, everyone get ready for a good amount of snaps because we're all going to need it."

On Christian Evans:

"Yeah, just showing up day in and day out and just really getting better in his technique. And the guys like me, the guys on the front, we get excited about seeing stuff like that. Seeing a young guy or a freshman go in and just taking the coaching, taking the hard coaching because Coach Price, he's going to give you the tough coaching. And that's just really speaks volume to the character that he has and the player that he's going to be one day."

On Knahlij Harrell and Jordan "Jojo" Crim:

"Yeah, I spoke a little bit about that in the spring, after the spring camp, how much talent, how much confident those guys play with. I'm extremely excited about Jojo Crim, Knahlij, because those guys for freshmen have a lot of confidence coming into this game. So, I'm excited what they going to do this upcoming weekend."

On how close he's became with Kemari Copeland:

"Extremely tight. I mean, we sit together in meetings. We sit together in team meetings. He's the guy that I call in when I need something. We're going back and forth just discussing our assets and liabilities that we have,our strengths and our weaknesses. So, we came into Tech together. We was on the same official visit together. So, I'm just extremely excited for what he's about to do because we all know that the season that he had last year didn't go his way. But he's a guy that has a chip on his shoulder this season. I'm so extremely excited what he's about to produce this upcoming weekend."

Q: Yeah, I was going to say, there seems to be a sentiment that there's something bubbling there that that's going to be unleashed here this season. Do you see that breakout potential coming from him?

"Yeah, 100%. I mean, we all come from different backgrounds. We all come from different journeys, different trials and tribulations, but you have to use that as motivation when you come in and when your opportunity comes, you got to make the most of that moment."

On if he got to eat the food at Waffle House afterwards or if it was only photo shoots:

"So when we were taking the video, they was like, 'Pour all the syrup you got on it'. They was like, 'You can eat it afterwards'. So we [were] like, 'We're not eating that'. But it was a good deal all around."

On what the plan of attack is for South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers:

"He's the guy that is going to control how we're going to attack him. The one thing that we have to do is cage him up front. That's going to be a big emphasis coming up. Caging this guy, not letting him out the pocket, but I have true confidence in this team that we are able to get this job done this upcoming Sunday."

On expectations going against No. 13 South Carolina:

"Going back to last season. we had all the hype, all the aspirations and stuff. And a part of me was like, 'OK, could this be a problem for us?', especially going into these big games, like feeling yourself, that type. This season is the complete opposite. You look on Twitter, you'll just find out what they think about the Virginia Tech Hokies. But me personally, that's what I want. I want guys to underestimate us. I want people to look over us or be the underdogs because that's when I feel like we shine the most. You look at that Miami game. I mean, I had so many texts, so many guys saying, 'Y'all going to get beat out by 40'. I mean, I don't believe that at all. So, I mean, that's just the confidence and your confidence comes from your preparation. So, it's going to take a hard week of practice, but we're going to be ready for this game."

On if preparation is better than 2024's opener against Vanderbilt:

"Yeah, 100%. I mean, the coaches, they're going to teach us the X's and the O's, but it's up to the leaders. It's up to the captains to get these guys ready mentally. And that's something that I'm going to make sure I deliver this week 100%. For that is that guys, that we're really getting ready for a fourth-quarter fistfight with these guys. And I told the guys this, if you're not ready for the big time moments, you're not ready for the big time games, just stay here because we need 22 guys on that field that are ready to take action every play."