Post-win interview with Haynes King and Jamal Haynes
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00:00 Everybody's right is running back Jamal Haynes.
00:02 We'll go ahead and open up for questions.
00:04 Kelly.
00:04 >> Thanks, Gabe.
00:07 The last touchdown play, was it something that you thought would be open there?
00:13 Kind of, they were pursuing a little bit the pitches and
00:15 some of the stuff, and you thought maybe that would be there after the timeout?
00:20 >> A little bit.
00:22 Really, we were trying to just get that first down, you know?
00:24 Win each play at a time, and how about that O line, you know,
00:28 closing that game out.
00:30 All of them, all of them, great pieces, great pieces to the program.
00:33 It's just wonderful how that all plays out right there.
00:37 And just how this team grinds and keeps working.
00:42 Go through adversity, how do you respond?
00:43 E plus R equals O.
00:46 Event plus response equals outcome.
00:48 >> On that final drive,
00:53 you've been struggling on first and second down with runs.
01:00 Did you feel like you would have a better chance running the ball running straight
01:03 ahead than trying to get runs on the outside?
01:06 >> With all of their stunts, twists, and all that, we knew getting north and
01:11 south and pounding the rock inside would probably be our best bet
01:17 with what they do defensively.
01:20 And I mean, at the end of the day, that last drive was the will to win.
01:24 We worked so hard for it, and everybody just had that will to win.
01:29 We're gonna find a way to get this done.
01:31 >> Can you all tell us about that first touchdown?
01:38 Pretty sure he even threw a ball for you.
01:43 >> Honestly, their safety and their linebacker outflanked and
01:46 had a great angle on me.
01:47 I just did playmaker move, honestly, just made a play.
01:53 Cut back across the field, I seen a zero right there.
01:56 And like Hanes said, it was one of those games where you just have to get north and
01:59 south. I didn't wanna do too much sideline to sideline running.
02:01 Stick my foot in the ground and got off the field.
02:04 Best came out the back end.
02:06 >> Hanes, you come in to a program that had won three,
02:12 three, four games in the last couple of years.
02:14 Now you guys have six wins and eligible for a bowl.
02:18 I know you still have one regular season team left.
02:21 What does it mean to you to come in and
02:22 be a part of a team that's going to a bowl game for the first time in five years here?
02:26 >> I mean, a lot of it, you can't put words to those feelings.
02:31 To be a part of something that changes a lot of people's lives.
02:37 You can't put words to those.
02:40 It's just a feeling that the only way you know the feeling is honestly doing it,
02:46 experiencing it.
02:48 And like I said, the way we responded, the way we came together,
02:53 the way we prepared and practiced and competed.
02:57 It's just tremendous.
03:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:04 >> Guys, you come out of that last drive, outside of the two penalties,
03:08 nine straight runs.
03:09 What does that say about your unit?
03:11 What does it say about your offense?
03:12 Why did you go out there when they know what's coming and
03:14 they still can't stop it?
03:15 >> What's going on?
03:16 >> Great, great.
03:18 We got in that huddle before we even came out on the field and
03:20 we said we gotta finish the drill.
03:22 The guy here got this far, we didn't get this far to get this far.
03:25 We got to finish the drill and it started off up front.
03:27 Like, huge shout out to the line.
03:29 They came ready to play and
03:30 they definitely came ready to play on that last drive.
03:32 >> For both of you guys, just talk about the emotion of the post game celebration
03:38 with your student section of the band.
03:40 You guys are having a great time there for a few minutes.
03:42 So just what's going through your heart and your mind at that moment?
03:45 >> That's how it's supposed to be done.
03:47 Take a like right there.
03:48 >> I'll piggyback off of him.
03:52 We emphasize all week to pack the dot out and that's exactly what our fans did.
03:55 And we just wanted them to experience that win and that bold feeling.
03:59 And it's just a surreal feeling, honestly, at the end of the day.
04:01 It's a surreal feeling.
04:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
04:08 >> Before that last drive,
04:09 could you feel a little bit of the weight of you really have to come through?
04:13 You could score a close down, get a few points.
04:16 And if you don't, if you don't get a goal,
04:19 can you take this ball back and have a chance to win the game?
04:22 >> I mean, at times like that, you can't start pressing.
04:25 You can't start thinking, we're starting to come back.
04:29 It's deep breath, let's go.
04:31 Do your job, execute the play, control what you control, and
04:36 everything else will handle itself.
