Quotes from Georgia Tech players King, Efford and Rutherford at ACC Kickoff

Georgia Tech sent its contingent to Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday for the annual ACC Kickoff with that group including head coach Brent Key and players Haynes King, Kyle Efford and Malik Rutherford.
Each of that foursome got their time at the podium to talk about the Jackets and answer questions from the media.
The three players were up following remarks from their head coach Key. Here’s the full transcript of what Efford, King and Rutherford had to say:
Question: Kyle, you went through some injuries and so forth last season. How are you feeling now, and how does the linebacker room like to you?
EFFORD: “Man, I feel great now. My body feels great. I’m just ready to get on that football field. The linebacker room looks good. We’ve got some good depth in there. We’ve got some guys that are ready to play ball.”

Question: Kyle, just what it’s like to work with defensive coordinator Blake Gideon and what your takeaways are from the way he goes about his job, and maybe some of those little pieces that we don’t see every week that you see in those intricate details?
EFFORD: “Yes, sir. Coach Gideon has been great so far. He’s going to have us playing real fast out there, real instinctual football. He’s speeding that defense up for us and we’re really excited to get out there and play instinctual football again.”
Question: Kyle, I want to ask you a little bit about the linebacker room. You’ve got some guys, obviously yourself. I want to talk about the growth and development of Tah’j Butler...
EFFORD: “Yeah, man. Tah’j, EJ, them boys are coming along, man. When it comes to them, it’s just going to be about them slowing the game down in their head, staying healthy. When you have a true freshman coming back with, I don’t know what, 50, 60 tackles, it says a lot. His game says really all what it needs to say about it.”
Question: People described you as a throwback linebacker in the past. Who are your biggest inspirations in terms of playing linebacker that are throwbacks?
EFFORD: “If I’m honest, I only watched Ray Lewis growing up. That was my go-to guy.”
Question: Georgia native, your home is only about 35 miles away from Bobby Dodd Stadium. What’s it like for you to represent that school, and what is, in essence, right around the corner from your hometown?
EFFORD: “It means a lot to me. Staying local was one of the aspects that played into my decision. It kind of is nice being like a hometown hero, per se. But it’s just an added, like, intensity towards it. I want to put on for my city.”
Question: Kyle, Coach Key talked about how the defense took a big step forward in run defense this year. Where is this defense improving this year and do you think you can replicate that success?
EFFORD: “100. I think our front is going to start at the front, obviously. I mean, really all three levels, it’s going to be something serious. I definitely think just getting out of such a defined defense and letting us play instinctual football, the game we were playing since we were kids, it’s definitely going to work out for the better.”
Question: You’ve been a consistent presence in the middle of this Georgia Tech defense. How have you approached being a leader over the past two seasons, and how are you looking to improve on that even further in 2025?
EFFORD: “One of my major things going into this year was becoming a more vocal leader. I’ve always been somebody who preferred to lead by example and kind of get things done and just following by default. But I’m to that point now where I’m not going to sit back and watch anything anymore. If I see an issue, I’m going to address it. Definitely becoming a more vocal leader has been my focus.”
Question: (Haynes) you had a shoulder injury and the decision afterwards was to use you as like a running-only quarterback/battering ram there. It was one of the more unique things I’ve ever seen in my time being around football. What went into that decision to say, I may not be able to help throw but I’ll put my body on the line as a runner to help this team win?
KING: “Well, I missed the two games before that, wishing I could be out on the field but couldn’t. Then Buster came and asked me, he was like, hey, would getting hit on that shoulder hurt it any worse. I was like, I don’t know, we’ll ask the doctor. The doctor says no, and he’s like, we’re going to put you in a couple running packages.
I was like, okay, whatever the team needs. I don’t care if I have to hand it off or run it or just be on the field, my presence — I have no idea, but I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Question: Haynes, with the turnaround in a lot of quarterbacks in the ACC, what advantage do you feel you possess over a lot of other quarterbacks in your conference?
KING: “Like Key said, with the retention that we have with the guys coming back, the camaraderie, not just with my teammates but with the coaching staff as well, just being together with those guys for at least two to three years is really big. We know each other. We know what we’re good at, what we’re not, things that we need to work on, get better at, and just the amount of reps and experience that we have together, it takes us to the next level, and it just is going to improve us.”
Question: You played Georgia three times already and you came very close to winning against them, the overtime loss. What are you looking into the next time you play against Georgia?
KING: “Well, hopefully to beat them. I know it’s a big rivalry game. Like you said, last two times have been really close, last one being eight overtimes. They’re a really well-coached football team, but at the end of the day, it’s to hell with Georgia, and we’re trying to beat them.”
Question: You had I think it was 24 carries for over 100 yards and three touchdowns against Georgia, which I think everyone watching the game said, man, this dude is a dog. But I’m curious, as a quarterback, 24 carries, is that something that you think we’ll see again this year?
KING: “Whatever it takes. It might be 24 carries, 24 passes or 24 handoffs. Whatever it takes to win and move the ball I’m willing to do.”
Question: Can you talk about your decision to come back to Georgia Tech? You’ve been bought into this. This is an age we see tons of guys transferring around. We saw some here at this ACC Kickoff as well. What made your decision to come back so easy for you and what made you decide Georgia Tech was the place for you to be?
KING: “It was very simple and easy. I believe in what we’re doing, what we’re trying to do, and we have a really good opportunity, like we’ve said before, with all the people coming back, whether it’s players, coaches, strength staff, nutrition. You name it. Everybody coming back, we have a great building, great people, people I trust and people that are wired the same and want to do things the right way. That just makes the decision so much easier, so much simpler when you put in stuff like that and decisions like that. It’s not about chasing whatever, chasing greener grass or chasing that — it’s like I’m surrounding myself with the right kind of people, and I will be successful if I do that.”
Question: You heard your head coach say that you’ll do whatever it takes. You’re willing to run that ball, and when you had so many records on the line, you shifted to the run instead. We live in a selfish world. Why are you a selfless quarterback?
KING: “That’s just how I was raised. My dad, he was a longtime high school football coach. He’s also an offensive lineman, and I think that’s why me and Key get along so well. I’ve got an offensive-line mentality.
If we’re running the ball and that’s the way to win the ballgame, I’m going to do that. I don’t care about stats. I’m not a stat guy. If you continue to win, everything else is going to fall into place, whether it’s accolades, whether it’s stats, stuff like that. Sometimes you’re going to have to throw it for 400 or sometimes you’re going to have to hand it off for 400. Like I said, as long as we’re finding ways to win and moving the ball and scoring, we’re going to give a lot of teams hell this year.”

