The way he tricked his girlfriend onto the field was impressive.
On the engagement...
“I told her I was senior of the week, which does not exist. I told her that every week, Coach Richt picks a senior to bring his family on the field for pictures and whatnot. That was my cover. I had a few people involved. I had Chris helping me video it the whole time, and I got Kolton Houston’s girlfriend, J.C., to text her and say ‘Heard Jake’s senior of the week. Kolton did it last year. It’s so much fun.’ That really helped, because it really, really surprised her. She had no idea.”
On having to lie to pull it off...
“I think all engagement stories start off like that. You always want to surprise them. I had a lot of people involved and a lot of people in the athletic department. Both our families were there, and our grandparents were there for it, so it was awesome.”
On her expecting it...
“No, she didn’t. She was thinking maybe after the season. We’ve been together for six years, and I don’t think she thought I’d do it after a game. I don’t think she thought I had it in me to do that. I got to surprise her.”
On her response...
“She said yes, for the record.”
On going viral...
“No, I didn’t. She’s become a little bit of an Instagram sensation. She’s gotten a lot of followers since the whole thing. I just wanted to make it special for her, because I’ve known her forever, and she loves the sappy proposal videos. She just loves that kind of stuff. I’m glad it did, but I didn’t expect ESPN and all those kind of things to pick it up. That was crazy.”
On how he decided on the date...
“I had been looking at rings and stuff for awhile, but I didn’t come up with the official plans until fall camp. That’s when I met with Coach Richt and decided on a game. They released the times for the first couple of games, and I was just looking. I saw South Carolina was the first night game, and I thought it would be a great atmosphere. I was really confident in our team, and I think that’s when I decided.”
On being named captain against Southern...
“I’m really excited about being named a captain. I’ve worked really hard since I got here to earn everyone’s respect and to take over a leadership role on this team. That means a lot. It was one of my goals. I write down my goals at the beginning of the year, and I wrote that I wanted to be a captain for a game, so it does mean a lot. I’m glad the coaches believe in me and get to put that C on my chest on Saturday.”
On his other goals...
“One was to start. The first was to win the game. That’s the team goal, but it’s a lot of little things like that. Mainly, it’s about working hard and doing every little thing I can to put myself in a good position on Saturdays.”
On what it's like for the underdog team...
“A team comes in here with the mindset of everything to gain and nothing to lose. A lot of people don’t expect them to win, but that kind of fuels their fire. Southern’s a great football team. We’ve watched film on them, and their offense does a lot of good things. We’re going to practice like we’re playing an SEC team this week. We’re not taking it easy. You’ve got to respect every opponent, but they really are a good team. You look what they did in their last two games. In the first game, they had several turnovers, but they’re a good team. We need to respect them and treat them that way.”
On Willie Quinn and the special teams...
“He’s explosive. That kid is dangerous. Every time he touches it, he has a chance to take it to the house. Being locked in on special teams and knowing where he is on offense is going to be huge this week. I think overall we’ve done a good job on special teams, but special teams is one play. One play could be the game. As a team, we need to focus in on that and realize that the one play could change the game, good or bad. We need to really put some emphasis on that and focus on that, and I think we’ll be fine.”
On applying the Pharaoh Cooper gameplan to Quinn...
“I think so. Quinn’s one of the better receivers, but they’ve got a bunch of other guys. They’ve got a good running back, and their quarterback is dual threat guy. I would classify him as a playmaker. The kid just gets things done. Overall, we’re going to have to be sound and be really focused on defense.”
On the engagement...
“I told her I was senior of the week, which does not exist. I told her that every week, Coach Richt picks a senior to bring his family on the field for pictures and whatnot. That was my cover. I had a few people involved. I had Chris helping me video it the whole time, and I got Kolton Houston’s girlfriend, J.C., to text her and say ‘Heard Jake’s senior of the week. Kolton did it last year. It’s so much fun.’ That really helped, because it really, really surprised her. She had no idea.”
On having to lie to pull it off...
“I think all engagement stories start off like that. You always want to surprise them. I had a lot of people involved and a lot of people in the athletic department. Both our families were there, and our grandparents were there for it, so it was awesome.”
On her expecting it...
“No, she didn’t. She was thinking maybe after the season. We’ve been together for six years, and I don’t think she thought I’d do it after a game. I don’t think she thought I had it in me to do that. I got to surprise her.”
On her response...
“She said yes, for the record.”
On going viral...
“No, I didn’t. She’s become a little bit of an Instagram sensation. She’s gotten a lot of followers since the whole thing. I just wanted to make it special for her, because I’ve known her forever, and she loves the sappy proposal videos. She just loves that kind of stuff. I’m glad it did, but I didn’t expect ESPN and all those kind of things to pick it up. That was crazy.”
On how he decided on the date...
“I had been looking at rings and stuff for awhile, but I didn’t come up with the official plans until fall camp. That’s when I met with Coach Richt and decided on a game. They released the times for the first couple of games, and I was just looking. I saw South Carolina was the first night game, and I thought it would be a great atmosphere. I was really confident in our team, and I think that’s when I decided.”
On being named captain against Southern...
“I’m really excited about being named a captain. I’ve worked really hard since I got here to earn everyone’s respect and to take over a leadership role on this team. That means a lot. It was one of my goals. I write down my goals at the beginning of the year, and I wrote that I wanted to be a captain for a game, so it does mean a lot. I’m glad the coaches believe in me and get to put that C on my chest on Saturday.”
On his other goals...
“One was to start. The first was to win the game. That’s the team goal, but it’s a lot of little things like that. Mainly, it’s about working hard and doing every little thing I can to put myself in a good position on Saturdays.”
On what it's like for the underdog team...
“A team comes in here with the mindset of everything to gain and nothing to lose. A lot of people don’t expect them to win, but that kind of fuels their fire. Southern’s a great football team. We’ve watched film on them, and their offense does a lot of good things. We’re going to practice like we’re playing an SEC team this week. We’re not taking it easy. You’ve got to respect every opponent, but they really are a good team. You look what they did in their last two games. In the first game, they had several turnovers, but they’re a good team. We need to respect them and treat them that way.”
On Willie Quinn and the special teams...
“He’s explosive. That kid is dangerous. Every time he touches it, he has a chance to take it to the house. Being locked in on special teams and knowing where he is on offense is going to be huge this week. I think overall we’ve done a good job on special teams, but special teams is one play. One play could be the game. As a team, we need to focus in on that and realize that the one play could change the game, good or bad. We need to really put some emphasis on that and focus on that, and I think we’ll be fine.”
On applying the Pharaoh Cooper gameplan to Quinn...
“I think so. Quinn’s one of the better receivers, but they’ve got a bunch of other guys. They’ve got a good running back, and their quarterback is dual threat guy. I would classify him as a playmaker. The kid just gets things done. Overall, we’re going to have to be sound and be really focused on defense.”
