Everything from Brent Key's post-practice availability 9/7

Here is everything from Brent Key leading up to tomorrow's game

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Sep 8, 2023 2:59 PM EDT

In this story:

Only 24 hours stand between Georgia Tech and being able to take the field again at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

After a disappointing second half against Louisville, Georgia Tech will look to put together a much more complete performance against South Carolina State and get their first win of the 2023 season.

Yesterday, head coach Brent Key spoke to the media for the final time before Saturday's game, and here is everything the Yellow Jackets head coach had to say:

Opening Statement:

z"Good to come up here for the second time this week and talk about the upcoming game. You get a different perspective now of getting a full week of practice and practicing and really one more day of preparation before we play an early game here at Bobby Dodd. The players were excited to get back out here and we have a lot to work on this week and a lot to get addressed and we had a physical week of practice, which was to be expected, Tuesday and Wednesday as always, a lot of good mental work today and then we will get back after it tomorrow morning and get ready to roll so we are in a good place right now and we are pretty healthy coming out of the game last week so injury wise everyone is expected to play minus one person.

Sylvain (Yondjouen), unfortunately, what we had feared occurred did happen and I just spoke to him in the leadership meeting, he has talked to his parents already and wanted me to go ahead and announce to the media that he has torn his ACL. Sylvain will be out and have surgery on September 21st. So, I have it for him but as I told him, so now what? What can you do about it? All you can do is prepare for getting surgery and prepare for rehab and I am excited that Sylvain is going to be here for another year and he has made that decision for him and his family so I am excited for that and his future but I hate it for him in the meantime and I hate him not being on the field with us, it leaves a void not only as a great player, but as a leader so we will have other guys step up on the field and he will be with us the entire time, being the leader that he is on the sideline.

I am really looking forward to being back out there Saturday and being back at Bobby Dodd and playing in an early game gives us a chance to get out and get up early and get ready to go and stretch and go kick it off. I am looking forward to the challenge that we have with South Carolina State and looking forward to seeing how our guys respond."

1. On the punt return game...

"Yeah it would be great if a guy could take it all the way, but I am looking for a guy that is gonna secure it and take it for a first down. I think he (Dominick Blaylock) averaged 8.4 yards per return or something like that, but that is what you are looking for. Anytime you can... field position is such a critical factor in the game and when you punt team can continue to do what they are able to do and execute and pin people deep, then your returner can secure the football and secure the catch and really gain one first down and that is what we are looking for is every catch to secure the football and gain at least one first down and that is the most important thing and No. 2, the bonus is if he can get a first down. First downs are hard to get in college football, it goes in spurts and if you can get one it is a huge thing whether it is in the offense or the return game.

2. On the kick return game and the rules changes affecting it...

"Yeah, it is a personal decision from a coaching staff and per each team how they want to approach that each game and we feel we have a guy that can get yards in the return in Christian (Leary). He can run and he has good vision... there is an old saying that you are always one guy away, but that is the nature of the game and that is what we are trying to do. Secure all 10 blocks up front and have a guy that can return it and break an arm tackle and take it to the house and when you have a guy like that you can trust to get the ball and get positive yards, sometimes you are not going to get to the 25-yard line when you make a fair catch, but we are an attacking team and we want to be aggressive in what we do. If you had a chance to get to the 26-yard line every time, you would take that chance too over the 25 so we will play the risk with it and as the game went on, half of them were fair catches, and half of them were returned."

3. On putting his stamp on the gameday experience...

"I just want to win. I want great fan support and to grow each and every week. I want the students to be able to come to the games and be involved and help us as a football team. It is on all of us, not just us as a football team, but the fans, the students, it is everyone that we want out there, it is everyone that we need. If I could say if I want to put a stamp on something, it is to win football games, it is to have a football team that is exciting to watch and the fans will come out and watch and support these guys because they do a lot for the school, they love the school and they love it when the fans are out there and behind them."

4. On who will take the reps because of Sylvain's injury...

"So, luckily it is a position that we have good depth at. Eddie Kelly is someone that has come in as a young guy and played a lot of meaningful reps so he is only going to continue to get better the more and more that he plays. ET (Reuben) got some reps the other night and he will continue to get more reps. Josh Robinson is another one, Noah Collins is someone who can play both sides, so we have players there that can step up and fill the void from a body standpoint.

We are going to miss Sylvain obviously, he is a really good football player and now we have to challenge those other ones to step up and take his place."

5. On South Carolina State being aggressive on defense...

"I hope we have the players across the board to be able to play a quality football game. That is what we work every day to prepare these guys and get these guys in position to play their best and you know, whether it is 3rd and one and everyone in the stadium knows you are going to run the football or its 3rd and one and everyone knows your opponent is going to run the football, it is your job to get the first down or stop them from getting a first down or the endzone and that is the game we want to play, we want to make sure all of our guys are prepared each and every week to go out and win and execute when their number is called."

6. On the play of Corey Robinson II...

"Yeah, I would like to see as many people as possible that are prepared and ready to play but we are going to play the best people that give us the best chance and sometimes things go wrong and people need to see it from the sideline if they are in a little bit of a rut and sometimes people get in and play well, that is not just football, but all sports and that is our job as coaches to make sure to continue to put the best guys in there and the best chance to be successful."

7. On true freshman Eric Singleton Jr...

"Any freshman that played, don't act like freshmen. We want those guys to be able to go out and execute and not be bright-eyed and some guys are not ready as quickly or sooner than others. Eric is an explosive player and we plan on him playing and playing a lot here soon and moving forward in the future. To have explosive players like that on your team, it takes pressure off of a lot of people. It takes pressure off of your quarterback, in situations, it takes pressure off of the offensive line and running game, to be able to get the ball out in space and get someone one-on-one, that is what college football is and he is definitely someone who can do that."

8. On guard Connor Scaglione...

"He will continue to play. He is in the group up front and he has practiced this week and had a good week of practice and he will continue to play."

9. On the upcoming game...

"We have 11 starters on offense and 11 starters on defense and we plan to go play 65-75 plays in this football game. That is what we are looking for. We are looking for personal improvement, individual improvement from every person on this team, whether it be a player, whether it be a coach, whether it be myself, a trainer or equipment room, strength and conditioning, it does not matter who you are. We are looking for everyone in the program to improve. If we all go out and improve, then you can have the outcome that you desire. But when you talk about penciling things in, or talk about what might happen, then nothing gets done. You have no chance to improve. It is about a process and about being process-driven and what it takes to go out and have a chance to be successful every Saturday before you play. That is why we play the game. That is why college football is the greatest sport that there is in the world. Because nobody knows what is going to happen. But these kids prepare their butts off and these coaches prepare their butts off to give them the opportunity to go out there and I hope the starters play 75 plays in this game, I hope they play 85, it means we have manipulated the new clock rules a little bit. But what happens if somebody plays one play and gets hurt? Then the next guy needs to be able to get ready to go and that is why we prepare that way every single week, it does not matter who you are playing. It matters how you improve yourself and how you go out and give yourself a chance at success."

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