Everything From Georgia Tech Defensive Line Coach Jess Simpson After Thursday's Practice

Jackson Caudell | Apr 4, 2024

Oct 24, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets helmet on the field before a game / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech Spring Practice rolled on today, more than one week from the annual White and Gold Spring Game. One of the key things to watch this spring with Georgia Tech is the new coaches on defense. The Yellow Jackets are bringing in a new defensive staff and among those coaches is Jess Simpson. Simpson met with the media for the first time on Thursday afternoon and here is everything that he had to say.

1. On what made him decide to come to Georgia Tech...

"A lot of reasons made me want to come to Georgia Tech. First, like starting with this place. This is a special place. The opportunities that, you know, guys that I've known my whole life and what Georgia Tech football has done for guys that have come here and been able to get a degree, certainly me growing up just up the road from here, well aware of this institution, this degree and this football program and the tradition here is very, very special. Go the way back. Coach Key and his vision, you know, the excitement he's created being a Georgia Tech man, I think anytime, you know, a place has one of their own there, like people just seem more excited, more invested and you can kind of feel it. the energy. You sense the arrow is up, like this place is doing football right, and so that's a big deal for me. I think lastly, you know, what's really special, you know, on top of that is family for me. Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia. Spent most of my coaching life here in the state of Georgia as a high school coach. Spent three years with the Falcons here in Atlanta as well. And then, you know, I've been down in Florida a little bit, been in North Carolina, but getting to come back home. I have four kids. They're all within 20 minutes to an hour of right here. I got a new grandbaby in January and she's up in Duluth and little, ittle Melda. And my mom lives in Marietta now and being able to help her and take care of her like so for, for like professional and personal reasons, like this was absolutely no brainer for me and my family."

2 On his first impression of the group he is coaching...

"You know what? I'm one of the luckiest people in the world I literally roll out of bed really early every day and I absolutely love what I do. I love teaching, I love coaching, I love investing in young men and what that makes that even better is when you walk into a room and those guys are hungry to learn. They're hungry to grow. They're hungry to build relationships. You know, when I first walked in, I talked about a few things. I talked about taking a leap of faith, being able to trust me. What is trust? Trust is consistency over time. And those guys understanding like who I was as a man, a leader, a father, a husband and how I wanted to pour into them and, you know, their response to me and how we've started just growing a relationship in our room, player to coach, coach to player. it's been an absolute blast and so that's it started really really well I've really enjoyed getting to know these guys."

3. On Kevin Harris, Makius Scott, Horace Lockett and Zeek Biggers...

"Those three guys have kind of been the bell cows, of course, Horace is a little younger. But I would say those guys have really wanted to grow every day. They've literally fought complacency. They're not satisfied. They have a vision for what they want to be as a player. And they're buying in and doing the extra trying to grow every single day. They care about football, they're smart kids, they're good teammates. And just really excited about the direction. Not never satisfied with where we are, but excited about where we're going. And I think they can kind of feel it, smell it, taste it, like wow, this could be. If we do what we're supposed to do, if we go through this process, and the process is art becoming a really good football player, becoming a really good defense. defense, becoming a really good unit as a D-line. Like that's not easy. You know, a lot of heavy lifting, a lot of loads to lift, a lot of hard work to do, but these guys are buying into it, so it's excited me."

3. On recruiting, particularly in the state of Georgia...

"You know what I think you know recruiting is, is finding a fit for everybody and when you feel like you fit as a coach and you understand the people you're working with or working for you understand your university and what it has to offer you understand the defense that you're coaching and how to feature players within that defense and then obviously for me as an old Georgia high school coach, I'm just a high school coach. I'm just a high school line coach that got to coach at Georgia Tech. That's literally what I am. And a lot of great relationships in this state. A lot of guys that I really trust that I feel like can trust me. And when you're honest with folks, they're honest with you about their players. And you're looking for that fit. You're looking for a guy that fits what we need. And we fit what he needs. and that's the that's the cool thing about it because I've sat on the other side of the table as a high school coach and you want to send your player and families want to send their kids to folks that they can trust and they're going to develop them as students and develop them as athletes and develop them as young men and obviously I believe wholeheartedly that's what we have here at."

4. On if he wants to continue to use Makius Scott on the inside and the outside...

"You know what, I'll never say no to that. But man, he's been a bell cow inside this spring. He's 290 pounds, he has position flex, played him a lot at three techniques in I can see him get him some base work on first and second downs at five technique. We used him on third downs at five technique this spring. So he definitely has that position flex and you love to have that. But right now, now, his greatest value to us, probably inside right now, but obviously that could change. But he's done a really, really good, really sharp kid, a Gainesville kid. He was actually, he'd come up in the summers during our training camps when I was with the Falcons and like be a ball boy. So met him years and years ago, so it's kind of been really cool to reconnect with him. But just an incredible young man."

5. On if he cross trains players to learn different positions...

"100 % I do, I believe in that. They're all saying the more you can do, I want my noses to understand threes. I want my three to understand those. I want that three technique to understand with the rush. and the end are doing from a learning like whole part whole. Like it's it's amazing when they you know you want to deline to play together. Well, man, go spend a rack and five technique instead of three technique, spend a racket nose instead of three. And I think it really brings a togetherness and a connectedness of how we play together. And then your football knowledge begins to run. I'm an inside shade. I'm an outside shade. I'm playing head up, backfill sets, tied in liners. I'm extremely these blocks. You know, I always say the best players in the world make great plays, not just 'cause they're great players, but because they know, and when you know you go. And when you can look and take a big picture of what's in front of me, and then you can get your vision small before a ball snap, guys can make plays because a lot of times they know, hey, I'm about to get this. So I think that development, especially in spring and the summer, as you go through fall camp, sometimes obviously those roles will tighten up, but it's a great way to do it. way to learn."

6. On transfer Ayo Tifase...

"You know what? Really, really raw. Has some real tools, some real, real power. Like when he goes, man, you feel that guy? And it literally right now, it's about learning what to do, how to do it. Be consistent in what you do and how you do it. But done a good job for us."