Today’s interviewee is Prince Avenue Christian quarterback Aaron Philo, whose team will play Athens Academy at home Friday. Philo became the first quarterback in state history to pass for 4,000 yards in consecutive seasons last year while leading the Wolverines to the Class A Division I championship. Philo committed to at Georgia Tech in May.
1. Going into this season, what were some things you and the team worked to improve or enhance to lead the Wolverines to a successful season? “The first thing that comes to mind is we’re dropping a lot of balls right now. That’s something that we definitely have to work on. We have to catch the ball if we want to score. Another big thing is we have to play as hard as we can each week, which we’ve done the past two weeks, and I’m really proud of our guys for that.”
2. In a past interview, you mentioned the importance of leadership on the team. How would you describe your leadership style, and how do you apply it off the field? “I want to be a leader not just on the football field but off as well. I want to push guys in the classroom and push them in life to be the best person and human that they can be. But on the football field, I’m coaching our guys up every play. If something’s wrong, I’ll tell them that they need to fix it. Not to bring them down or anything but just so they can get better and we can get better as well as the team. I’ve had conversations with them before, ‘If you do something wrong I’m going to yell at you.’ Not all the time, but I’ll tell you when you’re doing something wrong so you can fix it. I tell them it’s not personal. It’s nothing against you. I just want our team to be the best they can be and you to be the best player you can be.”
3. In April, you respectfully announced your decision to de-commit from Minnesota, and you’re now committed to Georgia Tech. Can you explain why you shifted gears and what stood out to you at Tech vs. Minnesota? “I went to Minnesota for my second visit, and something just didn’t feel right. I came home and thought about it for a few weeks and made the decision I felt was best for myself. I opened my recruitment back up and wasn’t set on one single school. I wanted to see all the options I had and felt like the best place for me was Georgia Tech because of the new coaching staff and the new head coach [Brent Key]. I really feel like he is bringing a culture change to the program. I believe in what he believes in, and I think he’ll be a really successful head coach at Tech. It’s a new chapter of life. It’ll be weird at first and might be a little stressful, but it’s a new chapter and I should be excited about it. I think once I get up there and get used to it I’ll have a really good time.”
4. Brock Vandagriff, now at Georgia, was the previous Prince Avenue quarterback. What relationship do you two hold now? Are y’all pretty close, talk often? Is there any advice he’s given you leading into your final high school season? “Yeah, we talk often just about how he’s doing. We were really good friends even though I was a freshman and he was a senior. I felt like we had a really good friendship, and he’s a really good guy. I really appreciate him for being in my life. He said to just enjoy it. You only have one senior year, so just enjoy it.”
- Interview by GHSF Daily intern Micahya Costen
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
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