Post-game comments from Georgia Tech players Juanyeh Thomas, Tre Swilling, TaQuon Marshall and Brant Mitchell after the Yellow Jackets’ 45-21 loss to No. 5 Georgia Saturday in Athens.
SAFETY JUANYEH THOMAS
On the kickoff return for touchdown
“I followed Georgia’s kickoff team crashing, so I just read the kickoff team and just hit it and scored.”
On attitude on returns
“Every game, if the ball goes in the end zone (for a touchback), I’m going to get mad because I want to return the ball. That’s just me, honestly.”
On the rivalry
“The hype about it was everything that I thought it was. We didn’t get the results we wanted. So now we’ve just got to focus on the bowl game. we’re throwing this behind us and trying to win the game finish strong.”
CORNERBACK TRE SWILLING
On Georgia’s run game
“Georgia being a run-heavy team and being very physical, we figured they’d try to run to the edge a lite bi more try to get one on one tackles and get our safeties and corners to tackle.”
On UGA quarterback Jake Fromm
“He’s a great quarterback. Very smart, knows where the routes are going to be. Most of the time, you see it – the receivers are not even out of their cuts yet but the ball’s left his hand. Great placement, great timing. He’s a really good quarterback.”
QUARTERBACK TAQUON MARSHALL
On the game
“Yeah, it’s a huge game. We know with it means, we knew what it meant going into it. We didn’t play our best and they exposed that.”
On going to a bowl game
“It’ll mean a lot, especially for the seniors. It’ll be our last college football game. It’ll be a little emotional, just being able to know we’ve come this far. How we started off and how we’re finishing. We’re going to want to finish on the right note. So everybody’ll be excited to play and it’ll be a fun experience for the guys that haven’t been to a bowl game.”
On what happened at end of second possession of the game
“On one of them, everybody didn’t get the check so I got to make sure everyone gets the check when I check it. And with the draw play (on fourth down), they really had a lot of guys backside. They didn’t flow like we thought they would on that specific play. So I just tried to make a play and they kind of ate it up in the backfield.”
LINEBACKER BRANT MITCHELL
On the game
"We expected to play with them, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Sometimes you have a misfit here and there, a guy breaks a tackle and they gain some yards on it. We expected to come in here and have a good game, but that's not really what it turned out to be."
On defense’s play
“First half, we came out running a lot of strong reduction, which is putting our three technique to the strength of the formation. We had a little success with that, but I think for the most part they were figuring out our scheme pretty well.”
Game story: How Georgia won and Georgia Tech lost
Mark Bradley: Tech's loss was so bad Paul Johnson almost found it funny
Michael Cunningham: New standard in rivalry: Georgia blows out Georgia Tech
Sidebar: Mistakes impair Jackets' upset attempt
Sidebar: A closer look at Juanyeh Thomas' kickoff return TD
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