Everything From RB's Trelain Maddox, Daylon Gordon, and Malachi Hosley After Georgia Tech's 4th Practice

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Sep 14, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Trelain Maddox (28) is tackled by Virginia Military Institute Keydets defensive back Shamus Jones (2) in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech continued with Fall Camp/Training Camp today, as it was the fourth day of practice for the Yellow Jackets, as the season opener against Colorado is now four weeks away. After practice, running backs Trelain Maddox, Daylon Gordon, and Malachi Hosley all got a chance to speak with the media and here is what they had to say:

"First year coming in, coming off injury, getting used to a new playbook, new coaches in a very competitive room last year with a lot of guys and kind of had to step up with injuries last year so after stepping up you know I had got put right in the fire I just had to you know learn it on the go and make my impact."

"Yeah, definitely a lot more comfortable, you know, knowing the plays, knowing the offense, being able to like tell other positions, like where to do, where to get lined up and like being able to help out more than just what I have to do. And then still be able to execute my assignment. It's a big transition from last year where sometimes I would need help getting lined up and sometimes I would need help with the plays."

"It was major because when I did get hurt, you know, my thought process was unclear. I didn't know if they was going to honor it, but they did, which was great by Coach Key and Georgia Tech. And I really appreciate that. And, you know, we had the talk when I first got injured and the talk when I got cleared and you know it was just a journey that he seemed to go through and he helped me through and you know the help and confidence that he instilled into me made me a better player last year."

"Oh well as you know I am a bigger, bigger running back. So open field moves, that's something I really want to harp on and work on throughout fall camp. So like just being able to make people miss and I always have to be like the crash dummy kind of but being able to you know choose whatever when I want to do make somebody miss, run through you you know that's a big thing I've been working on this fall camp."

"Yeah, I don't think third and short will be a problem for our offense this year. With me coming back healthy and ready to go, I think third and short, that's all that matters every time."

"Oh yeah, hey, that's a memory. It felt great because it was a lot of hard work, a lot of transition. Had a lot of different position coaches, multiple OCs, two different head coaches. So it was a big change, but I stayed the course. Coach Key has been here the whole time with me and I've been here with him as well. It's been a great, great transition and I'm enjoying it because the work was put in for sure and it wasn't overlooked and I'm reaping the benefit. I'm glad I stayed the course."

"It's very important because like I said, the work's not being overlooked, obviously, but special teams is still gonna be the core of who I am because I mean, you gotta make a play. If you wanna get to the next level, you ain't got, you can't just focus on being on offense or defense. You gotta make a name on special teams and I'm glad I was able to do that. But being able to be a factor on offense is also gonna help the team 'cause there ain't much tape on me on offense. So who's that guy there right now? You know what I'm saying? So that's how I'm taking that approach. I'm happy that I'm gonna be featured, but like I said, I still wanna make a big impact on special teams as well."

"Yeah, sir, we're in a great position. We're in a great position. Coach Key played here and he understands what it means to be a GT man, a Tech man. Now I'm a Tech man. I'm in my fifth season, my fifth year, graduated with my bachelor's. I understand what it means to be a Tech man. So like, just being here through that whole process and seeing tech being built the right way from foundation to where we are now, we're in a great position and we're ready to play some football now."

"Of course, you know they from south Georgia, they have a lot of areas. So, yes sir, took both of them in under my wing. I hosted both of them as well, so I got to know them before they got here. JP both and Shane as well, South Georgia boys. We understand like we have a different type of lingo and type of thing and just vibe, so I understand where the coming from with everything. So that's why I took them out of my wing. They're getting the hang of everything. They're learning the playbook. They're able to execute and transition from meetings and perform on the playing field as well. So I'm enjoying that. I'm glad that they're able to do that because being a freshman and getting stuff thrown at you 30 minutes right before practice and having to execute it without getting MAs and loaves, that's a big deal here. So I'm just glad that they're not, you know what I'm saying? They're not falling by the wayside there. They're not being, look they're getting the reps and they're getting meaningful reps and they're making the best out of everything that every chance that they get."

"Yes sir it is and something that I think is overlooked is walk -throughs. Our walk -throughs are like amazing. Just to see the ability to take walk -throughs and meet us to team is what's really making us a better football team. Like today we was putting emphasis on certain stuff like as getting on my track, getting on that 45 degree angle whenever it's something out of the gun. And we put emphasis on it in walk -throughs and they performed well during team today. And I enjoy stuff like that because as a skill player, you gotta be able to do it. If you can't do it, you won't play. And we're able to do that as an offense and I like that for us this year."

"So at first, just with a couple of first practices, I say the heat got to me. I ain't practicing in 90 since high school, so I'll start there. But I love it here, I'm home, I'm from South Georgia, if y 'all didn't know. That's been a blessing. I love the guys and Coach Norv just pushing each other to be great."

"So I kind of knew going into it and high school, I was not really highly recruited and I always had dreams of playing at the FBS level so I kind of knew, okay I just got to work a little harder. So I ended up committing to Penn, I loved it there, loved the people, great environment, but I realized that wasn't my end goal. So then I just worked hard, I started as a freshman, I was like okay I did great but I got more I could show. So went into the summer going into my sophomore year, worked harder, did great. I really played a year. Got some other great accolades teammates was great though, and then I was like, hey, I made the portal, had a great year, Nathan Brock had followed after my freshman year, but you know, you can't reach out because of the rules ao I reached out when the portal open. I'm like, this is home, great opportunity , I had more offers, but it's like it was always gonna be my top three regardless, just because it was home and I was like my big thing of leaving. So then they reached out, I came on my visit.

What sold the deal was Coach Key when I was in his office. He told me, you don't gotta rush, take your time and go to all the visits you want, just know you have a place here and this is home. And that's what sold the deal for me."

"I love it. He's more of a teacher than a coach in a sense. Like, let's say you mess up in a game, in a meeting room, he's replaying it. He's not just "Oh, you messed up, it's what you got to do." He's going back from the start of the play, just coaching you up."

"So it was a little struggle just mentally for me because I've never really had no serious injury like that. I'm usually one of two days and I'm back. So it's just frustrating for me, but I really got it in my Bible, which helped. I'm not gonna lie, getting in my Bible helped, coming up here with treatment helped, getting closer with Mark, who was my trainer at the time, just building a program, trusting it, and then just everything got back better."

"It will, I'm gonna try to find all my family and all of them, try to get a touchdown for them. I'm super excited for that one."

"I just learned a lot, just because wherever I've always been, I've just always been that guy. So just coming in here, just being able to shout at him has been great. He's already a pro, I can already tell him he's gonna get drafted. So just being able to follow their footsteps."