Kirk Herbstreit Says Georgia Tech and Brent Key Are A Team Everyone Should Be Paying Attention To

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit had plenty of praise for Brent Key and Georgia Tech after their win over Clemson

Kirk Herbstreit is on stage at ESPN College GameDay ahead of the University of Oklahoma-Michigan College football game on Sep 6, 2025 in Norman. | Steve Sisney/For The Oklahoman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Georgia Tech picked up a big win at home and remains the topic of conversation in the national media spotlight. One of those people is well-renowned ESPN analyst and commentator Kirk Herbstreit, who heaped praise on the Yellow Jackets and its program. In a social media post, he centered his comments around head coach Brent Key and star quarterback Haynes King.

“Georgia Tech and Haynes King, there is some grit there. They really take after their head coach. He coaches with a chip on his shoulder (Brent Key), which I love. He’s at a place where he played. He understands they are viewed as nope, you aren’t quite cool enough to be invited to the party. He has guys that kind of show up in a bad mood. I love the guy,” said Herbstreit.

“When you talk with him one on one, you can tell there is a vision of what Georgia Tech can become. I don’t think that was Clemson sleeping. They scored that game-tying touchdown late. They are going to get out of here with a win. Georgia Tech against that Clemson defense get into field goal range for the last second kick. I think Georgia Tech sitting there at 3-0 needs to be a team that all of us are paying attention to.”

Joey is fed up with the dogs 🤣🤣#nonstop pic.twitter.com/Ec7Q0EDarf

— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) September 15, 2025

Another analyst who gave Georgia Tech a lot of praise entering the season was national host and analyst Josh Pate. Here is what he had to say about the Yellow Jackets in the preseason.

“I think Georgia Tech is a legitimate contender in the ACC. They have the 5th best odds in the ACC and I have already bet on them, I have backed this up with my own money. Haynes King is there again, they have excellent program identity, they are 26th in returning production and look at the schedule. They get Clemson at home early in the year and then they get Georgia late in the year,” said Pate. “If they split those games? Look at the rest of it. None of those are gimmes because Georgia Tech talent roster is not going to be at the point where they could just roll the helmet out there on the field and think they are going to win a game, but they don't play Miami, they don't play Louisville, and they don't play SMU. If they were to get that Clemson game early, then everyone will start buying this.”

Another sign of this is that the Yellow Jackets game in a few weeks against Wake Forest has been announced; it will be on ESPN or ESPN 2 when it faces its ACC foe on September 27th.

Why is that significant? Wake Forest, although 2-1, was picked to be one of the worst teams in the ACC in 2025. The jury is still out on that after they dropped their first ACC contest against NC State at home last Thursday night. ESPN can easily go with another matchup to put on it national network, but instead chose this one, marking the respect that the Yellow Jackets have garnered as a must-see team each week. After getting a No. 18 ranking in the AP Poll, expect more of their games to be scheduled on national networks, especially ESPN.