Everything from Brent Key's media availability ahead of Ole Miss
Georgia Tech is preparing for a big road game this week against Ole Miss, the Yellow Jackets' first road game of the season. Ahead of the game, head coach Brent Key met with the media, took questions about the upcoming game, and gave an update on injuries.
Here is everything that Key had to say today:
Opening Statment:
"We are in preparation for Ole Miss this Saturday and we had a chance to clean up some of the things from last Saturday and we really did that on Sunday night and we got a jump on the game plan for these guys coming up. Took some of the good things that we have done and building on those and working to continue to improve that and some things showed up that we have to continue to work on and stress. We went out on Sunday and worked on a lot of those from a mental standpoint on Sunday and today from a physical standpoint.
It is always good to be back out there and good to get on this gameplan and get ready for a good atmosphere on Saturday between two good football teams, two evenly matched teams when you look across the board statistically so a chance to go in there and play a four quarter game and go and enjoy what college football is about. This is three weeks in a row that we have had a different venue to go and play in and all three venues are outstanding places to go play and I am looking forward to it and I am excited and the team is excited."
1. On if they got more consistent offensive line play...
"Yeah, we did. We were consistent across the board, which should have been expected. We had a plan set for those guys to be able to go out and execute and get better and we made some changes in the grouping up front and they went out and played well together."
2. On the Ole Miss defense...
"Yeah it has. a two-game sample size, same as us. They have a new defensive coordinator there who I obviously have some familiarity with but its nothing he has not done in the past, he has put together a defense that fits them and their personality and their personnel and it complements the entire team. They do a good job of being aggressive up front, I think they are 11th in the country in havoc rate and creating negative plays and guys up front, they will to mix up the coverages and vary the coverages on the back end to try and confuse the quarterback and receivers in the passing game and always trying to get an extra hat down in the box when they can.
Pete's done a good job of putting a defense together through the first two games and showing improvement."
3. On his familiarity with Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding...
"That was a long time ago. It does not really factor or have an impact on the game."
4. On how to create more pressure on defense...
"We are obviously looking to affect the quarterback and get back there and get sacks when the time comes but the biggest thing is to be able to create pressure and affect the quarterback and affect the running back and the run game with negative plays. We are working on that and its something that we are stressing and working on."
5. On the Ole Miss passing attack...
"They get the ball deep a lot of different ways, whether it be the play-action game, the RPO game... they really do a nice job with the play-action game complementing the RPO game and getting guys in space and missed tackles to create their explosive plays in the passing game and everyone is aware of it, it is the ability to go out there and play good sound technique and communicate and be able to slow those guys down.
You know, you're not going to stop every single one. That is the goal, the goal is to go out there and stop every single play and be efficient on every single play, but that is not going to happen in college football, it's not going to happen with these guys, they have a good offense. So, we have to play the next play, whether the last one was good or bad and make the necessary adjustments that we need to make."
6. On how he is making sure his team is playing clean and mistake-free in practice and the game...
"We are not perfect so we are not there yet. We have made improvement. You know, discipline doesn't just show up in penalties. Discipline shows up in playing the call, doing your assignment, taking the right pursuit angle, putting your hat on the right side of the block. Discipline comes in all forms, it is not just what shows up on the stat sheet as penalties. Have we improved on the penalty part, yeah, we have improved, but there are some that we can't have. Some of the middle, combat penalties are going to occur, inevitably they are going to. We are going to stress on them and work on them, but there is a lot of yardage out there that is to be gained by not having penalties. But the discipline carries over to everything and its an everyday process and it is our part of the process and everyday battle to continue to stress it and improve it everyday.
Look, you're either getting better or you're getting worse, there is no staying the same. You're either getting better or you're getting worse at everything that you do so as soon as you don't emphasize something, you are going to get worse and stay the same and hope something works, there is no hope around here. Ok, we are not hoping for things to happen, we have to go out everyday as coaches and put a plan together and give a plan to the players that they can go out and execute and believe in."
7. On Lane Kiffin's offense...
"I know what I have seen on tape for two games, they are explosive, have a good quarterback who manages the offense and puts the ball where it is supposed to go and they have one of the best running backs in the country. Statistically, you can't just look at statistics on something. No. 4 is one of the best running backs in the country, they are going to get him loose. You can look and say they are not running the ball. Yeah right. You ask about what I know about somebody, that is Lane Kiffin. He is going to run the football, he is going to get No. 4 going.
We have to be balanced on defense to make sure that we are able to cover and to defend the explosive. But with No. 4, you are looking at one of the best running backs in the country, if not the best running back in the country. You can be rest assured that he is going to do everything he can to get that guy going this week."
8. Injury updates...
"Eddie (Kelly) is a full go back at practice. Chase will be out this week. We will continue to kinda see week-to-week with him and where it ends up. It is not a season-ending injury by any means."
9. On the wide receiver depth...
"We have a lot of receivers that have done a nice job. It was a position that I was excited about all offseason. There was just youth to them and green to the program and the offense and week-to-week, getting those guys more experience out on the field and continue to deliver the ball to those guys, that becomes the challenge and what you want to do and Buster has done a nice job over two games of spreading the wealth in the receiver room and they are improving their blocking. You look at the first play of the second half and they are leading the charge. There was a couple of clips evident in the first game. Those guys are blocking their tails off for each other. We had a couple of plays early in the week where they did not block as well and they challenged each other, they are blocking for each other. It is a super unselfish group and most guys in that position want the ball every game. Our guys, they are blocking for each other. If they make a mistake and don't block or execute the way they are supposed to, they are going to come out the next time and do it. That is what I love about those guys, is the unselfishness in that room and the willingness to go out and block for each other."
