AFLAC KICKOFF GAME: LOUISVILLE VS. GEORGIA TECH

September 1, 2023

Jaylon King

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Press Conference

Louisville - 39, Georgia Tech - 34

Q. How much of a monkey wrench did it throw in the plans when LaMiles goes out? And obviously you and Clayton have played together in practice, but both of you guys have chemistry with LaMiles. I'm curious what it was like playing with him kind of for the first time for most of the game?

JAYLON KING: I think me and Clayton were able to build a lot of chemistry last camp, spring and this past camp. It's just the first time we were able to step on the field and actually show that.

But LaMiles going down kind of changed a couple of our game-plan things in certain down-and-distance areas of the field. So we had to adjust to that.

Q. With some of the changes you had to make in the second there, what was the communication like out there?

JAYLON KING: Some of us were in different positions that we haven't got as many reps at. So we had to overcommunicate to make sure that we got the right rotations, right cover downs, things of that nature.

Q. I'm sure the defense -- you guys were feeling pretty confident as you left the field at halftime. Was there a point in the second half where you just felt like things were kind of spinning out of control a little bit? Or when did you kind of start to feel things were slipping?

JAYLON KING: I felt like we kind of got sloppy in the second half. I wouldn't say it was scheme. It was more tackling and containing the quarterback in the pocket. There was times where he got out of the pocket and was able to pick up a little more yards than we wanted him to make, a couple of throws that we should have had bottled up.

Open-field tackling, that wasn't our best performance in the second half. So I wouldn't say it was anything that we couldn't control. We have to come back this week in practice and do more practice and do contain drills.

Q. Jaylon, you guys did hold Louisville to 1-of-11 on third down. Is that something you guys can build on moving forward into the season? Or if not, what's something you can build on?

JAYLON KING: I would say yes, that's something we could build on. That most definitely exceeds our goal for third-down conversions. It's just getting them into that third-down range now, knowing that we were able to be successful on third down, not letting them get first downs on first or second down, and making them have to go for it on third.

Q. Obviously this puts you guys in a hole to start the season with an ACC game, and starting off 0-1. What was the mood like as a team? And as an older guy how do you get everyone refocused quickly after this game?

JAYLON KING: Mood as a team, disappointed. Yeah, disappointed. I feel like we made the mistake of thinking we had the game at half. So once that outcome changed, we were really disappointed. That's really the biggest thing.

And our biggest takeaway from that is going into the games now we get to a hot start, the game isn't over until it hits all zeros at the end of the fourth quarter. Can't be satisfied at halftime what the score is; just gotta stick to the plan, execute.

Q. On that last play where Jordan broke the long run, do you feel that specifically, do you recall what happened with that particular play?

JAYLON KING: Yeah. Strong rotation. CP made contact with the running back. As I was working downhill, I thought he made the tackle. I made the assumption that another player made the tackle instead of continuing with the play. And once I saw he got loose, it was too late.