247 Sports Analyst Forecasts Georgia Tech's success level in year one under Brent Key

What will Georgia Tech's record be under Brent Key in 2023?

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Jun 20, 2023 12:47 PM EDT

In this story:

Georgia Tech was an interesting team to follow last season after a 1-3 start and former head coach Geoff Collins being fired. Brent Key stepped in for the final eight games and went 4-4 over the final eight games and that earned him the permanent job after the season.

So what does Key have in store for an encore this season?

Georgia Tech interim head coach Brent Key — Will Georgia Tech have a successful first season under Brent Key in 2023?
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

247 Sports analyst Brad Crawford thinks that it could still be a tough season for Georgia Tech, even with the success that Key found as the interim coach last season. Crawford recently predicted the success level of each first-year coach this upcoming season and here is what he had to say regarding how tough it is to predict successes for first-year coaches and how he thought this season might go for Georgia Tech:

"Forecasting success levels for first-year college football coaches is a challenging task. The transfer portal provided opportunity to alter respective rosters quickly, but not all acquisitions are immediate success stories. Changing the culture is paramount for the new guys leading programs and some of that foundation has already been laid.

However, not all coaches inherited situations ripe for winning and it's going to take longer to find success as a result.

Optimism is the goal, not projections of impending disaster. Schedule favorability has been taken into account along with insight gathered from team insiders and reporters who have been around these programs from the outset."

Late-season opinion (projected): Luster wearing off

"One of the feel-good stories of the 2022 season after going 4-4 under the interim tag with the Yellow Jackets, Key watched his players and the Georgia Tech fanbase rally around his guidance with a whirlwind of momentum down the stretch. Sometimes, an emotion-driven hire works, but Key's going to need time. The Yellow Jackets went portal-heavy this cycle and hopes they landed several immediate impact starters within the 16 transfer signees. Whether those additions will be difference-makers and help Georgia Tech win ACC games remains to be seen."

While I do agree that these kinds of hires don't always work, I think there is a path to success for Key in his first season. Games against South Carolina State, Bowling Green, Boston College, Virginia, and Syracuse are all winnable and four of them are at home. Other games against Louisville, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Miami are games where the Yellow Jackets will be underdogs, but they have knocked off North Carolina two years in a row. Wake is undergoing some personnel changes on offense and Louisville is also a transfer-heavy team under a first-year head coach.

There are plenty of questions about GT though and while I think those games are winnable, the margins will be thin and Tech will have to execute well in each game and be well coached and I think there is evidence over the final eight games of the season to suggest that they will.

The Yellow Jackets have to prove it on the field, but there is a path to getting to six wins and a bowl game and maybe more. Let's see what happens.

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