Georgia Tech Football: Brent Key Updates Haynes King's Status Ahead of Matchup With Virginia Tech

Brent Key spoke with the media today ahead of the Yellow Jackets matchup against Virginia Tech

Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key on the field before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech was back at practice this morning and head coach Brent Key met with the media afterwards for his weekly press conference ahead of the upcoming game on Saturday.

One of the questions that Key was asked concerned quarterback Haynes King and his status for Saturday's game. There was a report on Monday that suggested King was not expected to play against Virginia Tech, but Key said that King is still day-to-day and that no decision has been made regarding whether or not he plays:

"All right, so Haynes is still day-to-day, okay? Mike told me before I came down here, that there's some report that someone had come out with on something or another that said that he's not playing. There's one person in the entire stratosphere that makes that call and that's myself. And there's been zero call made on that. Zero. Okay, he's day-to-day. Are we preparing the other guys to play? Yes. All right. Are we ruling him out? No. You heard it from the horse's mouth right there."

After the game against Notre Dame on Saturday, Key said that King would be day-to-day and that his injury is not season ending.

"You know, it's, you know, you're going to get crazy and say day-to-day, but that's kind of what it is. I mean, you know, I don't know. I don't know where it's at as far as... it's not, it's not season-ending. I can tell you that. It's not a season-ending injury. You know, it's going to depend a lot upon just, you know, how quickly you can, you know, react and come, you know, ready, ready to roll."

Will this mean that King will play? Of course not, but Key has not ruled him out for Saturday's game against Virginia Tech.

The Hokies come into this game tied for 4th in the nation in sacks, while Georgia Tech is third in the country in sacks given up, only allowing three sacks all season. Two of those sacks came on Saturday vs Notre Dame and Virginia Tech arguably has a better pass rush than the Fighting Irish. Virginia Tech defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland is tied for first in the nation with 11 sacks and he just had a four-sack performance vs Boston College on Thursday night. This is going to be a huge test for the Yellow Jackets and could be one of the deciding factors in the game.

The Yellow Jackets entered Saturday's game vs Notre Dame as the No. 1 rushing attack in the ACC. After that game, they are not even in the top five in the conference anymore. They dropped all the way to No. 6 after a bad performance on Saturday.

Jamal Haynes was playing his best football coming into the game, but give Notre Dame a lot of credit for not letting him get going. He finished with eight carries for 15 yards. Chad Alexander had five carries for 19 carries and Pyron finished with 13 carries for 45 yards.

Virginia Tech has the second worst rush defense in the ACC coming into the game. Can Georgia Tech find a way to take advantage?

Additional Links:

College Football Bowl Projections: Where is Georgia Tech Projected to Play After Their Loss to Notre Dame?

Georgia Tech Football: 2027 EDGE Rusher D'ante Seals Recaps Game Day Visit Against Notre Dame

Georgia Tech Football: PFF Grades and Snap Counts vs Notre Dame