December 30, 2016

Jackets in Jacksonville: Day 3

Dec. 29, 2016

Jackets Bowl Rewind
Day 1 in Jacksonville (Dec. 27, 2016)
Day 2 in Jacksonville (Dec. 28, 2016)

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. – Georgia Tech football held its final practice of the 2016 season, had an eye-opening visit to Naval Station Mayport and got to stroll through the TaxSlayer Bowl gift suite on Thursday.

Thursday started with a sharp 90-minute practice at Fernandina Beach H.S. As is tradition at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets’ seniors were carried off the field following the final practice of the year.

Carrying our seniors off the field after their final practice! #Tradition #TogetherWeSwarm pic.twitter.com/f63cny0JgQ
— GT FB Recruiting (@GTFootball) December 29, 2016

The “Voice of the Yellow Jackets” Andy Demetra caught up with seniors Rod Rook-Chungong and P.J. Davis following the final practice of their careers.

.@AndyDemetra caught up with seniors Rod Rook-Chungong and PJ Davis after their final practice as Yellow Jackets pic.twitter.com/7yLctFfLWO
— GeorgiaTech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) December 29, 2016

After practice, it was off to Mayport, where the Yellow Jackets had the privilege of touring the USS New York, which is home to a crew of 360 servicemen and women and is perhaps most famous for being built with a large amount of steel salvaged from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

We’ve arrived at Naval Station Mayport! 🇺🇸⚓️ pic.twitter.com/USHk2GPGXI
— GeorgiaTech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) December 29, 2016

“Please do not take the wheel of this $1.5billion vessel and drive it into the Atlantic” – general safety briefing on board USS New York pic.twitter.com/G2MkNbtDNl
— TaxSlayer Bowl (@taxslayerbowl) December 29, 2016

In what might have been the best moment of the bowl season nationwide, the highlight of Thursday’s trip to Mayport was Georgia Tech freshman B-back Dedrick Mills’ reunion with his brother, Kenny, who is stationed at the naval base.

Special moment with Dedrick Mills and his brother Kenny at Naval Station Mayport today. More on this reunion with #InsideTheChart tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/hSJBEl5E6B
— GeorgiaTech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) December 29, 2016

Upon their arrival back at their headquarters on Amelia Island, the Yellow Jackets got the opportunity to participate in one of the highlights of bowl week – the student-athlete gift suite. The TaxSlayer Bowl’s gifts to Saturday’s participants included an exclusive TaxSlayer Bowl watch, a wide array of Under Armour sunglasses to choose from and one of college football’s most unique bowl gifts — a bobble-head doll customized to each player.

.@taxslayerbowl gift suite time (including bobblehead modeling) 😎⌚️ pic.twitter.com/Cr2RyShM0e
— GeorgiaTech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) December 30, 2016

Bowl gift suite! 😎
A photo posted by Georgia Tech Football (@georgiatechfb) on Dec 29, 2016 at 6:41pm PST

Of course, the day wouldn’t have been complete without some competition inside the student-athletes’ hospitality lounge.

Juggle-off: KeShun Freeman vs Ryan Rodwell 🎱 pic.twitter.com/OCKQ7g34cf
— GeorgiaTech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) December 30, 2016

UP NEXT
Georgia Tech will participate in the TaxSlayer Bowl’s official press conference and luncheon on Friday before returning to Amelia Island to begin its usual pregame routine.