ATLANTA- Georgia Tech football entered the padded practice phase of spring ball on Monday with a full pads practice ahead of bad weather in the Atlanta area on Monday night. Following a two-plus hour session on the field head coach Brent Key spoke to the media giving updates on some injuries and how the team looks through the first six practices.
Veteran tight end Brett Seither who transferred from Georgia in the winter has been limited to non-contact through camp so far and freshman receiver Bailey Stockton both were back in action on Monday per Key.
"We've got a couple of guys making their way back, Bailey Stockton and Brett Seither are still limited right now, but are able to get in some 7-on-7 reps and individuals so it was good to see those guys back out there and see some more weapons on the offensive side," Key said.
Overall, the injury bug has been kind to the Jackets according to the first-year head coach.
"We are staying healthy, just you know normal bumps and bruises and a guys missing a few days here and there that are going to happen," he said. "That has allowed us to put in other guys and see where they are going to fit and create some depth and see who is ready to step up with a group, but so far nothing out of the ordinary for camp."
Staying off the ground is one of the mottos Key is preaching to his players in non-live drills throughout camp and he credits the focus on that for helping keep them healthy even with pads on.
"Today was the first day in full pads and we were so excited to get out there. Not a lot changes when you go full pads as opposed to just having shoulder pads on. You are constantly teaching guys to thud up in the front and tag off in the backend in good positions and stay off the ground. We are coaching a lot staying off the ground. To the kids and the coaches' credit they've done a good job of that because that is where guys end up getting hurt and losing time and player availability," he said. "
The Jackets will continue amping up this week ahead of Saturday's first scrimmage in Bobby Dodd Stadium. Key said the team will scrimmage twice in fall camp both on Saturdays before they break for the start of school and move into Louisville prep for the season opener in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 1.
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Key said they've adjusted some of the line drills to being split lines, basically three OLs and two DLs on a side to avoid injuries as bodies get tangled up and that is something he is a big believer in.
Key said the big thing in pads right now is seeing who can tackle, who can sustain blocks, catch in traffic and gain extra yards after contact, stuff like that.
Key said nothing has changed with the QBs yet, they are all doing a good job and they are moving toward more situational football work ahead of the scrimmage this weekend. He said that situational work and the scrimmage will help determine or separate the QBs some for the first time as they put them in adverse situations to see how they handle it like short yardage, Red Area and two-minute offense.
They plan to have the whole offense in for the scrimmage on Saturday.
Key has been very pleased with how the team is practicing right now.
I asked Key how he came up with his approach to running camp and he said it is pretty simple on one level block, tackle, catch and run basically simulating what you do in the game in activities in practice, but ultimately it is about building great habits and being consistent every day. You can't have one good day then a bad day then a good day. You can have a bad play, but a bad day is a mental issue and not what they are looking for. They want consistent sustained performance and stacking days.
Key was asked about tempo and he said that they aren't looking to just snap the ball at 35 on the play clock every play, they want to throttle up and down as needed to win games and there will be games where they'll need to milk the clock and maintain possession and they have to be able to execute. It is a trained habit like blowing up a balloon over and over. Getting your cardio up and they worked on that all summer building the guys up so they could push their natural limits to the edge and push each other and have the coaches push them as well.
Key said they moved Jamal Haynes to RB to help find a way to get him on the field. They liked how he was running jet sweeps in practice and he was a RB in HS and stuck in a deep receiver room so they wanted to find a way to allow him to get on the field. He has a lot of ball skills and he has been a very pleasant surprise in camp so far.
On the QB battle, he is looking for who can lead the team to the end zone and cross the line and get up and down the field with the offense. You want a QB with good self-awareness that can take coaching and be efficient with the ball.
Key said toughness is about creating the standard of play on the field and the identity of the team an establishing that standard every week. How you practice is how you play and how you prepare and can you take hard coaching and can you look someone in the eye when they are testing you and do your job. Overcoming adversity and keep grinding to help your teammates and that is how they will measure that toughness.
I asked Key about how they decide on the padded days vs shells or shorts days in practice, he said he works with Pat Boyle (analytics) and A.J. Artis (S&C) and their staff to figure out how to balance things now that they are out of the acclimation period. They get eight padded practices in fall camp and how the scrimmages work and what they need to do each day. He said they had double-digit guys "heat out" on the first day and that was down to one single digits today despite going in full pads showing the progress they are making in maintaining guys' bodies.
Key got asked about conference realignment and he stared off in the distance for a minute and then said he didn't know much about it and didn't know about the Big 10 expansion (Oregon/Washington) until the SID told him at lunch today. He said he is only worried about GT and the ACC.
Key worked with the OL during individual drills today and he said he was Geep Wade's GA today. The OL GA from last year Nate Brock is now working with TEs for Buster so Key helped when they split the OL in half and he did what Geep wanted him to do and he likes to give an extra hand to different groups each day and today was the OL group, but typically he is in observe and watch mode.
I asked Key about adding guys like Tim McFarlin and Bill Stewart legendary HS coaches and Brian Baker a longtime NFL and college assistant as off the field personnel and what they bring and he said that he took a look like at himself after he got the job and his shortcomings and wanted to bring in people the help both in leadership and individual roles that could help improve Georgia Tech as a football program and good leaders do that at every level and he brought in guys with a wealth of experience. Tim has really helped with HS relations and Stewart is big helping with the defense as a great defensive mind. Donald Hill-Eley is doing big things as the Chief of Staff overall for the program and all those guys serve as an extra pair of eyes for him on the field especially when they are on split fields and he really trusts them. The on the field coaches get a lot of the praise and people talk about them for good reason but the off the field staff are just as important.
