Everything from Brent Key's post-practice availability: 8/24
Georgia Tech has begun preparing for its first opponent of the season and today, head coach Brent Key took time to speak to the media after practice and discuss his team and the matchup against Louisville.
Here is everything that Key had to say after practice today.
Opening Statement
"I talked about it a couple of days ago, we have really gotten into the game planning with the staff and introduced Louisville to the team yesterday in our meetings and on the field. We were able to go out and have a good practice yesterday, we got a couple of hours in the stadium and he had probably three or four periods of good scout work for Louisville and three periods of good on good versus ourselves, which is what we like to do. It is kind of a mixed practice yesterday, it was an intro practice but we are still a little ways away from the game so it was kind of a Sunday/Tuesday practice, which means we got some good on good work in and that is a good way to keep the team sharp throughout the season.
We had some team run, some blitz pickups, pass pro, 7-on-7, different types of situational things that were good-on-good, normal down things vs Louisville so it was a good day to get out there. The guys are tired of going against each other now so to be able to mix up some things and change it up, but it is also the first day that as a full staff together, that we are going into a game prep week. From my standpoint, it was a lot of paying attention from how things were going and the structure, in the right places and doing the right things and the organizational structure of that and that will change again tomorrow when we head down like on most days, we will be on Rose Bowl (Practice Field). So, just making sure the practice flows right and we are getting the most out of it and being able to get our guys on and off the field and still be able to get ready and shower up and have a little bit of lunch before they start up classes.
Really good academic staff here. This offseason we were able to manage some things and the professors on campus allowing us to be able to push our classes back to starting in the afternoon as opposed to last year when some of them started earlier in the day and it caused us to have to go out early and start meetings early so I am really appreciative of the academic staff here as well as the professors and the people on campus that have worked with us to get things pushed back a little bit further for our kids so we get good work in in the morning so we have full time for those guys to get their academic work and their study hall in so that was a real big plus for us and it will be moving forward so I am grateful to them.
Now, it is a gameplan day today as a staff and we will come back out on Friday and Saturday and really hit a Tuesday-Tuesday type of practice on those two days and then it will start rolling into the week and we are one day ahead so its not as much backed up from the day of the game but it is what you are game planning. Certain situations going in on Wednesday practice so that is the game you are playing with the organizational situations and what you are practicing those days. That is the organizational part as coaches that we are working with and making sure that we are getting the right work and enough work but also we have the ability to out next Friday night and play as fast and physical as we possibly can when we are there."
1. On Haynes King's toughness...
"He is a tough kid. Toughness at the quarterback position, it is mental toughness, it is being able to put a bad play behind you and move on to the next play. Look, both of those guys truly have a high, high level of toughness, physical toughness and mental toughness and that was a lot that went into the evaluation, but that is not what set one over the other.
What does he have? The ability to put the play away, the ability to move on to the next play and that is important at that position. The ability to have adversity hit and be able to walk up to the group the next play and they have a cool demeanor about them and they feed off of that. Being positive, but being able to get after people at the same time on the sideline and in practice. All of those things he possesses and we are excited to move forward with."
2. On the offensive line and potential rotation...
"So, in a perfect world there is five guys and there is continuity and they play well together but we know that is never going to happen in a season, that almost never happens or very very rarely has that ever happened in a season. As far as there being a rotation, look, this is not the YMCA. The best guys are going to go out there and play and if those guys are the fifth, sixth, seventh best lineman then yeah you are going to be able to play them and those guys are going to be fresh and working together but look, our job is to find and develop the five best guys to put on the field and that is what we plan on doing not only Friday night, but the whole season."
3. On preparing for Louisville and new head coach Jeff Brohm...
"Yeah, one is personnel based and one is coaching and schematic-based and he brought staffs on both sides of the ball with him. Jeff has coached a lot of football and called a lot of plays in his career so it is no secret as to what he is going to do and what kind of offense they are going to run, whether it was the last couple of years at Purdue or going back to Western Kentucky. He has come up in a system and it is a system that he believes in and it is a system that works and it is a system that has answers and he does a tremendous job calling plays.
Now, like any good football coach, he is also going to tailor that to the personnel that he has so you are not going to try and put a square peg in a round hole if it does not fit so there is the part of bringing your scheme in but also being diverse enough in your scheme and multiple enough within your scheme and that is, they brought I think 26 transfers in so you might look at Louisville film for personnel but there is also 18, 19, 20 different schools that these guys have been at so you are also making cut ups from different schools to make sure you are looking at player tendencies and individual strengths and weaknesses of different players as well as the schematic part as well."
4. On the Louisville offensive line...
"I know they have three returning starters from their team last year and they are really good players. The center is a good player for them, Gonzalez is a good player for them, Brown is a good football player and they have brought in some guys that have some size and experience playing as well so I don't know how they are going to settle out to their five, I don't know if they are going to play six or seven but I do know that the guy in the middle that snaps the ball is a dadgum good football player for them and anytime you have a center like that, like we do that has returning starting experience, its a little bit easier to put those pieces in when you have a leader in the middle that those guys can rally around."
