Everything From Brent Key After Loss To Florida State

Here is everything from Georgia Tech interim head coach Brent Key after the loss to Florida State

Jackson Caudell | Oct 29, 2022

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Georgia Tech had a tough challenge on the road against Florida State today and they did not fare well in it.

The Seminoles put up over 600 yards of offense in the game and the Georgia Tech offensive line could not hold up against a good Seminoles defensive front.

True freshmen quarterback Zach Pyron saw most of the action against Florida State today and performed well at times. If Sims is still injured next week against Virginia Tech, Pyron played well enough today to where I think he is the likely starter.

Interim head coach Brent Key spoke to the media today after the loss to Florida State and here is what he had to say.

Opening Statement:

"We got outplayed, Offense and defense. Special teams were not really a factor as much in this game, outside of when we kicked the surprise kick that got us the momentum but defensively, third downs were tough to stay on the field or tough to get off the field on third downs defensively, tough to stay on the field offensively. The first half of the game, we were being very conservative on offense with the new quarterback, that was Zach, in there and he showed the poise in the beginning or the middle of that second quarter where we really started seeing the poise and the confidence that he could make the throws and put the ball where it needs to be. We came in at halftime and made the decision to open it up a little bit more with him. When you look at it, the beginning of the first half and the second half, with the penalties in the first half, the drive killers, the holding call on offense, two on defense where they were able to get big chunk yardage back on first downs and then on the special teams where we make a good play and then we get a 15-yard penalty."

"Then you go to the second half, we came in at halftime and basically told the guys look... you can't do more than you are supposed to do. You can't go outside of your box. You can't act like you have never been there. You need to calm down and go play football and really leading off of number fourteen, that is the attitude he had going back out there and we were able to have a little bit more success moving the ball on offense in the second half with him. We got a lot of confidence as the game went on. He showed a lot of poise out there for a true freshman and just the way that he plays the game was impressive to see for a young guy."

"We have to do a lot better on both sides of the football, offense and defense, as far as get that thing to a third and manageable and how to get off the field when you have third and long on the defensive side and that is the collective team football that we have to play and that's what... we will get back tonight and back in first thing tomorrow and put this game... watch the game, review the game and make critical corrections and be critical with it and be able to move on tomorrow night to the next opponent and... but we have to take this game very critically, as all games and find out what's the best route and the best way for us to be able to play the game on offense, special teams, what gives us the best chance."

1. On the poor tackling in the game...

"I thought it was guys not getting guys to the ground, as the game went on, I thought it was a lot of guys trying to go for the football as opposed to secure the tackle to begin with. I thought they were trying to strip the ball carrier and get the football out as opposed to being the first one there to secure the tackle and have the guys come in, the rest of the guys come in and try to strip the football, so that was number one. The other issue was bad leverage on the ball as far as bad pursuit angle, you know, those guys being able to stop and make a cut and we would overpursue, on a few of those plays, there were two or three guys that were able to take in their angle and they were able to stop and reverse field back inside and we would overpursue it."

"That will happen at times with one person, but where's the rest of the guys in pursuit? That is the question that we have to look out when we see the tape, where are the other three, four, five guys that should be pursuing and coming to the football when that guy does force a cutback inside, where are those guys at too be able to rally to the football on that aspect. For our defense, I thought Florida State made contested catches, they had some big targets where they were able to make some contested catches and if that happens, then you have to be able to get that guy down, you have to bring them down, you have to secure, if they secure the catch, you have to secure the tackle."

2. On the plan for Zach Pyron heading into the game...

"We had a plan going into the game for sure. Third series, Zach Pyron was going in, we were going to play those first two series, regardless of how those first two series played out with Zach Gibson and Zach Pyron was going in on the third series regardless. At that point, we made a decision based off the time that he was in there."

3. On why the defensive ends were covering running backs on wheel routes...

"They caught is in a sim pressure where the defensive ends, the hook dropper to that side and it happened on a play where the running back was a fast our running back on a wheel route and that is the major conflict in that call and they hit it right and it was Keion (White) and they caught Keion up the sideline and he was running foot for foot with the guy and the guy made a really good play and we were not able to secure the tackle after he made the play up the sideline."

4. On the reason behind Tyler Gibson playing at left tackle for most of this game...

"He has been practicing the last three weeks really. Working to develop him in that spot and be a guy that has a lot of talent and we made the decision that we were going to take some guys, some young guys that have talent and put them in the mix to be able to play during the game and we made a decision to put him in at a certain point during the game, at that point in the game and he did some really good things and he is going to be a really good football player and went back and forth a couple of series and made the decision that we were going to ride with him the rest of the game."

5. On if he has a sense of when Jeff Sims might be back...

"No, I don't. I don't at all. We are preparing for him to be back, we hope that Jeff is back and that his rehab and treatment goes well and we will find out tomorrow like everyone else when the trainers and the staff let us know where everyone is at."

6. On the plans for the younger players for the rest of the season...

"You are always trying to get the best players on the field and we are at the point here where the young guys have gotten a lot of... early on. they had a lot of reps on the scout team going against our defense and then we moved them up two or three weeks to start giving them reps with what we are doing on offense and get those guys out on the field and get them meaningful reps in games and we are just not going to put anyone in the football game by any means, it is the people we feel like have the best chance to go out there an compete, number one, and give us the best chance for success. There is no, we are going to put this guy in this game or trying this thing out, its all in the fact that we have the best guys on the field and the guys that are... some of those young guys are starting to really develop over the last several weeks and when they got out on the field, they played really well."

7. On Zach Pyron as a competitor...

"I recruited Zach and there is a special quality in a quarterback when you recruit them and they are a state champion in high school. Not just one state championship and not just two but when you have somebody that is a three-time state champion at two different high schools, running two different types of offenses, ones a kind of single wing under center offense then goes to a spread offense and still be able to do it, you can always say it is the system or it is this or it is that but at the end of the day, he went to two different systems at two different places and won state championships, there is a competitive drive in him and that showed up today."

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