Question: You withdrew your name from the transfer portal back in December. What feels right about returning to The Flats for your final year of eligibility?
RUTHERFORD: “Playing for that guy right there, Coach Key, and playing with these two guys. And also my mom, she wanted me to graduate from Georgia Tech. That played a big part. I just wanted to be here. I’ve been committed to Georgia Tech since my sophomore year of high school, so I wanted to finish what I started. I was a part of the rebuild, so yeah.”
Question: How have you developed your route running skills to take full advantage of your position and utilize your skill set to the best of your capability?
RUTHERFORD: “Just taking advice from our receiver coach, Coach McKnight and watching a lot of film day and night, even if I’m just on YouTube watching NFL guys training and things like that. I’m always trying to piggyback off of things that I see.”
Question: Why is this Georgia Tech team ready to compete at the next level?
RUTHERFORD: “Because of the depth we have. We never had this much depth in all the years that I’ve been here. I feel like every guy on our team could play ball at the highest level that Coach Key wants us to play at.”
Question: You said you had a commitment to your mother. Describe your family. What is it about family that drives you so much?
RUTHERFORD: “Since I was a kid, my mom, she literally — my mom and my dad and my two older brothers, they literally did anything that I asked of them. There’s no way that I can repay them but just go hard for them and get them anything that they want. One of my biggest goals is to retire my mom and dad.”
Question: I want to ask you about the wide receiver room. We know it’s deep this year, but talk about putting the work in daily with these guys. You’ve got Dean Patterson, Eric Rivers, yourself, got some young guys, been hearing about Isiah Canion. Talk about the room a little bit.
RUTHERFORD: “All great guys. We’re all competitive. This fall camp there’s about to be a lot of competition. We don’t know who’s going to be a starter. It’s up to Coach McKnight. But we come in and work every single day. We go out there and we have fun. We’re always dancing around, things like that. Yeah, we just go out there and compete.”
Question: You had a great season last year, finishing just shy in terms of being the team leader for receiving yards and you were tied for the lead in touchdowns. Do you at all feel a little slighted that more people nationally are talking about who left the room than you returning and withdrawing your name from the transfer portal?
RUTHERFORD: “I don’t really care about any of that, to be honest. I’m just worried about winning and becoming a better teammate for my team.”