Everything Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Key Said At Today's Pro Day

Head coach Brent Key talked to the media at the Georgia Tech Pro Day. Here is everything he had to say.

Opening Statement...

“Once a year when you have this it a lot for the guys. They're all trying to chase their dreams. Unfortunately, they're not all gonna be able to realize those. But fortunately us, we have a lot of guys out today. To continue playing football. And it's exciting to have our combined team obviously see what they can do, see what the drills are. It kind of justifies sometimes we're not crazy, sometimes we're good to them.

On his pitch to teams on Jordan Van Den Berg….

“Yeah, look, they make their own decisions. It's got to be a fit for them for their organization and what they're looking for. At the end of the day, just turn on the tape. The production he's had the last two years here, the quality of man that he is, he's gonna upgrade the character of any locker room, anywhere he goes. And then he's active, he's tough, he's strong, all those things.”

On having four guys invited to the NFL combine….

“Yeah, you can't have NFL players without NFL size. Bottomline. That first cut line for that league is measurables. It's the height, length the speed, and how they play on the field. That's something we strive for. We've got to increase the size of certain positions across the board. We've got to continue to do a better job of that. Excited about this year in recruiting we have increased the size. It's pretty noticeable when you watch spring practice. So hopefully, in the future, we’ll have a lot more of these guys.”

On Haynes King running an impressive 40 yard dash…

“Not at all. I had a bunch of people texting me saying did you see what he ran? I’m like did anybody watch the games, tell me the last time he has been caught from behind. At that position that is not something that is very common. He’s such a long strider which is why he is able to pull away from people. It is a huge asset to have him at the next level.

On Ahmari Harvey growth as a player…

“What did he run? Just talking to a lot of the guys, personnel coaches, and dbs coaches, you can't argue with the hard work of character. He's worked so hard to really become the best verson of himself. I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud of him. The toughness he showed the whole time he's here, the growth in his head and know why I'm doing this.”

On the speed element at Georgia Tech and at the pro day…

“Yeah, I mean really goes along with the size, right? Small, slow teams, I don't think win very many games. So it's not just one of those things we're trying to increase. We're not just trying to become a bigger team and be slow. We be a big, fast, strong, physical team that is able to compete wherever time to go play. That's what championship teams are. And more guys you see have an opportunity to go and play at the next level. mean, they're usually going to have the speed. They're going have to size and length those measures. So, you're probably going to be elevating yourself in the win column as well.

On how Haynes King projects at the next level…

“I've watched him play quarterback for three years. He’s done a pretty good job. I mean, he's the ACC Player of the Year. Stats as good as anybody in the country. I think the great thing about Haynes is...when you look at him when he got here three years ago, and to now, very rarely can see a college football player in his fifth and sixth year, especially at that position, continue to develop from a fundamental standpoint, improve himself, continue to raise the ceiling, and that's what I'll tell the guys here. I don't have any doubt in my mind that it'll continue to happen. A lot of of them will say the same thing…

On Keylan Rutledge playing center….

“I think he did a great job. I went down to senior bowl do the same thing. I think people underestimate really the amount of guts that that takes to go out and do something that majority guys do. You know, they're going to the senior bowl and combine those things. They're doing that for last two years, three years, four years. He goes out and now he's done a lot of practice. the guts and the grit that it takes to go out in front of your live auditions and go do that. I mean, that's not an easy thing to do. Out here, I mean, I've told every scout that's come through, if I were I was coaching offensive line at that level what I would be recommending. He did tremendous job.”

On Jamal Haynes…

“He's another one of those guys like J.J., that's right there on one of those kinds of fringe combat guys. He looked good out here, and his body weight was good. He’s got all those other things you want to see. He will have to find the right place and the right place finds him; he's got a good shot to play the game for life. I said in special teams, I still tell the story of, probably, this was like three years ago. I mean, he wanted to run down on kick off. He started running back; he wants to run down and kick off. The first game, jumps over there behind my back, sneaks in and runs on the field and pulls the guy out so he can run down and kick off. That's how competitive he is.”