5. On Georgia transfer Dominick Blaylock and his role in the offense...
"He has been really solid, he really has. It has been like I said, we have six to eight receivers that we are going to play and you want to lean heavily on six guys, that seventh and eighth, they pop up really fast but they also have to have special teams value. Dom is as solid of an all-around football player that we have at the receiver position and I am excited for him to be here. Just his experience in big games, his calm demeanor that he has in the receiver room is a major positive and everything that he does, there is a calm demeanor about it and when you have that amount of experience at the position and in big football games and just a knack to understand coverage and to get open, to secure the catch. Everybody does not have to run 4.3 to be a great player and he has a chance to really help us this year and I am excited."
6. On Special Teams...
"Yeah, we have a plan. We do. We have a lot of guys that are capable in the return game and that has been the double-edged sword is really, you have three guys that can be effective punt returners, you have four guys that can be effective punt returners, you have five or six guys that can be effective kick returners, some of them are older and some of them are younger. Now it is putting them in pressure positions to see when the pressure is really on, when it is not the perfect kick or the perfect conditions, how are they going to react to it? How are they going to make sure they secure the catch because look, everyone wants a punt returner that is going to get 10+ yards on every return, everyone wants a kick return that is going to go to the house, but I want a guy that is going to secure the catch the ball and secure the possession for us. Everything else from there, that becomes the bonus on top of that."
7. On the running backs...
"There are five guys that we have worked in preseason camp and the nature of that position, like I talked about on Tuesday, it is a position that you get banged up at. Just look at what is going on over the last 4-5 months in the NFL at that position, you gotta have a stable of guys.
At some different point in time at camp, all five of those guys have been running with the 1s and running with the 2s. They all have unique skill sets that they can be beneficial at different points in the game, in different situations in the game but at the end of the day, when the ball is put in your hand, you have to be sure that the ball is in your hand too so ball security is the No.1 thing that we are going to look at. Ability to make a play in the pass game, make a man miss in the run game, be able to be a matchup player when the time comes, whether it is the passing or the run game, being able to be multiple with that position.
So, we have a lot of guys that can do that and I do expect it to be a running back by committee so when you guys get the depth chart, it will say Dontae and or or."
8. On Zach Pyron's response to not being named the starter and what is next for him...
"He was pissed. No different than any of us would be. That is what I love about him and that is why we recruited him here and that is why Zach Pyron is going to be a great player, there is no question in my mind about that. When you are a competitor and you have given almost everything in the game of football, to be at that spot and win that position, look, there is only one of them, there is only one of that position on the field. It is the most glorified position and also the most scrutinized position.
He responded exactly how I expected him to respond. There is a fire in people's eyes that when you look into it, some people become emotional, some people become fiery and that is him. I don't expect anything to change when it comes to the way Zach Pyron is prepared, the way Haynes King is prepared. Both of those guys are in the position that they are in because they pushed each other and I don't expect that to change one bit."
9. On the Louisville defensive line...
"They had two defensive linemen I believe that are good football players and that can affect the quarterback and when you look at a defensive line, it is not always the stats that show up or how many sacks they have, it is how many times have the affected the quarterback and how many times did they make him move off of his spot and scramble and change the game, how many times did they get in the backfield in the run game and the running back has to bounce the ball and go where it is not designed to go so now someone else gets the glory for it.
Now scheme-wise, they are in a different scheme, they are playing a totally different type of football. I don't expect them not to be aggressive, I don't expect good football coaches not to use the talents they have and they have some talented guys in the front and have the ability to get in the backfield.
So yeah, it is going to be a challenge and a good challenge for us and depending on what types of things we have with the running backs.
10. On if anyone has stood out at the edge position...
"They have really all had their opportunities and played with the first group and they have all played with the second group, kind of like the running back position. You have a lot of guys and a lot of guys with experience. Kevin Harris has had a really good camp. Kevin has really shown flashes of a guy that can impact a football game. He is becoming more and more consistent doing it and I have been really proud of Kevin and how he has come along.
You have Kyle Kennard, you have Noah Collins, who are in the rush spot. You have guys that can different things, but that play at the same position and then you have other guys that can bounce both sides, you have guys that can play rush and play end. When you look at that and you say, ok, we have a group of defensive lineman and depth of defensive lineman, there is nobody out there that is going to have to play 70 plays a game, you are not going to have someone who is playing 60 plays and at critical times in the game, they are tired or are mentally tired and now a mistake occurs or a late hit or jumping offsides or being in the wrong gap or the wrong assignment. When their bodies are more fresh, they are going to be mentally fresh, especially at that position because the effort they have to play with every play is a different type of effort than any position so we are fortunate to have a lot of guys, not just the rush, but really all across the front now that we can play this year."
11. On transfer Paul Moala...
"He has a very good chance (of playing regularly). Very good. Paul has had a really good camp. What have I seen from him? I have seen maturity, I see experience, I see a level-headed guy. I see a leader, I see a guy that impacts others around him, not just what he says, but how he does everything, how he goes about his business on and off the field, how he handles himself in the locker room, how he handles himself on the field. With the way that he has positively been able to affect Trenilyas Tatum has been outstanding, seeing the communication between those two, it has been great to see on the sidelines.
He has played a lot of ball. He has played a lot of ball. He has durability, he has been able to play a lot of games at a very good level. He played both spots and has a good knack in coverage and understands coverages and he understands his strengths and weaknesses and I think that is really important at that position and to be able to diagnose plays and a knack to slip blocks but also front somebody up with his hands and get off a block and go make a play and that is what you look for. You look for guys that... there are a lot of guys that have the ability and can run around and do things, but when you have 320 LBS running right at your face, what kind of decision are you going to make?"
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