Everything From Georgia Tech Wide Receiver Coach Trent McKnight After Monday's Practice

McKnight spoke with the media after Monday's practice

Nov 21, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets helmet is seen on the sideline in the first half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Fall camp continued at Georgia Tech today as the countdown to the season-opening game in Dublin, Ireland vs Florida State gets closer. After practice today, first-year wide receiver coach Trent McKnight spoke with the media, and here is everything that he had to say.

1. On adding Leo Blackburn to the room...

"Yeah, I think kind of like we talked about in the spring, Leo's a guy that there's not many guys with his size that can go out there and run around. And that's something that we talked about before practice. I think just from how much he's improved the spring, I mean, from the spring to now has been really good. And you can see he's gaining more confidence. He's starting to get healthy. And he knows he's still got a long ways to go, but it's been really exciting to see him improve and what he can bring to our offense."

2. On how this wide receiver room compares to previous ones that he coached previously...

"Yeah, I think we've got a really good room. We've got a lot of depth in the room. That's one of the things. You know some other places you've got a good three guys, and then you're trying to develop some of the other ones where I think we've got six or seven guys that are competing right now and you've got some of those top -in guys that are continuing to improve each and every day, but have a chance to be as good as any that I've coached. And it's just the mindset of going out there to work every day and get better, and that's what they have. And that's what you enjoy. See, I think that's all the great players at any position, right? That they come in, they try to learn, they want to get better at their technique, they want to get better at their craft, and I think the guys that we have in that room want to continue to improve on those things."

3. On Bailey Stockton, Isiah Canion, and Zion Taylor...

"I think that this week will be a big week that kind of determines that and you kind of see how it plays out because that that's the thing of when you've got a group like we have there's constant competition right and each and every day and you see it out there like some guys are putting pressure on themselves because they know that there's somebody else behind them but just talking specifically I thought Bailey had a really good spring in summer he'd be the first to say there's some things he probably could have done better last week, but then I thought he had a really good scrimmage on Saturday. Zion, as we talked about in the spring, super talented, and then it's just him getting better at the little things of the receiver position each and every day. But he's one that comes in with a great attitude, great work ethic, he wants to get better, and it's him continuing to make those strides. And then it's been good to get Isaiah out there and see him flash a little bit as a young guy especially at this level there's a lot of things to improve on with technique and honing in your craft especially for him because he played quarterback in high school some but he adds another dimension of a guy with size and speed and he's got really good ball skills he's picked up the offense he's playing multiple positions so I've been very impressed with what he's done so far that depth you know how do you keep these guys as egos and check so to speak because they you know won the ball every single play say it's like you're not competing against one another you're competing with each other and I think this group does a really good job of focusing on that of coaching each other up of holding each other accountable and it's a really close -knit group that pulls for one another so you so you don't really see a whole lot of that within this group."

4. On who the leaders are in the group...

"I think right now you've got Malik, who's the guy who brings energy each and every day, right? And you can see positive attitude, like he brings life to the room. And that's what I tell him, just consistently doing that all the time. And you can hear him out there today coaching up some of the younger guys. But he's got a great positive attitude, really good energy out there every day at practice. And then the other one who I think has done a really good job leading is Chase Lane. He's had a really good camp so far. But you can see he's an older guy. He's been around and he can pull some of those younger guys aside and coach him up a little bit. So I think those two guys. And the good thing is we've got some older guys, right? You got Leary. He's been around. Eric does a good job in there. So there's a lot of good leadership within the room."

5. On how he goes about deciding how to use the various receivers...

"I think that's once you really get into game playing. Like right now, we're trying to create as much position flexibility as you can because I always say, like, if you've got somebody who's doing really well, but they're behind maybe your top player, you need to get them into another spot, right? So that's what we try to do is create as much position flexibility, and then also that adds to competition, right? It's not, hey, I'm just competing against this guy, right? I'm competing with these other guys at other spots. So that's what we try. Now we haven't gotten into that part of it, obviously different personnel groups, but you kind And really, right now, we're focused on each guy getting better, right? Having a sense of urgency to improve each and every day. And then once we get into next week and the week's moving forward, we'll start to get into those pieces."

6. On Leo if there is a curve for Leo coming back and playing...

I think as I was saying earlier, like his confidence is growing on a daily basis, right? And I remember him and I talked early in camp. This is really the first fall camp that he's been through healthy. So I think you can see his confidence growing each and every day. He knows like there's some things technically that he's got to get better at that really he's got a lot of room to grow and he's got a high ceiling if he continues to do those things that make the difference at this level, right? Like it's one thing to have size and the ability to run, but there's going to be technical things that go into the position and him being able to get reps every day an individual, right, learn from certain things Saturday and the scrimmage, come out here today and do it a little bit better is what really helps him gain confidence each and every day. So that's really the best thing that I've seen from him so far."

7. On Christian Leary...

"Yeah, I think Leary, the biggest thing that I think with Leary so far in this camp is the effort and the consistency and straining throughout because he's got great ability, speed, he's got ability to stop and start. And that's what you saw Saturday was him be able to run some of those routes outside. And I think he's one that he's hungry. I mean, he's one that wants to get better each and every day. And he's taking it each and every day like it's a game out there. And he's, there's a little bit of pressure on him to go out there and excel and be the best version of himself. But I've been really impressed from seeing where he was in the spring to what he is today, been really impressed with him. And like I was talking to him after practice, he's getting better each and every day because of those things, right? It starts with the effort and the toughness. And that's where you're seeing him get better right now."