Q: How has Justin been doing as the starter thus far?
A: He's definitely stepped up. He's kind of a shy guy but on the football field he's spoken up a little bit more and is trying to take the reigns of this offense.
Q: What have you done this offseason to prepare for carrying the load this year?
A: I picked up 5 or 6 pounds. I dropped my body fat percentage a little bit. I'm a little bit bigger so I can take more of those hits. I got stronger at the squat rack so I'll be able to explode on people. And conditioning. Every day you've got to do something to get better. I really want to maximize my potential while I'm here.
Q: Are the preseason projections for Georgia Tech motivation for the team?
A: Oh yeah, no doubt. The team sees that. Every year we kind of get put on the back burner. This year I'm really hoping we step up and take it to the next level. We're always just a game or two away from doing that.
Q: How is the depth looking behind you? Obviously you have a lot of new guys; what is your role in getting them ramped up?
A: This offseason every Tuesday and Thursday nights, as well as Wednesday morning, we did mesh drills and worked on [dive] tracks. This summer I took C.J. in a little bit to teach him plays so that he wouldn't be far behind. Right now we're letting the younger guys work to see what they can do in camp. I'm helping out in any way I can.
Q: What's it like lining up behind a healthy O-Line to start camp?
A: It's always exciting. It's always great when you have a healthy O-Line. Right now we have four units rolling, so I think this is the healthiest we've ever had on the O-Line. It's really nice.
Q: What are your personal goals this year?
A: I just want to be the guy that can carry the load. 1,000 yards rushing. I just want to be the guy that the team can depend on to make big plays.
