Analyst sets expectations for Georgia Tech in year one under Brent Key

Key is entering his first season as the head coach of Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is set to begin its 2023 season next Friday against Louisville in Mercedes Benz Stadium and the Yellow Jackets are hoping to start the Brent Key era off on the right foot in Atlanta. 

Key is one of 11 new head coaches at the FBS level this year and one of two in the ACC (Louisville's Jeff Brohm is the other). Coaches' success in their first season is going to be judged differently because no situations are exactly the same. 

On3 Sports college football analyst Jesse Simonton wrote an article about the new faces in college football and the expectations for each new head coach. Here is what he had to say about Key and Georgia Tech in 2023 (Keep in mind, this was written before Haynes King was announced as the starting quarterback):

"Key was the lone 2022 interim head coach to earn a promotion to the full-time job after going 4-4 upon taking over for Geoff Collins. The Yellow Jackets should have a better roster this year, and the coaching staff (especially with upgrades at OC and on the defensive side of the ball) should be much better, too. But the schedule is brutal (Top 25 opponents Ole Miss, UNC, Clemson and Georgia), and even after the team’s second preseason scrimmage in fall camp, Key still hasn’t narrowed Tech’s quarterback competition between Zach Pyron, Haynes King and Zach Gibson.

Key has done a notable job off the field of reestablishing connections with high school coaches in the Peach State, and that momentum must continue no matter what happens between the lines this fall. Replicating last season’s 5-7 year would be a solid start for Key as the head coach of his alma mater."

What should be the expectations for Georgia Tech in year one under Brent Key? / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

That's not a terrible analysis and I think if Georgia Tech gets 5-6 wins, that would be a good starting point for Key. I have the Yellow Jackets finishing 6-6, but some are not as optimistic. 

ESPN released their conference predictions and picked where each team is going to finish and the predictions were not in Georgia Tech's favor.

ESPN picked the Yellow Jackets to finish 13th in the conference with a 4-8 record. The only team that Georgia Tech finished ahead of was Virginia, who was picked to finish last in the ACC with a 3-9 record.

Clemson was picked to win the conference.

These predictions are in line with how the media voted at the ACC Kickoff in July. Georgia Tech was picked to finish 12th in the conference, only ahead of Virginia Tech and Virginia. When asked about where his team was picked, this is what head coach Brent Key had to say:

"I could care less, they could less, I could care less. Games are played on the field and I know it is that time of year when it is exciting to see the rankings and see those things and have a lot of good talking points for the next three or four weeks and that is what makes college football a passion and that is what it is, its the passion for the people that cover it, it is a passion for you guys, it's what yall do and helps you put information together but it means nothing to me. If I was not coaching I would be right there with you guys, reading them all and making the predictions, but not for us. Those external things have zero factor on how we come out and practice every day."

Georgia Tech will kick off its 2023 season against Louisville next Friday at 7:30 on ESPN. 

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