Three questions with Georgia Tech’s Freddie Burden, whose 64-year-old father died in December after battling protein buildup in his heart and congestive heart failure.

Q: How did everything that you went through last year help you and make you better going into this season?

A: I feel like now there's nothing that can stop me. I learned how to deal with adversity pretty deeply. Going into this year, I know nothing can stop me. That's the mindset and attitude that I have.

Q: Looking back on it, how difficult was it for you to play football last year?

A: It was tough. Like I've said before, there was never a moment where I wasn't thinking about my father and my family and that aspect. In the middle of the game you are just thinking about it. It was rough. It was probably the hardest thing I've ever been through, but I got through it and now I'm ready to move on.

Q: Two guards on either side that really make that B-back game go. What are you seeing from them?

A: They've been healthy and battling all camp. We've got a couple of really good B-backs. I'm excited for them. They are young and talented. We are going to try to get them the most yards this year. We're ready for it.

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Kirby Smart (left) and Georgia beat Brent Key and Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes last November in Athens. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets bring Clean Old-Fashioned Hate off campus for 2025, playing at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2024)

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