Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Monday, Georgia Tech defensive tackle Adam Gotsis was named a permanent team captain for the season, along with quarterback Justin Thomas and cornerback D.J. White. Coach Paul Johnson made the announcement following practice Monday. It's a high honor for each and my sense is that the team, which votes for the positions, picked three good ones. I spoke with Gotsis about the captaincy and what it means.
Q: What did you think about being named a captain?
A: It's always an honor when you can be elected represent your team. I think they picked some guys that stood out and have done good things. I know I voted for D.J. and J.T. because I feel like they're great leaders and they do great things for this team and they're great guys that people look up to and do big things for us. It's going to be a lot of responsibility on us to make sure that we go into games focused and with the right mindset.
Q: How did you feel when you found out?
A: Just excited. I relish the opportunity. To be selected, it's just a good opportunity. It's a good position to be in to lead, to kind of leave my mark on Georgia Tech. Just the way I feel like I've played and represented myself, I think that's a good way I can do it.
Q: Were you hoping to be named captain?
I always try and take a (leadership) position, especially being an experiend guy on the defensive line and in the defense. It was kind of like a role I just developed into. I know a lot of guys on the defensen would look to me, especially on the defensive line, just for little tips and things like that. I think, just, it’s just a good opportunity being selected. Just looking forward to going out there and representing the team.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Q: Who were captains you appreciated and maybe thought you'd like to be like if you were one day named captain?
A: Definitely Jerry Attaochu, Jemea Thomas, Shaq (Mason), Justin, all those guys. I think they did an awesome job of just, they let their play do a lot of talking for them. They might not have been the most vocal guys at times, but a lot of the time when a big play needed to be made, they were the guys that could go there, make a play and the team could count on them when they needed to. I feel like that's a position that the captain has to take on, is when things might not be going right, who's going to step up and? And I feel like, being in that leadership position, you've got to be that guy.
You don’t need to be Superman out there but you've just got to lead by example and never quit. I think that’s the biggest thing, just showing your heart out there. That’s what a captain does best.
Q: Is this going to be a big deal in Australia?
A: I've got no idea. I know my mom and sisters put a thing on Facebook just saying they're proud of me and stuff, but I don't think it's going to affect the way I've approached this season. Just my mentality this season is to be a leader regardless of whether I was a captain or not, and to really make this gr
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