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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Questions for the Jackets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With the Jackets off until Friday, it’s a good time to look back on this surprising season.
We asked the players to pick out the most memorable moment. We asked them at what point they started believing this would be a special season. On a lighter note, we asked them to tell us their favorite Christmas gifts.
Here are some of the best answers:
A-back Lucas Cox said that after the 19-16 win at Boston College, a team that “came in here and destroyed us last year, when Matt Ryan had a heyday, once we beat them I thought we could do whatever we wanted.”
He couldn’t pick between two moments, Josh Nesbitt taking a knee against Georgia and Florida State as time ran out. “Against Florida State I’m going to shake hands and I’m getting slapped in the head by all the fans on the field. That was probably the most fun time.”
Best Christmas gift: Nintendo’s N64. “I was probably in 5th or 6th grade. It was awesome. That’s when video games took over our lives.”
B-back Jonathan Dwyer pointed to the first two road games at B.C. and Virginia Tech. “Even though we came out of Virginia Tech with a loss, just realizing how close we were, I realized the potential we had, that we could have a dominant team.”
Top moment? Easy. “Georgia. Going out there and beating them at Sanford Stadium, between the hedges, ripping the hedges after the game. That was a great memorable moment.”
Best Christmas gift: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles playset. “I was 5 or 6 years old. That was the show I used to watch all the time, we’d go crazy when it came on. Just having the toys, and my own imagination to play with them, that’s a great thing.”
Left guard Cord Howard said the win over Florida State proved “that we could play up to competition. The greater the competition, the more we play up.”
Howard said the season flew by. “Every week was like bam, bam, bam, bam, pretty much over with. When I got to the Georgia game, I was like, We’re playing Georgia and it’s like we just got out of camp.”
Best Christmas gift: Harley Davidson Big Wheel. “I was probably around seven. That was one of my all-time favorites. My parents saved it for a long time.”
Defensive tackle Vance Walker said he knew Tech would be good even before CPJ was hired. “I just knew the type of players we had. Past years, I didn’t know everybody because I was an underclassman. Being at the top, a senior, looking down, I could see the players who were going to play. I knew the attitudes of the guys on the team and I could just see we would be successful.”
He’ll savor most the wins over Georgia and FSU. “Those two alone will be the biggest things that I remember from this year.”
Best Christmas gift: Playstation. “When it first came out, I was like 10. I have memories of that Playstation. That definitely made my life…I didn’t think I was going to get one. It was for me and my brothers, actually. I was pretty excited because my parents aren’t really with technology. They had no idea. It surprised me that they would get one for us.”
Linebacker Brad Jefferson said he knew the Jackets would be good during camp, “when everything started connecting, when we started getting used to the coaches and the new offense they brought in and the new defense. They put in plays and we just started catching onto it and we started rolling.”
Beating Georgia stands out more than anything. “After the game, we really didn’t know what to do. You couldn’t explain it, how you felt. It was unbelievable.”
Best Christmas gift: “The color Gameboy. It had just come out. When I got that, you couldn’t tell me anything. That’s all I wanted.”
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt said the last two weeks of camp, “I could see the team developing. With our defense and running the triple option, I knew we could give a lot of teams trouble.”
Best Christmas gift: money. “My mom gave me like $300 dollars when I was 15.” Any specific reason? “Who knows?” he said with a laugh. “I was just glad she gave it to me. I didn’t ask any questions.”
Some other favorites…
Cooper Taylor - hunting bow; Michael Johnson - hunting rifle; Roddy Jones - a TV for his room when he was 11.
So how would you answer these same questions?
