Kirby Smart Talks GT-UGA Rivalry and Brent Key Ahead of Rivalry Matchup on Saturday

Kirby Smart has a lot of respect for Brent Key and the GT-UGA rivalry

Jackson Caudell | Nov 21, 2022

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech has not been competitive against the Bulldogs as of late, but that does not diminish the rivalry in Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart's mind.

When speaking with the media on Monday, Smart talked about a variety of topics including the rivalry, Yellow Jackets interim head coach Brent Key, and more.

Georgia Tech vs Georgia — Georgia Tech has not beaten Georgia since 2016. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

One interesting wrinkle in this edition of the rivalry: Both of the head coaches played against each other. Smart talked about facing Key while Key was at Georgia Tech:

"Known Brent (Key) for a long time. He played at Tech while I played at Georgia. We played against each other. And we spent some summers together. And I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. You know, he was the O-line coach at Alabama one of the years we played them. And they did a really good job. His offensive lines are always physical, get after it. There's a lot of familiarity with their staff, with ours, Chip Long, Cheney, and all the guys that have been over there. And so, they're playing really well now. They're playing really hard now. And I think he's done a tremendous job at getting these guys to compete.”

While Georgia is going to be a big favorite in this game, Smart took notice of what Key and the Yellow Jackets did on Saturday when they went on the road and took down No. 13 North Carolina:

“Yeah, you know, they started a little slow. And then once they got in their groove, they were really aggressive, extremely physical. You know, I think held UNC to their lowest output in terms of yardage and maybe points in the season. You know, they played really hard. And they did a great job defensively. They always have -- you know, Tech has good personnel. And the guys there know football and you can see that the kids are playing with a lot more passion and energy. They're one game from bowl eligibility and you saw it come out in the play against UNC.”

Smart knows what it means to be the head coach at the program where you played and the pride that goes into doing that and he said Monday that you can see that with how Georgia Tech has played under Key since he became the interim head coach:

"Yeah, they take on his personality of toughness, not beating themselves, being physical. You can tell they've probably honed down some things. He made some changes to special teams. You know, he played there. And when you've got someone that played at that university and that's their alma mater, there's a certain level of want to desire to represent the University the right way. And, you know, when they won the first game, they beat two top 25 teams with him as the head coach. And you can see the emotion that he had after the Pitt win in the locker room because of how much it means to him.”

Georgia Tech Football vs Georgia — Kirby Smart said that Georgia Tech vs Georgia is still a big rivalry / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

When asked about how the rivalry between Georgia Tech and Georgia is changing and if it was still a big rivalry, this is how Smart responded:

"No, it's still a big rivalry. I mean, I think maybe it shifted in the dynamic of what their offense was. Because it went from one extreme to the other in terms of that. And this is Stetson's first opportunity to play Georgia Tech here unless one of those years he was here as a freshman that we played here against them. I'm not sure.”

"Yeah, certainly it is. I mean, it's what this program's biggest rivalry was many, many, many years ago when they were in the SEC. Our kids don't know that history. They don't know the history of this rivalry and what goes into it. It was a really big rivalry, you know, during Paul's years here because of the triple option and playing something different and the physicality of the game, you know. And I think educating our players on that so they understand it -- because it means a lot to our players in terms of what they want to achieve and they got to win this game to achieve those things. So making sure they understand that is really important. And teaching the history of that is important because it'll mean something to the Georgia Tech players and the Georgia players 20/30 years from now.”

On Saturday against North Carolina, Georgia Tech played two quarterbacks due to injuries to Jeff Sims and Zach Pyron. Zach Gibson got the start and played most of the game, but Taisun Phommachanh came in different packages to run the ball and Smart talked about facing both Gibson and Phommachanh today:

"Yeah, they definitely got different skill sets and they're both good players. I mean, I was -- I caught some of a Thursday night game earlier this year and got to see the Gibson quarterback. And, then, you know, watching Taisun go against the UNC team, it was a different flavor. You know, they really complement each other. Big, physical guy. Both of them can actually run. And the improvement that Gibson's made over the recent games to me is astounding. He's throwing the ball much better, much more efficiently.”

Georgia Tech opened as a 33-point underdog in Athens this week against the Bulldogs. The game will kickoff at noon on Saturday and be televised on ESPN.

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