Everything From Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Key After Their First Fall Scrimmage

It was scrimmage day for Georgia Tech on The Flats. Fall Camp is now half-way over and the Yellow Jackets are still hard at work in preparation for their week one matchup against Colorado. After today's scrimmage, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key spoke with the media and here is everything that he had to say:

Opening Statement...

"Just completed our first full big scrimmage of the preseason camp, and about where we thought we were as a team. A lot of work needs to be done. And we really started off a little under two weeks ago when we started camp, with really, you know, always given the objectives that we wanted to accomplish during camp. And they're pretty similar every year, you know, develop our toughness, the mental toughness and physical toughness of the football team, you know, really build our foundation of discipline, improve our fundamentals and let that be a separating thing for us and other teams to be a fundamentally sound and, you know, have the right techniques for playing the position and teach those to the team, you know, being committed to the team which really is so much there.

It involves, involves the accountability of players and coaches, involves being responsible for your own actions, owning up, doing your job, and being accountable when you mess up. And the big thing for us is to develop trust between coaches and coaches, players and players, coaches and players, players and coaches. You know, we coach our guys hard, we do, and practices are hard. And, and that's prepare them to go out and play games. And when you coach guys that way and when players play that way, you got to have a really big amount of trust in each other. From a player's standpoint, they got to trust that we're putting them in the right positions. They were not just asking me to do things just to do it.

And then from a coach's standpoint, we've got to be able to trust that those guys are going to be all in, give what they have, give max effort all the time, and you know, surrender their egos to us to be allowed to put them in those positions and develop them and that's been something I think it's been a really really good thing you know the transparency and the honesty that between coaches and players look at end of the day right those guys depend on us as coaches and we depend on them as players, my family depends on those players, coaches families depend on players and they depend on us. So it's a two-way street there, and that's really all part of the bigger picture of this football team, which it's always been, we won't have ownership of you know the let the players have ownership in this team and be a player-led team. So, and then a big one this year was really to continue to increase our capacity for more and to be able to go into our games and be the best conditioned team to be able to play four quarters, and then whatever comes after that.

So I think we're making good progress on those things. Still got a ways to go. It's going to be a really big week for us in developing the team. A lot of, I'd say, the majority of the installation is in. So moving forward is really situational, ball, and really honing in on our techniques and what it takes to move that needle from a good degree at each position. So, as far as the scrimmage goes today, I think it was pretty balanced across the board.

Offense and defense were good spots. All three teams went. I think we went out right at 140 plays in the scrimmage. It was about 15, might have said about 15 possessions. Each group had about halfway through it. Came off script a little bit. And I just felt like this team just needs to play ball, not as much the situational things like we do in the second half a lot of times. Those were all coming up within the scrimmage and the flow of the game. So coaches have to be prepared. This is our time to work too. Coaches practice just like players do for game days. We needed more of that, and we did have a couple of bright spots out there that I saw, just naming some players.

Will Kiker had an interception return for a touchdown. Just continuing his ascension on this football team, which really, I think everybody saw in the summer, his strength numbers, weightlifting and speed and explosion and all that. He's really showing that up, that's showing up when he gets his opportunities on the field too. We had Shymeik (Jones), had a blocked extra point. I'm not sure who, or what groups were in, who was in. Ahmari picked it up and ran it back for, you know, 98 yards for a two -point conversion. Then, you know, as far as the defensive lineman, some of the young guys really, really showed up today. And we wanted those guys to get a lot of plays and to see where they're at.

Christian Garrett showed up with multiple sacks out there. Christian's been playing end and three technique, playing both of those positions. I think he can be a force, you know, he's got, you know, for side the size and strength that he has and the athletic ability and the quick twitch. I mean, you talk about a matchup nightmare when you move him inside, you know, but he's, you know, it's like all of them. He's got a ways to go, but he's starting to flash and show the real signs of what we've thought he thought he was. You know, at the end by Jordan Boyd, who missed some springtime. He was a freshman last year, played a little bit, played a lot on teams, but he's really starting to show up out there. You know, played with power and quickness and juice off the edge.

