Everything From Brent Key's Thursday Press Conference Ahead of Gardner-Webb

Georgia Tech's second game of the season is fast approaching and the Yellow Jackets will be hosting Gardner-Webb at 3:30 p.m. ET. For the second time this week, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key met with the media and here is everything that he had to say.

Opening Statement

"I think we've had a good week of practice. Maintained our focus and what we have to do. And like I said, on Tuesday, we've got a big task to go out there and work to eliminate things that cost us last week. And you have to look at those games always, regardless of the outcome, which you have to improve on and get better at. And I thought we worked on those things this week and excited to see how they go out and perform on Saturday you know it's one of those things where you all your focus goes into one target and you know as we move forward you know up into the game time I'm gonna talk a lot about targets and target practice and you're shooting at targets and you're not worried what's behind you when you go to a shooting alley or you're out in the woods but you are worried about what's in front of you.

I mean, even if you're doing target practice, you're not gonna have anything standing behind that target, right? 'Cause if he goes through the target, whatever's behind there is affected as well. But when you miss those targets, now it kind of messes you up for the next two or three times. So we'll talk in terms of that, but our focus has to be dialed in to that small spot and then focused solely upon that. And I think the guys have done a really good job this week of it. So I'll have another day of preparation tomorrow, and then be ready to play on Saturday."

1. On learning from the mistakes in the Colorado and coming into this weeks game...

"Yeah, and the beauty of it is there's never been a clean game played. We all chase perfection, but it's never occurred. And that's what drives people. That's what drives competitors is constantly trying to strive for that. And look, I have 100 % confidence in this football team, and the seniors on this football team, the maturity of this, all right, to maintain focus and be the best versions of themselves every single day. All right, we've stumbled on that in the past. We have, right, that's something that we're very aware of. The team is very aware of that, all right. And to stay in the moment and focus on what the most important thing is in that moment and what the most important thing is today, I've got faith in this team. I've got confidence in this team. I believe in this team. I've had as much fun coaching these guys for last eight months. I think it's I've ever had in my coaching career. And a lot of it's because of those 27 seniors on the team and the leadership that they bring. I've got zero concerns about that."

2. On making the right evaluations in the transfer portal...

"I think we've done a really good job of staff. We've done an outstanding job of evaluating the transfers that we've brought in. That's one of those things that it's not about finding the best talent. It's the best talent for Georgia Tech and the best talent for this program. This program means a lot to me. It means a lot to these players. It means a lot to the staff. And we're not going to do anything to jeopardize that. So we're going to find the right guys and the countless hours of evaluation that the staff puts in when it comes to not just transfers but high school guys as well.

I might see 50 guys that come and visit, that I visit with over the course of a week or two weeks and in those time frames, but there's probably thousands that have been sorted through downstairs and vetted out and people called and countless hours and we have a plan every time we go into the, whether it's high school recruiting or it's transfers, we have a plan of what we're trying to accomplish, the type of players we're trying to target. It's needs on the football team, but it's also fit. And I think the staff's done a great job of that."

3. On the strides he wants to see from the defense...

"Oh goodness, there's a ton, there's a ton, I mean. The one thing I thought we did was, we obviously gave some up, some explosives, but there were a lot less than we've seen in the past. They did a good job of keeping the ball in front of them. We had a couple of busts that we shouldn't have had. And we've got to clean those up this week. But I want to see them make those strides in consistency. We had nine missed tackles last week, which was the lowest we've had in our first game since we've been here. But I expect that cut in half again, the communication.

Great week of communication, when you get on the field, that's got to continue. It's got to be a continuation of how you practice and prepare with communication. And communication comes from being confident. Confident in knowing what you're supposed to do. The greatest sign of retention of anything is being able to teach someone else or tell somebody else how to do it. With people, it's a confidence thing, right? And it makes me feel comfortable to see that. And then you get on the field, it's got to carry over.

