Georgia Tech Head Coach Brent Key Comments On Florida State's Offense, DJ Uiagalelei

The Seminoles could wind up looking vastly different on offense compared to a season ago but Georgia Tech won't know until the game kicks off.

Dec 22, 2023; Tampa, FL, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key walks down the sideline during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl against the UCF Knights at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports / Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The Florida State Seminoles are just days away from their season opener against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and while both teams have been preparing to leave Ireland 1-0, only one team can come out on top. While the Seminoles didn't face the Yellow Jackets in 2023, they have a 15-11-1 all-time record against GT and won the most recent matchup in a landslide 41-16 victory in 2022. Since that game, FSU has an 18-1 record while Georgia Tech has gone 10-7.

Early Tuesday afternoon, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key spoke to the media about how he feels, not only about his team playing Florida State but also about the opportunity that is in front of his program.

"Game week's here, I'm super excited, the team's excited, we've put a lot of hard work in since January to go and play an opponent like Florida State. Mike (Norvell) does a great job with that team. They're the defending conference champions and 12 straight ACC wins they've had, and 23-4 over the last two seasons, which is the fourth-best record in the country," Key said. "It's a great opportunity for us, more importantly, it's a great opportunity for all of Georgia Tech, our alumni, fans, our students, our band is going over, it's just a great opportunity for people to see what Georgia Tech is and see who we are."

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In the last year, the Florida State starting lineup has drastically changed as 13 starters left for the NFL and new additions were made to the team via the transfer portal. With that, there is a challenge for Georgia Tech as this is the first time this FSU squad will take the field, however Key doesn't view this as a major problem, as he noted that this is still a Mike Norvell led team.

"Mike's called offensive plays for a long time, his offense is his offense in regards to what they do. It's different week to week on what personnel groups, what packages, what shifts, motions, and different things they use within it, so those things haven't changed," Key said. "There's film of his from many many years and it's the same type of thing. He believes in running the football, play action, spreading the field, not only vertically but horizontally, working sideline to sideline, and getting the ball in the playmaker's hands. Sounds pretty familiar to me. It's what our defense sees every day out here, so there's a lot of similarity in the two teams, at least offensively in what they do.

This will be the first time in three years without Jordan Travis under center for FSU, and with DJ Uiagalalei having a very different style of play than Travis, it will be interesting to see what the offense will look like on Saturday. Key knows that his team must be prepared for anything, but it is important to stick to the basics before they try and predict what the Seminoles are going to do.

"Obviously, we know the quarterback drives the show, and they've got DJ (Uiagalelei) there, he has experience in this league and had a good season last year, so how he tailor makes it to the quarterback, once we come out the gate we'll really see," Key said, "The important thing in your first game is everybody talks about the opponent, the opponent, the opponent, but the unknowns are what you can't predict, so it's really about your team, how sound you are with your base offense, defense, and kicking game, and how quickly your coaches can make adjustments within the game."

Florida State and Georgia Tech have been duking it on the football field dating back to the 1950s but this is the first time that the two teams will face off on an international stage. Key sees this not only as a thrilling opportunity for the players players and coaches but also for the communities surrounding both programs. He also emphasized that this is a chance for these schools to show the world what American football is all about.

"It's not just another game, we're going to a different country to expose our game of football and be ambassadors towards American football in another country. I mean what an unbelievable opportunity these kids and these coaches have, and really to showcase our sport," Key said. "When you go over there, I went over there earlier in the year to do some advance work, the unknowns there about American football, it's really kind of mind-blowing when you see it because it's every day to us."

"To get over there and see the passion people have for it and how much they enjoy the game, how much they're continuing to learn about the game," Key continued. "I played over there ten years ago when I was at UCF, and just seeing the evolution in the last ten years of that sport over there, so it's a really cool opportunity to be on that stage, to be the first game of the year, to play the opponent we have the chance to play in Florida State, so it's fun."

The Seminoles and Yellow Jackets will face off on Saturday, August 24th in Dublins Aviva Stadium in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon EST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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