04:38 And like we said earlier, going out there and
04:42 the whole offense has the will to win.
04:46 It's just trying to find ways to make plays, to execute, to move the ball,
04:51 keep drives alive, and that's what it's all about.
04:54 >> Were you pressing the floor then, you think?
04:57 >> No, no.
04:58 >> No.
04:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
05:02 >> And uncharacteristic fumble, and defense came up very big.
05:07 And we all saw you go over and kind of talked to them.
05:09 What was that moment like, just to put them to have your back in a moment?
05:12 It was probably a low moment for you, you broke up the long run.
05:16 I'm sure that was a tough moment to see them have your back.
05:19 What was that like?
05:20 >> You touched on it.
05:21 You said they had my back.
05:23 When we were coming out the huddle, one of the main chants we were screaming is,
05:26 I got your, who got my back?
05:28 And everybody would repeat, I got your back.
05:31 So just in those moments, you can't dwell on those moments.
05:35 Even Coach Key pulled me up, he said, we're not gonna stop feeding you,
05:37 we're gonna keep giving you the ball.
05:39 And it's one of those leadership moments with Coach Key that you see you still
05:44 have, you still have, not faith, but you still have a, what's the word?
05:49 >> Confidence.
05:50 >> Confidence, there it is, thank you.
05:51 You still have confidence in running the ball.
05:54 But like Haynes said, event plus response equals outcome.
05:57 And it's how you respond after a bad play or after an unfortunate play like that.
06:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]
06:05 >> Jamal, this is for you back to your first touchdown in the game.
06:08 And that was a really important play for a lot of reasons,
06:10 in part because the play started, it looked like it wasn't gonna work.
06:14 But you basically drove the last tackle backwards.
06:17 I mean, it was a quick move and a lot of acceleration and power.
06:20 Where do you come up with that?
06:21 Is that leverage or raw strength or what is that?
06:25 >> A lot of people joke about my height.
06:27 >> [LAUGH] >> I already have a lot of leverage on
06:30 a lot of defenders.
06:31 Honestly, I'm gonna give it all praise to my mom and my dad.
06:34 My mom's kinda short, she was in the military.
06:37 She did a lot of track running in high school, so
06:39 she has those bigger legs on the bottom half of the body.
06:42 So it's just really seeing there's two people right there at the goal line,
06:46 there's two yards, it's about one more at the end of the day.
06:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]
06:51 >> So celebrations tonight, of course, and then you move on, big game next week.
06:55 Of course, how quickly do you move on and
06:57 any early thoughts on that matchup next week?
06:58 >> Soon as that sun rises.
07:03 The quicker you can get moved on and start preparing for
07:08 the next opponent, Georgia, the better and the quicker it's gonna be.
07:13 Just like we've been saying, event plus response equals outcome.
07:18 What's the event?
07:19 Now we're moving on to Georgia, how do we respond?
07:21 How do we respond is gonna take care of that outcome.
07:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:30 >> The crowd came in, fired up.
07:31 How important was it for you guys to score early and keep them in the game and
07:37 keep that atmosphere going for you guys?
07:40 >> Always big time.
07:41 Home field advantage, like you said, keeping the crowd in there.
07:46 Like Jamal said, pack Bobby Dott out.
07:49 And I felt like they did a really great job of doing that.
07:53 And actually throughout the whole game, staying loud, cheering us on.
08:02 Throughout the ups and downs, they stayed there.
08:05 Like you said, who got my back?
08:08 They got my back.
08:09 And that's what Georgia Tech is all about.
08:12 >> Piggyback up off the hands.
08:15 >> This is a huge thanks to our fans, a huge thanks to our fans.
08:17 They really don't know how much it means to these players.
08:20 Just the excitement that they bring to the game,
08:22 the energy that they bring to the game.
08:24 The players really appreciate that.
08:26 We just wanna say thank you.
08:26 >> Anything else for the guys?
08:29 >> In the back, yeah.
08:32 The offense, the offense seemed to stall out during the beginning of the second
08:37 half, about halfway through the fourth quarter, it started to click.
08:40 What started the job for you guys?
08:43 >> We stopped shooting ourselves in the foot.
08:44 Whether it's either a MA, penalty, whatever it is,
08:52 we stopped shooting ourselves in the foot.
08:54 We found a way to start executing.
08:56 And we bowed our neck and found a way to finish this game.
09:01 >> Anything else?