Veteran tight end Brett Seither who transferred from Georgia in the winter has been limited to non-contact through camp so far and freshman receiver Bailey Stockton both were back in action on Monday per Key.
"We've got a couple of guys making their way back, Bailey Stockton and Brett Seither are still limited right now, but are able to get in some 7-on-7 reps and individuals so it was good to see those guys back out there and see some more weapons on the offensive side," Key said.
Overall, the injury bug has been kind to the Jackets according to the first-year head coach.
"We are staying healthy, just you know normal bumps and bruises and a guys missing a few days here and there that are going to happen," he said. "That has allowed us to put in other guys and see where they are going to fit and create some depth and see who is ready to step up with a group, but so far nothing out of the ordinary for camp."
Staying off the ground is one of the mottos Key is preaching to his players in non-live drills throughout camp and he credits the focus on that for helping keep them healthy even with pads on.
"Today was the first day in full pads and we were so excited to get out there. Not a lot changes when you go full pads as opposed to just having shoulder pads on. You are constantly teaching guys to thud up in the front and tag off in the backend in good positions and stay off the ground. We are coaching a lot staying off the ground. To the kids and the coaches' credit they've done a good job of that because that is where guys end up getting hurt and losing time and player availability," he said. "
The Jackets will continue amping up this week ahead of Saturday's first scrimmage in Bobby Dodd Stadium. Key said the team will scrimmage twice in fall camp both on Saturdays before they break for the start of school and move into Louisville prep for the season opener in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Key said they've adjusted some of the line drills to being split lines, basically three OLs and two DLs on a side to avoid injuries as bodies get tangled up and that is something he is a big believer in.
Key said the big thing in pads right now is seeing who can tackle, who can sustain blocks, catch in traffic and gain extra yards after contact, stuff like that.
Key said nothing has changed with the QBs yet, they are all doing a good job and they are moving toward more situational football work ahead of the scrimmage this weekend. He said that situational work and the scrimmage will help determine or separate the QBs some for the first time as they put them in adverse situations to see how they handle it like short yardage, Red Area and two-minute offense.
They plan to have the whole offense in for the scrimmage on Saturday.
Key has been very pleased with how the team is practicing right now.
I asked Key how he came up with his approach to running camp and he said it is pretty simple on one level block, tackle, catch and run basically simulating what you do in the game in activities in practice, but ultimately it is about building great habits and being consistent every day. You can't have one good day then a bad day then a good day. You can have a bad play, but a bad day is a mental issue and not what they are looking for. They want consistent sustained performance and stacking days.
Key was asked about tempo and he said that they aren't looking to just snap the ball at 35 on the play clock every play, they want to throttle up and down as needed to win games and there will be games where they'll need to milk the clock and maintain possession and they have to be able to execute. It is a trained habit like blowing up a balloon over and over. Getting your cardio up and they worked on that all summer building the guys up so they could push their natural limits to the edge and push each other and have the coaches push them as well.
Key said they moved Jamal Haynes to RB to help find a way to get him on the field. They liked how he was running jet sweeps in practice and he was a RB in HS and stuck in a deep receiver room so they wanted to find a way to allow him to get on the field. He has a lot of ball skills and he has been a very pleasant surprise in camp so far.
On the QB battle, he is looking for who can lead the team to the end zone and cross the line and get up and down the field with the offense. You want a QB with good self-awareness that can take coaching and be efficient with the ball.
Key said toughness is about creating the standard of play on the field and the identity of the team an establishing that standard every week. How you practice is how you play and how you prepare and can you take hard coaching and can you look someone in the eye when they are testing you and do your job. Overcoming adversity and keep grinding to help your teammates and that is how they will measure that toughness.
I asked Key about how they decide on the padded days vs shells or shorts days in practice, he said he works with Pat Boyle (analytics) and A.J. Artis (S&C) and their staff to figure out how to balance things now that they are out of the acclimation period. They get eight padded practices in fall camp and how the scrimmages work and what they need to do each day. He said they had double-digit guys "heat out" on the first day and that was down to one single digits today despite going in full pads showing the progress they are making in maintaining guys' bodies.
Key got asked about conference realignment and he stared off in the distance for a minute and then said he didn't know much about it and didn't know about the Big 10 expansion (Oregon/Washington) until the SID told him at lunch today. He said he is only worried about GT and the ACC.
Key worked with the OL during individual drills today and he said he was Geep Wade's GA today. The OL GA from last year Nate Brock is now working with TEs for Buster so Key helped when they split the OL in half and he did what Geep wanted him to do and he likes to give an extra hand to different groups each day and today was the OL group, but typically he is in observe and watch mode.
I asked Key about adding guys like Tim McFarlin and Bill Stewart legendary HS coaches and Brian Baker a longtime NFL and college assistant as off the field personnel and what they bring and he said that he took a look like at himself after he got the job and his shortcomings and wanted to bring in people the help both in leadership and individual roles that could help improve Georgia Tech as a football program and good leaders do that at every level and he brought in guys with a wealth of experience. Tim has really helped with HS relations and Stewart is big helping with the defense as a great defensive mind. Donald Hill-Eley is doing big things as the Chief of Staff overall for the program and all those guys serve as an extra pair of eyes for him on the field especially when they are on split fields and he really trusts them. The on the field coaches get a lot of the praise and people talk about them for good reason but the off the field staff are just as important.
