Everything From Brent Key After Virginia Tech Win

What did Brent Key have to say after Georgia Tech's win over Virginia Tech?

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Nov 6, 2022 11:42 AM EST

In this story:

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech earned a comeback win over Virginia Tech yesterday, coming back from 11 down in the fourth quarter. The defense forced four turnovers and freshmen quarterback Zach Pyron made plays to earn a win in his first career start.

Georgia Tech interim head coach Brent Key earned another win on Saturday
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The win moved interim head coach Brent Key to a 3-2 record as the interim head coach and the Yellow Jackets are now 4-5 heading into the last home game of the season against Miami next week.

Here is everything that Key said after the Yellow Jackets win yesterday.

Opening Statement

"Really good team win. For these guys to be up, be down, to persevere and keep fighting through. That is something that we talked about this week, winning each day with our character and our grit and I think those things showed up today. There are things in all three phases that we have to work on when we get back in tomorrow and get cleaned up and fixed and move on to the next game, but I am really happy to come out with a win right here."

"Some of the things that we focused on during the week was being more efficient on offense, 1st and 10 and being more efficient on third downs, some of the third downs were still a little long, longer than we wanted, but we showed the ability to run the football today and that really helped out against a really good team, a really good defensive run team, we were able to get a hat on a hat at times and we did a really good job of finding a hole and accelerating through it and getting to the second level, and that is what you ask, get a hat on a hat and have the ability to make arm tackles."

"Defense, again, there are a lot of things that we have to correct, we gave up some chunk plays, but they had their backs against the wall and they really bowed up and created some really, really important turnovers at some key times in the game so, I believe they had four turnovers in the game, four turnover recovers, we had one that was an inopportune fluke thing that happened, Zach (Pyron) will learn from it, we will all learn from it and be able too... freshman out there, there are a lot of things that he is going to learn from... but I will tell you what, being a competitor ain't one of them, he's a dadgum competitor in everything that he does. Now, we gotta take him to the film room and teach him to be smarter on some of those things, dishing those hits out, but he looks like an old-school mike linebacker on some of those plays but there was good energy on the sidelines when he was doing those things and he brought the team together, we stuck together the entire time and I am really proud of these guys."

1. On winning in each phase of the game stats-wise and how the turnovers helped to win the game...

"That is why stats don't matter. Stats are a part of it, but at the end of the day, it is about who wins and who loses. You gotta be able to win, gotta be able to manage the 4th quarter as the game comes along and really, the drive of the game... we talk about things that happened in the 4th quarter, the good, bad, and ugly, that drive right before halftime when we were able to get down and get points was really critical obviously in the outcome of the game. I talk to the guys all the time, there are going to be five or six plays in the game that will be the difference in the football game, but as a player, you just don't know when that is going to happen."

2. On what he saw from the running game considering they were short-handed...

"Just work. Go to work and find a way, there are no excuses, who is playing and who is in there. Our job as coaches is to find the best way to put a complete game plan together in all three phases to do the things that we feel like we have some strengths in and we can attack on their side of the football. It was good to see Dontae be 100% healthy out there every play and make some really key runs out there at times."

3. On how the guys stepped up with players out due to sickness and injury...

"The guys that were sick throughout the week and whatnot, we had a couple more come down last night and have to miss the football game and injuries, that's football. That is what it is, you know, you can't rely on one person to make every play, you have to rely on everyone to do their job all of the time, that is why we practice second and third string guys, we give those guys opportunities and reps to develop and anytime, there is one helmet away, one ankle away from being on the field and I thought the guys that did that stepped in and did a nice job."

4. On the toughness of Zach Pyron...

"Oh gosh, he has ice in his veins. For a young kid like that, Whether it was staying in there and making the throws, lowering his shoulder to get the first down, which I said, we gotta work on that, I think after the first one he started sliding so, but he is a competitor. That showed all the way through high school. Anytime a quarterback can win three state championships at different programs in two totally different styles of offense, that shows that they got something to them to rally around and play their best."

5. On Jordan Williams having to play inside and Jakiah Leftwich's performance at tackle...

"We moved Jordan inside, it was for a couple of different reasons, let's don't make a mistake about this, a big part of that was the development of Jakiah and the job as the offensive line coach is to get the best five on the field at the same time and that is what we are looking at doing is finding the right combination to get the best guys on the field. Jordan went in there for the first time and provided a big body in there and provided protection. The first time in there, he was solid at some things and one of the things that I told him on the sideline is that you're a lot closer to the center now, you can't sit here and say he said this, you're right there next to him, open your ears and listen. So, just the little things like that we are able to come out with a win and come out and get those things corrected tomorrow."

6. On the performance of Pyron in a hostile environment and how open the playbook was...

"It was, but at the same time, we gave him, we gave him the tools that we thought he could operate the best. A big thing, a message to the staff, the players, and the entire team this week is it is not all about the plays, it is not about the number of plays you run, it is about the execution of the plays that are called and I think by running one play four different ways, for that quarterback sitting back there, he is making the same reads, but he is giving a different presentation for the defense so I thought the staff did a good job this week of putting it in Zach's hands."

7. On going for two field goals inside the five...

"It was all based on the flow of the game at that time. I believe in studying analytics and I believe in going with your gut when the game is going, that's really, that's what it is. Going for it on the fourth and one and running the quarterback sneak and it was at the point in the game where I felt like it was the best thing to do to be able to move the ball, we had to run it a couple of times to get the quarterback sneak and we did not get it. We have something that we have to go back to and make sure that we have those fourth and one calls to be able to execute those, regardless of where we are on the football field. They are going to be playing to stop those things, but I don't regret those decisions one bit."

8. On Nate McCollum and Malachi Carter...

"Well, they want the ball. It is not just them, there are other guys as well, but those guys have really found a way and had a knack of getting open and running the right routes and understanding the coverage that is going on the other side that they have to attack and then when there is zone coverage, sitting in the windows or being able to separate in man coverage, they have done a good job and this was Malachi's 55th game to appear in as a Georgia Tech football player and that's a lot of football guys, that's a lot of football played by him. You can credit some of that to COVID but to play in 55 football games in your college career, that is something that not a lot of people can say and Nate, he is a competitor in every single way in every way that you can imagine."

9. On the punt coverage and Gavin Stewart...

"We will go back and look at the tape and make sure that we have the exact things that went on in punt and go in tomorrow night, address them, fix them and go in tomorrow night and start correcting them. When you ask about going for it inside the ten and inside the five, when you have a guy like Gavin and you can kick a field goal and know you are going to get the points, you know your defense has the ability to creat turnovers, create some negative plays on the other side, it gives you just so much more confidence in the way you play the game and making the decision to go for it on fourth down and not just necessarily the fourth down, it goes back to, what is the call on second down when you tell the play caller, hey, you got four downs this drive or we are playing for three or playing for a field goal so that starts to affect that first down call and that second down call as well so when you have the confidence in your kicker to make the field goals when he is asked to, it takes a lot off of everyone."

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