Then two guys inside, I thought Blake Belin and Derry Norris showed up a lot inside. So, you know, really increasing that depth and not just the depth, not just to have a body there, but have depth that, you know, can play when it is their time, when they're right, and that's what we want. We want all freshmen to come with the mindset and attitude that they're they're coming into play as a freshman because if you don't have that mindset , you're never gonna play right. So you always have to be thinking that way.

Then in pass protection, I thought he (Malachi Carney) was really, really solid at pass protection. There on the right side of right tackle. Come on, Malachi.

Some of the other guys, I thought Elgin Sessions showed up today, as far as another young guy, Dalen Penson. I thought Tae Harris was around the ball a lot today. One thing we asked our team was to make sure they take care of each other, right? Make sure you go out and you gotta play physical, gotta play fast, but we wanna take care of each other too. At the end of the day, we're all teammates, and there are the QBs.

Now, they did, there was some times that it was piled up and there was three, four guys on the tackle and they could have dumped a guy or flew in and they didn't. So that shows a sign of maturity on the team, that's a positive sign. A.J. Hoffler, missed some springtime, he showed up today. So I was really pleased with the defensive end spot and that's what I'm really, and that's not saying anything negative on the other side of the ball, like I said, I think it was a pretty balanced scrimmage across the board.

It shows enough things, I mean, for every time they might have gotten a pressure or a sack, some guys got to understand that this, want to stay in their lanes and where it's a rush lane, whether it's the technique in the run game, because you know, quarterback takes off and goes 15 yards, You know up the middle of scramble or a draw. All right, you know that might have me a sack, you know if a guy's getting a first down to every other third down third and long, so, you know that's part of the evolution of the development of the young guys on that position. But I don't think there's anybody better than Jess Simpson and Kyle Pope as far as developing those guys, I mean, they both do such an outstanding job.

Some of these guys, just in the last week, see how they've, you know, the true freshmen, how they've come around on the D-line position. Then over on the other side, I think we're starting to come together on the O-line. That's always a position that takes time to, people say, you know, use the word gel or whatnot. I mean, not really gelling, it's just goin' out there and playin'.

I mean, there's, you know, a lot of these guys don't have a lot of reps under their belt, and that's all we really want to maximize in our practices, maximize our scrimmages, as yall have heard me say a ton of times, shrink that gap between practice and games, so it's not too big for them. But up until now, we've been playing guys in different positions, you know, it creates versatility on the front, so once we do so into those seven, eight guys that are truly going to be in the play in depth, we've got multiple guys that can play multiple positions.

Harrison Moore's guy, I think, this past week has come on. He's played in a couple of different spots. I mentioned Malachi. Tana's been playing center. And Jimmy Bryson, Jimmy got in there at center. Had a lot of time with the twos in there at the center today. Those were some of the combinations we were working out on the field. You know, with the exception, I think, one time, I mean, you know, execute the snap, got the calls in, you know, got the line in the right direction. So, that's not easy for a freshman center. I mean, the guy who, especially the guy who wasn't here in the springtime, the guy who just got here to go with the twos, I mean, you're going against, you know, Akelo and JJ and Matt Alexander, those are some pretty good players that are across from you too.

So, I was most proud of him today. Then, like I said, you know, ball security through the one interception, that was really, It was a great play by Kiker. Early on, we had a couple of balls on the ground. We had an exchange, a couple of exchanges. There was one QB-center exchange with, I'm not sure who was in there on that one. And then Jordan Allen, who's really been flashing this camp, he can roll now. He is real, really fast. And all of a sudden, you get out there the damage, well, now that is real fast with the real, real, real, real fast, and now you're trying to, whether you get him a ball or just trying to turn before he catches it or whatnot, balls end up on the ground. So those are a lot of things we've got to coach up.