We had some fits that we should have been inside, we were outside, should have been outside, we were inside. And then from, you know, there's a lot of technical aspects we've got to improve on every day. You know, the teams that play long in college, a lot of the teams that can get into October, November, and still be, still have great fundamentals still be technically savvy, be technicians of the game, use their hands, finish blocks, get off of blocks.

So that's something we stress every day. Every day we should focus on that field and improve in some sort of fundamental technique. So we've got to continue to use our hands better. We've got to close space better. We've got to set the edge better. I can go on and on. Things we've got to improve on, and all those things. This week, and you know there were some of them that were huge, huge emphasis, because you can't take a hundred things and expect somebody in four days to get better at all of them so let's take the ones that are most important right now let's let's master those things not lose what we've accomplished prior to what we're doing well and continue to improve about the season it's a long season and then we want it to be an even longer season.

4. On not overlooking Gardner-Webb...

"It's like shooting targets, right? If you miss that target, you're going to miss the next target. It's going to mess you up twice. I got confidence in this team. I got faith in this team. I trust this football team. I trust the leadership on, you know every game you play in is a big game And I still don't understand how people do not understand that right. I don't understand how people say what you did last week. It was a big game. We get 12 opportunities to go play something that we work 365 days a year for every single time you step on that field it is the biggest moment of that time of that day of that week of that month whether it's practice whether it's a game right. There's only so many opportunities.

We get to go and play in Bobby Dodd Stadium, right, you've got to be crazy if you think someone's not gonna give it their all out there on that field. I know I sure am. I know, I wish, I wish, I wish, I could put the pads back on. Most everyone that upstairs in the office feels that way about still being able to play. You don't know when the game is going to be over. You've got to take every opportunity, and that's why I trust this team, because I feel very confident in that with them. There is no tomorrow. Our focus right now is on one thing, and that's the team coming in here on Saturday."

5. On the center position...

"We discuss that every Monday morning, and we discuss it every Friday night who and how we're playing guys in the game And there's nothing it's not on a whim that we put guys in right that's planned out to the planned out to the smallest detail in our staff meeting Friday night before the game. I'd love to play 10 guys. You got to have your guys fresh in the fourth quarter. You play 75 plays in the game. That's a lot of plays. "

6. On the status of Malik Rutherford and A.J. Hoffler...

"Now like I said, on Tuesday we got some guys made up, we have more guys back out practicing. Malik practiced yesterday, practiced today. You know, we'll see where it's at, come Saturday. But I fully expect guys that can play, they're gonna play."

7. On recruiting...

"Good. There's that lull you have in the dead period in August, which is really good for everyone. It's good for the high school players, it's good for the coaches. It allows everyone to focus on their team, being the best teammate that they can be, the best player they can be, the best coach they can be. So we're expecting a big crowd of recruits. We've got a lot of guys in the 2026 class still, as well as 27s and 28s. It was time to be back out on the road, seeing games and all that.

So it's exciting to start having, you start to be able to have recruits back around too, 'cause we have a really good product, and that's why it's so important too for our fans and our student body to be loud from the start until the end, all right, because last year a lot of the guys we were able to sign in that class in the big part of it was was the environment at home football games The environment at a home football game is so big for these recruits that come and what happened was they started telling other guys and they told other guys and told other guys and then we get more and more and you get younger and younger guys come in well, now they've become Georgia Tech fans. So it all works together."

8. On Haynes King...

"He's got a governor, he's got a governor on him like like a car, look, these guys, we train all year. These guys train for the moments. They train for the moment they're in. They know what the plan of attack is. I've talked about AJ so much and the job they do in the weight room and the job our guys do in the training room, what Brad does in the training room, what Aaron does, our guys are out there to play, to play they're laying it on the line and they're out there to give everything they have for Georgia Tech and to play to win football games, we have a great staff of trainers and doctors and medical professionals and strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists and all those people that put those guys in that position to be able to go out and play. So we're never going to put anybody at jeopardy by any means and our guys are prepared for those times."