Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Key Provides A Powerful Answer On The Current State Of College Football

College football has been under heavy criticism for the past couple of years with various rule changes, including the change of the transfer portal that allows players to transfer mutiple times throughout their college careers instead of just one time like before. It has even affected the high school recruiting part of the sport, with colleges having a preference for experienced players when constructing a roster, as compared to young players they have to develop and spend time on. Winning right now is powerful, and having a different outlook on the sport, especially when you can be let go after just one year.

We have also seen the ushering in of the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) era, which eroded amateurism in the sport and pays players for playing. Revenue Share was also established recently, with players now getting a share of the revenue that teams earn from fans, media deals, merchandising and much more. There have been countless other changes, which are just a glimpse at some of the significant ones. Coach Key dove into both sides of the spectrum of the portal and where the current state of the sport is.

“I think the state of college football, college football's in the greatest place it's ever been, right? The fan experience, the viewership, and the engagement of college football's at an all-time high. I mean, just the the amount of people that are watching games, watching playoffs, the amount of people that wake up on Saturday mornings and watch game day, maybe it's for all of Nick's cussing, but you know it’s just overall I mean, you look you look from, you know, whether it's Thursday night, whether it's Friday night, Saturdays, college football is a way of life in so much of the United States, right? I think college football is at the interest in it is at an all-time high. Okay? Now, when you look at the other things, I mean, and I say this all the time, there was a time when there were no face masks on helmets, right? And that changed. There was a time when they started out, and there was, you know, a vote on who the national champion was. And sometimes it was a split national championship. The last time Georgia Tech played a bowl game in the stadium, right? So, times change. If you look at college football, about every 15 to 20 years, there's a major overhaul in college football, right? And sometimes you don't even recognize that it's happening until it's just part of the game. We're going through one of those right now, right? We have been for the last probably 18 months to two years. Right? It is a change in college football. Well, massive changes like this don't just happen overnight. The final way to do it, or the best way to do it doesn't just happen. When you sit in these meetings like we have to and you hear people talk, well, yeah, it might sound like a great idea to change the date on the calendar, but then when you start digging in and all the things that go along with that.

The first part of the answer that catches your eye is Coach Key saying it is in the greatest place it's ever been. Many people believe that it is not true and that the sport is in a bad place. I agree with Coach Key, however, on how much intrigue is around the sport and how much people are tuning in just to watch the games from the bowl games to the Playoffs. The games are more exciting, and teams aren't eliminated with one loss as they were before in the BCS era. More people are tuning in and want to see their favorite teams play.

All the things that affect, right, at the end of the day, right, our job is to graduate players from college to give them opportunities that a lot of them would not have had to go to college to get a degree and change their lives, create generational change in families. We do that through the avenue of football, right? I'm speaking to myself. I had no business going to Georgia Tech. Zero. The game of football provided the opportunity to go to Georgia Tech. Right? It changed my life. It changed my family's life. It changed the trajectory of a lot of things, right? I look at this every day like like Kalani just said, yes, we are judged by the scoreboard, by the wins and the losses, right? But I put my head down at night knowing I've done my part to put better young men in this world. Right. And that has not changed. That will not change. That will not change at Georgia Tech. We just had the highest GPA in the history of our program in 133 years. I think it is 3.17. I have 62 players on the team that I've signed an appeal. Means they had under a 2.55 in high school. They have a collective 2.86 GPA at Georgia Tech. 20 out of 24 freshmen that came in made the dean list at Georgia Tech. All right, those values have not changed in what we're really out here to do, and that is to create better young men to change the lives of young men that come in at 17 and 18 years old. All right, and some of them that come in and through transfer and they're there for six months. All right, but when you get that stamp that GT stamped on your life, all right, it changes it. Are there things in the calendar? Yes, there are a lot of things that we could go through, but every second I spend complaining, or every second I spend saying, "Oh, this it should be like," right? I'm wasting time trying to figure out how to be better. All right? Let everyone else complain about it. Let everyone else waste their time saying that it could be better or should be like this or should be like that. All right? And I'm going to pass their a** All right? And we're gonna find a better way to do it.”

The powerful part is the second part of his message when he talks about changing kids' lives and graduating players, which creates generational change for families. It is rare to hear that kind of answer in college athletics right now. Coach Key is not just trying to mould star players but a great human being who can go out and be productive in society. They are not just athletes but humans who can forever alter their lives for the better. A testament to who Coach Key is as a mentor and coach, setting up his players for success long after football is over. Again, not something you hear nowadays when it comes to college football.

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•Making A Transfer Portal Wish List For Georgia Tech