Next up in our interview series is sophomore WR Jeff Greene. As per usual, everything below is paraphrased. Enjoy!
Q: Have you guys interacted with the new freshman at all?
JG: Yeah, so when they first got here, that night after their parents left and everything we like stopped by their rooms to see if they were all settled in and see if we could help them out. I went down there and talked to Anthony Autry and Michael Summers to see if they're liking it and they said they're enjoying it so far.
Q: What do you remember about being in their shoes?
JG: Well this time last year we first got here and it was a lot to take in, just being on the campus, around all the other players like Stephen (Hill) and Tyler Melton and all them. So when we had go first through our workouts we didn't know what to expect, really, so it was just like a big thing to take in for us my freshman year.
Q: What did you take away from last season?
JG: I mainly took away getting on the field as a true freshman, to get playing time and to be out there, get the feeling of being on the field, not many freshman get that when they first come to college, and I wasn't really expecting it at first. But once I got the opportunity, I really felt like I was gonna be able to do like good things when I get out there and just being able to play under Stephen (Hill) and all the upperclassmen, they taught us a lot...that's what I took away from last year.
Q: We asked Darren what he was working on after what he saw from last year, what are you working on now?
JG: Mainly I worked on in the offseason getting off the jams from DBs, you know, we'd have 1-on-1's with the other cornerbacks, and also just my route running basically. If you can't run the right routes, you can't get the ball, you can't get open, so I mainly worked on those two things.
See the rest after the you-know-what.
Q: Is there more emphasis on [the Virginia Tech game] considering that this first game could decide a lot?
JG: This first game, even though its the big one for us, it might determine the ACC championship or who goes or what not, so this first game is always like, the big one for us. But we really have to do good in this one, this first game.
Q: Are you guys doing any special, like, QB-receiver workouts like on your own, player organized stuff?
JG: I mean, sometimes, Synjyn (Days), Vad (Lee), all of us will go out there on a weekend and throw here and there but usually we just have our 7-on-7's during the week. We go against other schools, the defense, and so that's mainly what we do for our passing.
Q: What are your current height and weight?
JG: Right now I'm about 6'5", 210, so I gained a little weight from last season.
Q: Is that where you wanna be?
JG: I'm trying to be around 215 when camp starts.
Q: Are you mostly playing against Georgia State again or are there other schools?
JG: I mean it's mostly just whoever shows up, it's mainly Ga. State or so far its like Ga. State and Morehouse, but pretty much whoever shows up is welcome.
Q: What did you see from watching Stephen (Hill) about handling smaller DBs?
JG: With Steve, its like you can't really compare to him because the guy runs a 4.3...but mainly just the footwork that he uses and using his hand mostly to get off the DBs.
Q: Darren had mentioned that Coach Buzz and Coach Johnson had gotten together with him and made him a list of they wanted him to do. Did you guys get a similar list?
JG: Yes, we all got lists as receivers, just the things that we could work on better in the spring, and what's our strengths and weaknesses. Myself, I got my list, just mainly the things I need to work on...getting the stamina up, make sure I'm ready to go at all times, even if I have to do 50 plays in a row, as long as I'm out there just doing them. [Also I'm working on my] route running, on my breaks, but a lot of good things I have are blocking and going up to get the ball, so a lot of good input from Coach Buzz and Coach Johnson.
Q: It seems that since coach Johnson has been here, it seems like one guy has gotten most of the catches and maybe another guy like Tyler Melton gets the rest, I'm guessing you and Darren would like it to be a little more even?
JG: With the receivers, its just whoever's open, is open. You know last year you had a big target like Steve and I mean if its a go route he's most likely gonna beat the DB, so [Tevin] already knew who was gonna be open. But now, going into it with the receivers we already have, I mean if you're open you just gotta make the play, whoever gets thrown to, at any time you have to be ready.
Q: You mention you wanna put on some weight, have you been a guy who has trouble keeping weight on?
JG: For me, I've had trouble cause you know, as a receiver, you're constantly running, running nonstop, so you'll put the weight on, and the next day you'll break it all off. I'm still young and have a high metabolism, and it's hard for me. You know I eat so much food and I gain probably like one pound if that. But I'm just working on that and talking to our nutritionist to see like better things that I can eat...and then I give a list to my mom so she can go get it for me!
Q: How often are you guys doing the 7-on-7's?
JG: We're out there twice a week with the defensive players.
Q: What are some of the guys in the secondary that you feel are making a lot of progress this summer?
JG: All of them are. We've got everyone out there trying to earn that number one spot, and we're trying to get Fred back, so everyone's improving.
More offseason player interviews to come, thanks for reading!