Everything From Head Coach Brent Key In His Final Media Availability Ahead Of Matchup Vs Boston College

Opening Statement…

Ready for the injury report? All right, out. Will Benton. That's it. There is no questionable. There is no probable. Everyone is ready to rock and roll. That's good news. Yeah, really good news. I just want to, again, I know I've said it before earlier in the season, but our training staff, the job they do in the training room, Brad Kimball, and everyone in there. Outstanding job of having these guys ready to play week in and week out without compromising the health and safety of the players. A lot of that goes back to the weight room also, what AJ and his guys have been able to do. Erin (Wesolowski) in nutrition keeps these guys not only fed, but fed the right way, hydrated. The little soft tissue things. The work that Pat Boyle and Jordan Diaz, Sean (Boyle), and all those guys do in putting together the sports science part, the scientific part of it, the data into how we practice and prepare. Can't say enough for that group of people and the job they do. Really, everybody for allowing us to be able to make such a heavy commitment to that over the last three years. This is why that's important. This is why that is such an important part of any athletics, professional college, whatever it is, player availability is the number one commodity. The investment and the resources and the infrastructure we've built around that over the last three years, you're seeing the payoff in it now big time. And we're Georgia Tech.

We should lead the country in that. We should be cutting edge in that and be at the forefront for everything when it comes to sport science, the analytics, the research, statistical things, all that. It's showing now with our guys we have ready to play. So again, I can't thank all of them enough for what they do.”

“We talked about it on Tuesday. Get a chance to go out on the road again and play a team that is gonna be not hungry, but starving to get a win. I've said it when you turn the tape on and you watch film. They're well well-coached football team, right? They hadn't had the best of luck. They have the ability. It's just like anyone in college football right now, and if people can't see that, they're not watching this way. We're all watching; anybody can beat anybody on any given day. That's what makes college football great. That's why the last two to three years and the changes that have occurred in college football. In my opinion, I know it differs from a lot. But that's what's made an exciting brand of football, and it's gonna continue to be that way moving forward. We've got a challenge, we've got the emotional part that we've got to change those emotions to energy and understand what's in front of us this Saturday. But also having that taste in our mouth from the past and using both of those to be able to fuel us and continue to push us forward in the season.”

On the defense and where the team has looked to improve defensively…

“There were some improvements and things moving up until two weeks ago. We had played really good situational football. We improved our third downs. Played really well in the red area. There had been improvements. Not consistent improvements, but ups and downs with the run game, getting pressure on the quarterback, and affecting the quarterback. Then we had a poor game. All right, we owned it, I owned it, it's on me. uh But at the same time, we've been working to get those things fixed. I'm not gonna get into it at all, they are, but everything is evaluated every day, whether it be from players ah to schemes to whatever it is. We're constantly trying to make ourselves better because you either get better or worse.”

On having Ahmari Harvey back on the field…

“He’s a competitor. He's one of the toughest DBs I've ever been around. That's what drives his competitiveness. Just to have that rock out there that we need. It's been so consistent for us for so many years. Mean, we're going through starts before he came down here. He has started 25 games here now. So that's a lot of experience at that position; the other guys got to step up and do their job. But having them already is a huge plus.”

On playing in cold weather…

“Are you tougher in the cold than the hot? I mean, I don't put anything into it. Same temperature here on Monday as it will be during the game. You know, you'll fight in the Baltics, you've got to train in the Baltics.”

On how to properly set the edge….

“Set the edge, physicality. Look, there are two ways. People talk about having contain. Who's got contain in the defense? Well, if I'm standing here and Simmons over there, all right, I've contained that. I'm also containing it if I'm way over there. I'm also containing it from right there, but when you set the edge, you are eliminating space. They're an A-Gap run team. They're a power. counter. duo, those are A-Gap plays. But they're A plays that can bounce. Those plays, the support gets sucked in on the edge, and you're running duo, that play can, it hits A, they're the mic, bounce, bounce, all of a you're out there with nobody to bring them down. Setting that edge is gonna be really important. It's gonna be like team running out at practice every day because that's who we are as an offense. As far as the, you know, the pull game, the gap schemes. So it's got to be with violence. It's got to be with great pad level. They gotta trust their preparation and trust what they see, not let the eye candy or different things, whether it be jet motion, whether it be a rock back, whatever it is, whether it be a read scheme, it doesn't matter. They gotta trust their preparation, trust their eyes, and come out and set that thing with violence.”