You know, Jordan, the same thing with punt returning. You know, he's one of the guys who were working punt returning and, you know, just, you know, only so many times you can, you know, so many reps you can get. So we're trying to maximize those. Probably the biggest, you know, I think, you know, whether it's myself, Buster (Faulkner), Norval (McKenzie) said it, you know, we have pretty good running back room guys. We got a deep running back room. It was good to see the young guys in there today. Do some things. JP, Shane Marshall, Malachi Hosley. I mean all of them had big chunk runs, which I, as you know, am good at one side, but also you know on the other side of the ball, it's we're the guys that you know bust one gap, you know one guy makes a mistake out ther,e it shouldn't be you know 10 -12 yard game that should be the max that it is right.

So we got a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball when it comes to that, you know, tackling the space, setting the edge, containing the defense, the structure, and the call that's being made. You know, overall pad level we got to, you know, continue to get better at. We got to work on our hands too many times, you know, out on the perimeter or on the back end. We had hands outside, and you know, calls holding penalties or pass interference type things. So we got a lot of work to do this week, and I wish we had.. it is about time to start running out pretty soon. So we got a lot of work, we got to get done. So it was family day today here. So all the players, a lot of the families were able to come in and have some educational classes for them early on, and then have a big barbecue here after for them."

Brent Key Georgia Tec — Jul 23, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Key answers questions from the media during ACC Media days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

1. On how hard it is to practice tackling since they are in pads for fewer practices...

"I mean, I think it's plenty. I mean, look, nothing changes in full pads versus shoulder pads. There is zero difference other than taking somebody to the ground. And, you know, you get a scrimmage opportunity, but it's harder to thud than it is to tackle somebody. And that's what we want to get done. We want to make sure that these guys understand how to thud and bend their knees and wrap up. All right, you know, that's hard. You know, that's the hard thing to do. You're not diving into people's ankles. Now you're in a better position when you're in the game. So, look, that's why you scrimmage, though. That's why you do scrimmage. That's why you do go, go live is to see where you're at and get a, you know, kind of a baseline of that.

I thought leaving the springtime, we've made a lot of improvement in tackling. We've worked on a segment of tackling things up until now. You know, those are things you mean, you can work on tackling without taking people to the ground. And that's something they work every day, even when they're, you know, in spider pads. You know, you're working on those techniques and the body position. You know, I thought, I think we got some guys that, and obviously the faster you are, the quicker you're to the ball, more likely you make the tackle, right? So when you have more length, more speed, more depth, those things help. But I thought, like I said, I think we had to work with perimeter, some of those things are tackling out on the perimeter. And I don't want guys to be ankle-biters. I want guys to be able to come and face guys up and in front run them up and then make it tackle like a man. And that's something we still got to continue to work on. But right now, I don't know, it's kind of a loaded question there. I mean, am I pleased? Not really. I mean, am I happy? Not really.

I think we have a chance to smile at some point. Yeah. No, I mean, it's halfway through camp. It's halfway through camp. So I think the ability of the guys though, it really shows up the speed of the ball especially the second, third level. We have really deep, good group of linebackers."

2. On increasing the number of enrollees and how it helps the depth...

"Yeah, I mean depth is really what it you know, I count depth as it is in the first game you kick off all right, so whether the early enrollee or summer enrollee, the depth is still there all right, but being an early enrollee. That's a lot of practice rubs. I mean, it's not just the 15 days of spring I mean, it's the you know the time we have with them in the offseason. It's getting in shape It's being in condition to be able to go through go through a um, to go through summer conditioning, so, yeah, I mean, but, yeah, it helps you, but at the same time, we've had a lot of players here in the last, you know, two, three years that have come in, in the summer and make big impacts to true freshmen as well.

So I'll leave it, I'll leave it up to them. Like I don't, from one way or the other, as far as being an early enrollee. If they aren't an early enrollee yeah, I still let them go to prom and, you know, do all those things, but like Dalen's a good example. You know, Dalen, he was on a quest to break some records and to win another championship, and he did. So spring sport guys, and in some schools still, there's still some schools that don't allow it. So, good."