10. On the offense...
"Pointwise and statistics, we look at ourselves self-scout wise and what we have to do better. We look at what we are doing well and what we have to continue to improve and what we have to continue to do well but as far as points, look 2-0 is a win just like 50-0 is a win, a win is a win. Does it help to expand the margin with point differential and explosives, yeah, I think Buster has done a nice job of that, he has good command of the offense, he has good command of what we want to do as a team, he understands the ability to play offensive football that can complement the other two phases of the team.
I think in the first two games, we are starting to see a small glimpse of what we can do offensively and what we can do to be effective."
11. On if there is open competition for the kicking job this week...
Yeah, there is open competition every week at every position, the best guys are going to play, that is the way it is, it is competition always and who we feel on Saturday is the best one to go out there and kick, someone is going to go kick. That does not mean I don't have confidence in one of them, not at all, it was good to see the other guy get put in there and put it through. I am glad the situation came up at the end where we were able to have him out there and have him gain confidence. Gavin put nine through the end zone on kickoffs, that is tremendous when you look at field position, so I mean, we have two guys that are capable of their jobs and what we look for is consistency."
12. On if he would like to see the tight ends more involved in the passing game...
"I just want to win. If it can help us win, then yeah. That is something that we have focused on from the beginning of spring, but sometimes whether it is based on coverage or based on what happens, it does not take place. There have been several plays, whether it be the kind of intermediate plays or the kind of shot plays that were covered down where they were the first option on the play. The time will come, we will continue to put the ball to the guys that are open and we can take advantage of mismatches and I think they have been unselfish in what they are doing. I think Dylan (Leonard) is blocking his tail off, a lot of times you don't see that. You see a guy when he does not get a ball and he wants one, that is selfish football and you can't get far with a group of selfish guys. I want guys that are completely unselfish and want to win more than they want to have their name in the paper."
13. On how they plan to play solid run defense against Quinshon Judkins...
"That is what we are working on right now. We had a physical practice, we will have another physical practice tomorrow. You can't just hone in on one single person on their offense, they have multiple playmakers. If you put seven guys up there on him, you are going to be really weak on that back end, you would have some disadvantages there number wise. We have to have balance in what we do defensively, whether it be able to play static or play pressure, whether it be changing fronts or changing coverage, whatever it is, we have to be able to mix those things up and keep them out of rhythm. As I say to the staff and the team all the time, we want to be the hammer and not the nail, whether that be the offense, defense, or special teams."
14. On being able to develop depth with the linebackers and Omar Daniels in the secondary...
"The plan was last week to play them in the game. We can't go with just Tren (Tatum) and Paul (Moala) and expect those guys to play an entire season so we are going to continue to develop those guys behind them and continue to build more depth. Dre (White) was a guy that got in as well and he played really good football when he was in. I think he was nine for ten in his assignments and being around the ball. Those are guys we have to continue to develop and continue to get on the field. Whether it is the first quarter of game one or the 1st or 4th quarter of game 12, it does not matter, those guys are ready to come in and contribute. Those guys got in the situation too where there was a lot of moving parts to be ready to face what we are seeing Saturday and to be able to come and see something different or that has not been shown, come to the sideline and take those adjustments, take the adjustments and the corrections as a guy new to the field, especially a guy like Kyle (Efford) to be able to take those adjustments and take them to the field, I thought showed great maturity and growth by those guys. And Omar as well. K.J. (Wallace) is a guy by the nature of his position, he... there is a lot of burn there and playing on a team and continue to develop Omar, who is going to be a really good football player for us"
15. On what he likes about Haynes King going into a tough environment on Saturday...
"I have said several times, command of the offense, command of the field when he is out there, not just what he is supposed to do, the other 10 on offense and the 11 on defense. He has big game experience, big game road experience, he is not going to be rattled by any means. We have a lot of experience on the offensive side and normally you would go into a road environment and what is this guy's first time, what is this guy's first time and they understand how to operate in those environments, which is a good thing and then being completion driven when you are throwing the football, that is big. Being able to... hey look, no one is going to be able to throw 100% completions every game and some of those are, I am going to put the ball where my guy is going to catch it or no one else is. I am going to put the ball, 1, 2, and then I am throwing the ball out of bounds and you are seeing that out of him and that is very encouraging. You are not taking a sack when the first read is not there on a shot, then throw it out of bounds. Good football and that goes a long way. Someone is barreling down and you're about to take a loss or a sack and they don't know how to get rid of the football or avoid the rush and I think all of those things have shown in the first couple of games and only will continue to improve with Haynes."
Follow us on social media for the latest news on Georgia Tech Athletics!
Facebook: All Yellow Jackets
Twitter: @AllYellowJacket
Follow Jackson on Twitter: @jacksoncaudell
Follow Madison on Twitter: @Madison_Meyers7
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @kistner__
See all of the latest Tech News at AllYellowJackets.com
Check out the Georgia Tech Homepage
Check out all Georgia Tech Photos
Listen to the All Yellow Jackets Podcast for the best Georgia Tech coverage!
More Georgia Tech Related Content:
Breaking: Georgia Tech wide receiver Chase Lane out for matchup against Ole Miss
Georgia Tech's Kyle Kennard named ACC Defensive lineman of the week
ACC Football: Week three predictions for every ACC game
Georgia Tech vs. Wake Forest game time announced
WATCH: Former Yellow Jacket Juanyeh Thomas blocks field goal against Giants
Georgia Tech remains in ESPN's Bowl Projections following week two
PFF grades for every Georgia Tech defensive player vs South Carolina State
PFF grades for every Georgia Tech offensive player vs South Carolina State
