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Odds are anyone unfamiliar with Georgia Tech A-back Roddy Jones got to know his name after a career-best 214 yards and two touchdowns in the Jackets’ 45-42 win over rival Georgia last year. This year, Jones is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and has three rushing touchdowns. His most extensive action came against Vanderbilt, when he had nine carries for 80 yards and a touchdown, so there haven’t been any eye-popping games since the last time he faced Georgia. Will that matter heading into this game? I checked in with Jones to find out. Here are a few highlights of our conversation:

What is the team’s mindset coming into this game? Paul Johnson told me he didn’t think the team would be overconfident, what’s the players’ perspective on that?

Roddy Jones: We know coming into this game we’re going to have to play our best game. Georgia is a great team. They’ve had some tough breaks, like the game last week against Kentucky. They were up big at halftime and came out and let the game slip away, but their guys are really talented, and it’s a big rivalry, so they’re going to come out and play hard. We know we have to go out and play our best game of the year.

How important is it, if at all, to have a win going into the ACC championship game, even though it’s not against a conference opponent?

RJ: I think it’s big to get a win every week. This week is just like any other week, and we have to treat it that way. The fact it’s a rivalry game before we play the ACC championship game, those are just the circumstances around it. It’s important for us to play well and get better every week.

You obviously had an outstanding and memorable game last year against Georgia, do you think you could do it again?

RJ: [Laughing]. We’ll see. In our offense, anybody can have a big game any week. Just as long as we go out and get the job done, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who it is.

How much does a performance like that though give you confidence going into a game like this?

RJ: I think it does, but like we say, when you have a great game you have to forget about it and move on to the next week. And when you have a bad game, you have to forget about it and move on to the next week. I know the game last year isn’t going to do anything for me this year. We just have to go out and play well, and hopefully we’ll have similar success.

Tell me just a little bit about how you feel this year has gone for you personally.

RJ: Personally, I think I’ve improved in a lot of different areas. I think I’ve gotten better with my blocking, and I’m helping this team win every week. That’s all you can ask for, being in position to make plays and help the team win any way you can. For the team, it’s been going great. You can’t ask for much better. We had one blunder along the way so far, but we’ve still got our eyes on the biggest prize, so we need to keep playing well.

I think the most carries you’ve had this year was against Vandy. How tough is it to be behind, or in a group where there are so many guys who are capable of getting carries?

RJ: When you’re in an offense like this, you’ve got to be patient, wait for your opportunities, and when you get them, you’ve got to make plays. We’ve got some great guys in the backfield with Nesbitt and Dwyer, and Anthony Allen, Bey-Bey gets a lot of touches. … We just have a lot of guys who can go out and make plays, so when my number is called, I just try and go out there and do the best I can.

Growing up in Georgia, what were your thoughts on this rivalry?

RJ: My perspective was that Georgia owned this rivalry. When I got to the age where I started watching college football, I think I remember Georgia Tech beating Georgia one year, since I started watching them until last year. Coming out of high school, my perspective was that it wasn’t much of a rivalry. It was a game that Georgia won every year, but I think we’ve made it a little bit of a rivalry again, so we’re happy about that.

What’s it like to be a part of that? It really does seem like the tides are turning in favor of Georgia Tech in this series.

RJ: It’s exciting to renew a rivalry like this, that has a lot of history and a lot of great games over the years. It’s always fun to be a part of something like that.