Everything from Brent Key's media availability: 9/19

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key spoke with the media today

Jackson Caudell | Sep 19, 2023

Everything from Brent Key's media availability: 9/19 /

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech fought hard on Saturday against Ole Miss on the road, but the final result showed that the Yellow Jackets still have a lot of things to work on before they can take down a team of that caliber.

The next challenge for Georgia Tech comes on the road this week against Wake Forest, a team that is 3-0 but has not faced the toughest of schedules. The Yellow Jackets will be their toughest opponent to date, but the Demon Deacons are going to be a tough challenge on the road.

Head coach Brent Key met with the media today for the first time since the Ole Miss loss and here is everything the Yellow Jackets head coach had to say.

Opening Statement:

"We are going to get our corrections done, look at the things we did positive. Had a chance to talk to the team, address the team, address each side of the ball, meet with the coaches, see the things that we are doing well and continue to do those. There are a lot of positives that we are doing, a lot of improvement made, a lot of things that we have to clean up. You look at the game and I broke it down to the team. There are any number of plays that can make a difference in a football game, its never 6, 8, 4, 3, or whatever. We really broke it down in four scenarios in the game where we had an opportunity to get points and either did not get points or got three points as opposed to seven points and that in turn flipped the script and all of a sudden they got points off of it, now all of a sudden you are talking about a 14-point differential in a football game that could have been. That's exactly what it was.

There are no moral victories, could have beens, should have beens, would have beens, but the team needs to understand that you go on the road and play a competitive game against what is a good football team, you have to take those things out of it that are positive and that we are a good football team too. I am tired of telling these guys that they have a chance to be a good team, they need to know they are a good football, we are a good football team.

Now, you have to go out and play like it consistently through the whole game and I thought it was good to let them know that, to let them know to play consistently, finishing drives, finishing plays. All of those things we will continue to work during the week and look to improve those things and to play with the confidence that you're playing with the three quarters, three and a half quarters, overcome adversity, get down, and get back into the game and not quitting when something bad happens, continue to play the game and those improvements and we have to continue to do those because there are a lot of good teams that don't end up being successful on Saturday and that is what we are striving for.

When the clock hits zero, we want to make sure we are on the upside of it. We have a good opponent this week, Wake is a good football team. Probably one of the most, over the last six or seven years, one of the most impressive teams not just in the conference, but in the country with what Dave Clawson has been able to do there. They have a system in all three phases in the game, they understand their system, they know how to play in their system, they have players that play extremely well in their system, they play confident, and they have answers. They have answers on offense, on defense, the kicking game, so you know, it'll be a... and they play hard, they play extremely hard, they are a tough and physical team and we are looking forward to going out there on the road and playing our first road game in the ACC."

1. On the second-half defense...

We have to sustain obviously. If you look at it statistically and you say you're good on third downs, well that is good and bad. No.1, people are earning the first down on third down and so you have to do a better job on first and second down of creating... putting them up against the wall and where we have done some good things in the first half of games, even though you hold them to a field goal and you play the field position game, you're aggressive in a lot of areas in the game based on where you are playing, your opponent, different things.

The defense, when the second half, really it is the end of the second quarter and the third quarter in this past game... we know Ole Miss was going to get explosive plays, but it is about limiting explosives and we have to be able to make plays one-on-one and we have to be able to create negative plays, that is something that we are working extremely hard on is creating negative plays because when you get off track and now it is second and 12 or second and 15, it is a lot harder to earn that first down within the drive so that is something that we are working on and have addressed and will continue to address and continuing to work on"

2. On Haynes King's growth from when he first arrived on campus...

"Yeah he does a good job of running the offense, being a leader on the team and having relationships with other people, with really everyone on the team across the board. He has a unique ability at that position to put a bad play behind him and put a good play behind him and that is what you look for at that position, but he also instills confidence in the guys that are playing with him. In just talking to the guys some in the last couple of days, the confidence that they have when he is out on the field and they know he has the opportunity to make the throw or make the run, pull the ball and do different things with it, making good decisions and he puts the offense in the right position in order to be successful and you know.

A perfect example of that the other night, I think it was at the end of the first half and and we are driving down the field and I think we ended up kicking a field goal at the end of it, at the end of the drive, but understanding the clock, getting the clock, we had some unfortunate circumstances within that drive that ended up stopping it, but when the clock is running and he is letting the thing go down and it is two seconds, one second, and I am standing next to the official getting ready and he knows exactly when it needs to be snapped. That exact management of the game, it instills confidence in people around him."

3. On how to get the safeties back to playing at a high level...

"What I do to rally those guys I will keep within our doors and keep between us on things that have been done and things that have been said, but yes I expect those guys to play at a high level. In the game of football, you have to control both lines of scrimmage and skill guys on offense and defense have to win one-on-one's and that is whether it was a one-on-one play on the ball, tackling, a one-on-one catch, a first down, it comes down to doing your job and that is what we are asking of them and what we are demanding of those guys and just go do your job. Don't try and do everyone else's and try to be the hero, play within the scheme and do your job and the play will continue to rise."

4. On what he has seen from Wake on tape so far...

"They are a good football team, like I said in my opening statement. They are a good all-around team, they have coaches that have been there for a while and they have good coaches and they understand who they are and that is what shows up on tape. They know who they are as a program. It is... they are a program to admire what Dave has done there and how he has built it. They play sound football, they don't beat themselves, they play good situational football. I mean you look at their defense on third downs, plays in the red area, negative plays, sacks, really all of those things that matter in the situational aspect of the football game."

5. On being the least penalized team in the country...

"You have to emphasize it every day, you can't just say you did something well one week and expect it to be done next week. Things that are done in the game of football and things that are important to win in the game of football, those are things that are done every day. When you talk about culture, that has to become who you are, it is not what you do, but it is who you are and it is emphasized every day to have fewer penalties and that is a huge thing. It has paid dividends already, it is going to pay huge dividends in the aspect of field position, which is one of the most important things in the game of football, is the field position part of it. We have done a good job of it and we have to continue to do a good job of it."

6. On the strategy behind the fake punt call...

It was there, it was there and it was there on tape and I decided on Wednesday that I was going to do it. If we moved any further up the field, they would have been in punt safe and we would not have had it. It was the perfect time, that is why we ran the ball the play before and got it to 4th and seven, which is exactly where we wanted it in eight yards or less and we had the momentum and the play was there and it was not executed."

7. On if there are linebackers that will be getting more reps going forward...

"Deserve? No you earn, you don't deserve crap. You earn reps in practice and you earn more in the games and that is what we are looking for, guys to earn their positions and to earn reps. Nothing is deserved, this is not the YMCA and we are not going to give someone something because they deserve it. Our job is to put the best players out there and find out who the best players are and that is why we play more guys. You want to keep guys fresh, but those guys earn that opportunity in practice and earned it in the previous game that they were in and to keep those guys fresher and to be able to consistently be out there to earn the plays."

8. On injuries...

"Jordan (Williams) came back, David (Shanahan) came back also and I told him that I don't know much about Irish culture, but I know who Conor McGregor is and he is pretty tough so I imagine everyone is pretty tough. He said that when he got knocked down after the blocked field goal, he was laying on the ground and all he could think about was me standing over him and yelling at him not to be on the ground so he jumped up really quick and left the field so that obviously worked. Jordan is fine, he was a full go today."

Opening Statement:

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