On if he knows about the ACC Standings…

“I've talked about it all week. This is a championship game (Boston College). We're in one-game seasons right now, and that's all that matters. is a championship week. All right, we understand what's in front of us. Again, they've got two ears, they got two eyes, they hear and see everything that's out there. All there's no reason to bring those things up. They understand that. People don't understand the importance of this football game this Saturday, then they probably shouldn't be playing college football or coaching football.”

On receiving compliment from Calvin Johnson and being compared to Dan Campbell…

“Really? That's awesome. That's cool. I don't know Dan personally. He's somebody for last three years I have watched. Obviously, knowing guys on the staff up there, how they do things. I mean, he does it the right way. The physicality they play with as a team, the authenticity, the transparency that he shows to the players, that's a hell of a compliment. I'm not trying to emulate anybody; I'm trying to be myself and the best version of that every day. The fact that there are similarities, think, is really, really cool. They've had a lot of success. They do things the right way. They play the game the right way. Everybody considers them a very risky coach during the game. You see things and hear things and talk and whatnot. Risks are all calculated. We're not just going to flip the chip on the table and let it spin. We're not doing that. They're calculated, but how do you prepare for them, how you practice, how you do those things as a board, that's a hell of a compliment.”

On the ACC conference and being overlooked…

“Yeah, I mean, you talk about like rankings and whatnot. We give our attention to things we can control, things that we can affect. We can't control that. We can't affect that. That's what we're going to put our time into. Not those, not things that we can't. I mean, look, I can't control the traffic. Can't control the weather. Don't even try to control Danielle. Not even going to. She has a heck of a job controlling me, though. Not in that way, but it's like in a, no, you can't think for other people. can't do it, get people to do things that they're not going to do. You can't affect those things. So that's just a waste of time to even think, talk, or spend any energy on those things. We have way too many things that we can't affect that we've got to spend our time on.”

On if Jamal Haynes is frustrated with his output on the field…

“No, I mean, Jamal's a competitor, super competitor. Yeah, he wants to have success every time he's on the field and touches the ball. Sometimes the cards aren't in there, sometimes you press too much. He's had a really good week of practice. I'm excited to see him play on Saturday.”

On how recruiting has been going and if the class of 2026 will finish strong…

“I don't know. We'll see. I think we're in a position with a lot of really good players right now to fill out the high school portion of it. And y'all know I'm a big believer in high school recruiting, especially recruiting inside the state of Georgia. Can't say names or whatnot, but we're in with a lot of guys that we're really close with. I think that would really fill the needs we have to continue to build this thing out for the long haul. That's what we're looking for in the freshman class. We're looking for guys. We need length, we need size. I mean, you're constantly trying to build a bigger football team, a stronger football team, but also maintain the speed. I don't want just anybody on this team. There's a certain fit, a certain mold that we recruit towards. It's shown to be successful at work. I'm excited about the guys. We have a chance to close on and finish out here in the next three weeks.”

On if the numbers for scholarships changes year to year when bringing in freshman and portal guys…

“At the end of the day, it's 105. You know, how we get there. Plug and play. With there be one portal window, does it change a little bit how we went about things the last couple of years? Yes. But that's something we also plan for. These are things that I think people can be very reactionary and make mistakes doing it. So I don't think it's necessarily the best to be in our case. Speaking for us here at Georgia Tech, I don't think it necessarily suits us the best to be the first out of the gate to do something right. I'm going to make sure that we go through the good and the bad on it, and the positives and negatives. Because you're dealing with 17, 18 year olds and their futures. I don't take that lightly.”

On if any players on the team should be considered for All-Americans, All-ACC, and awards…

“Y'all watch all the games. Y'all can tell who the good players are. I mean, look, again, I can't control that. I can't affect who's gonna win awards and whatnot. I wish everyone on the team could win something, know, like Little League, right? Everybody gets a trophy. Let's give them all a trophy. Let's give everybody something. Let them all walk away with a smile on their face and a pizza and a Powerade.”

On Joe Fusile liking to play in cold weather and what he means to the team..