3. On Aaron Philo and how he is performing in Fall Camp...

" Good. I've been really pleased with Aaron, you know, we know the talent he has. Tremendous talent, and that definitely hadn't gone anywhere. But it's almost one of those things too, the older you get when you come out of that true freshman year, it's every position, it's not just quarterback. You know a little bit more, then you know a lot more, you know, almost, sometimes knowledge can be deadly. All right? So, now for a quarterback especially Chad, there's so many different things for that person to see. They really take game -like experiences and reps and speed, and whether you're Haynes, who's started for eight, nine years in college football, or Aaron who's going into the second year, both of them are tremendous football players, But Haynes is still seeing things, you know, you see new things you got a new coordinator to different coverages different, you know tweaks to it different things, but I'm really I've been really very pleased."

4, On Injuries...

"We're healthy. We're as healthy as we've been at this point in camp in three years. And that is a massive, massive credit to really a lot of areas. I mean, AJ Artis and his crew and what they do during the summer. You know, the training room and how they've been able to put guys in position in the maintenance and rehab and what we do there and then then Pat Boyle and Jordan Diaz from the sports science aspect of it. I mean we went hard last week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and you know they yeah I want to go hard again on say, well, maybe you got to dial back a little bit. But we use all those things. You use your gut instincts, your experiences, but also the scientific data. We're not going to be driven by any just one thing. We're going to put our heads together, and that's where the trust comes in with the staff. And I trust those guys tremendously. I mean, we were able to go right at 140 plays today. And obviously it was cool out there, relatively speaking, but we could have gone 40 -50 more without missing a beat. These guys are in really good shape. I need the sun. I need the heat."

5. On the next step he wants to see out of his team after today...

"Yeah, the details. Like I said, the installations come really slow and down. It's time to now. We challenge them all the time. It's not just knowing what to do, but how to do it and why you're doing it. Until you know those three things, you don't. But I want to see a group that doesn't lose its edge, doesn't lose its team they've brought. It's a very business -like focused group. It takes a minute to kind of get to know your team and know who they're going to be that year. And you always think one thing coming out in spring, then you add a few more guys and it's more diversity hits and different things take place throughout the summer and the team bonding stuff we do and I think I got a pretty good feel for what this team is and you know if you've given the option to have the day off or practice harder they're gonna practice they're gonna want to practice harder that's just kind of the mindset of these guys and I love it but also got to make sure I'm doing my job of protecting them against that because it's easy to be emotional and just say that but we're the ones where the adults in the room they have to make sure we put them in the right position they go and they go hard and now it's time to really refine the details of the game.

Like if you look at the, we still have a way to deal with our mental toughness. I defined that to him, I said, look, mental toughness is your ability to maintain focus. When things get hard, when you get tired, all right, when adversity hits, that is something that's really important, is diving in and becoming very detailed, maintain our focus, the mental toughness of everything we've got to be able to do."

6. On the depth of the receiver room...

"Yeah, we got depth, we've got a group of guys that compliment each other very well. All right, we got guys, you know, it's one thing to have a guy that's a good receiver that when you get locked in playing one position for whatever reason it is, you know, these guys can play in multiple positions, you know, Eric can play all across the board. You can move him around, put him in stacks, put him in different ways to clean, help his releases. I mean, he's a smart, smart football player. He's got a lot of experience under his belt. Showed up today, big time, big time. Showed up today. Isiah, big target, strong, fast. And I think, is there becoming more and more confident playing together, and with the quarterbacks, You're seeing the play speeds pick up, and that's what I was looking for to see the play speed pick up."

7. On if there are any similarities with this team and the team's he played on...

"I mean, I think teams are very different, but just in terms of-- I don't compare this team to anybody. I don't compare our journey to any other one that's taken place. This is ours, it's these players, it's us as coaches. And each year is independent, it's so different now where you're bringing, I read something this morning, how about teams are bringing, they have 60, 70 new guys on their team right now. I think we're in the mid 30s, it's a different deal. So look, to be compared compared to something, yeah, that's flattering. But at the end of the day, it's all about us and what we do."