“Why would he not? Jojo. I could go on forever about Joe. know, somebody came in here as a walk-on, had opportunities to play at other places, and this is where he wanted to go to school to build a life after football. Joe's gonna start his 44th game on Saturday. 44 games and he's what 36 straight that he will end up starting. I really can't say enough great things about Joe, the person he is, the man he’s become. To kind of pull it to a full circle. One of my best friends, my college roommate, sent me a text last Thursday or last Friday. And said they just hired Joe at the company, Foresight Group. It's a civil site design development company. My roommate worked for a year or so and then went out and started his own thing with a couple of guys, and they've been very successful with it. To see them turn around and hire a guy. Joe has interned for them for the last couple of years. Just the impact that he was able to have, and how much they enjoyed him being there, and how hard of a worker he is. That's pretty neat. That is really neat. Talk about why you love to be at a place, right? It's not always just the football. It's the other things. We're building lives and putting better young men into the world. Joe's one that is really going to do great things. Going to do great things. Before all that comes, he needs to be great for a lot more games here. To see a guy that age improve in their last year and make improvements. We've got a lot of those. We've got a lot of seniors that are playing their best football right now. They've improved from last season or improved from the beginning of the year, even. He's one of them. Can't replace experience out there on the field.”

On the offensive line and how they have improved this season….

“Yeah, I mean… I'm not supposed to say that, right? How impressed I am with him.They don't need to hear that. That's my baby now. I'm really happy for Geep and the work he puts in, the unseen work that he puts in with those guys of coaching them and putting together the run plan and drilling those guys every day and coaching all of them, not just coaching the five starters, but coaching all those guys. That's not an easy thing to do. A lot of times o-line coaches get caught up in just coaching the five guys that are playing, and they're not coaching the other guys. And now something happens, the next guy's not necessarily ready to play, whether it's that year or the next season. He does a great job of developing those guys from a young age because of the time he puts in with them. It's not about any one person, though. It's a collection of five guys who have to play as one. It's probably the best example in a small glimpse of what I think a football team should be. The whole o-line is a representation of it because, yeah, that's five guys playing as one. Well, the back end of the defense is five guys and five DBs playing together as one. All right, then you got 11 on each side of the ball and the special teams. Football team is just one big happy group of fat guys. I've been pleased, we got to continue to get better. We have to get better. There's no choice. You're not gonna stay the same. We have to improve. This was a week for us to really improve, the past bye weeks were a week for us to improve as an offense, as a defense, as special teams. That starts individually, way before it is a scheme. Schemes are all personnel-driven. There are a million plays you can draw up or a million blitzes or coverage or calls. What can they go out there and execute? I'm a guy that would rather have one run, one pass, and one defensive call and do it perfect, do it right, and have a bunch of them. Now, when you have mastered one or two or three. Then you can start to add the volume. You've got to all play together as one, that's what we have to do this week.”

On playing Bill O’brien and his approach this week vs the Yellow Jackets….

“Yeah, I would think so, just knowing him. But again, he'd tell you the same thing I'd say. It's not about Bill O'Brien. It's about his football team. It's about them playing better football and continuing to improve. He was on that staff here when Coach O'Leary was building this thing in the mid-90s. A lot of great coaches on that staff, a lot of them. He knows how to build a football team. He's shown that, okay? They're gonna build, that's what it is. Anytime you're in a build, once the season starts getting towards the end, you know as a coach, especially a coach like him who's had as much experience as he has as a head coach, those games at the end of the season are big for them. Big, huge, to gain positive momentum going into the off-season. All right, we're expecting their absolute very best version of themselves to be out there on Saturday afternoon.”

On special teams performance this season…

“Yeah, I mean, the Chris Elkos and since Tre Maddox has been back and Daylon Gordon, he's cut out of what you want a captain to be on your football team. The way he goes about his business with special teams, but is always ready to go in on offense. Will Kiker and Luke Harpring. Oh yeah, now that Myles is back, Myles Forristall. And then you've got a lot of the freshmen, like have Tae (Harris) and Elgin (Sessions) and then you have guys that they might go out there for one team on Saturday, right? They aren't a starter on offense or defense, right? And maybe that one play or those six plays or those 12 plays, right? Those have to be the most critical plays of the day for them. I want to see guys, if you get seven plays in the game and it's on kickoff cover, getting seven on kickoff return or whatever it is, I want to see those guys foaming at the mouth, right? To go out there and play the absolute most physical, disciplined, competitive play they can possibly play.

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