ATLANTA- Georgia Tech football coach Brent Key led his team through a walk-through ahead of Saturday's game against VMI in a wet Bobby Dodd Stadium on Thursday. The Jackets may have to battle inclement weather this weekend along with the Keydets.
"It keeps going up," Key said of the rain chance percentages. "I saw 60 then I saw 80 then I saw 60 and then I saw 70. I have the latest and we start to track that on Monday and what the weather is going to be and prepare whether it is wet, whether it is wind, we have plans for that. We prepare for that during the week and we always are going to go an extra step to make sure we are as prepared to be able to simulate it as close to possible."
Key said they will go as far as wetting down the field and balls to prepare in practice the week of a game for rain.
"We do wet ball drills, you do different things to simulate the disadvantage that might occur with the weather," he said. "As Coach (Nick) Saban used to talk about, if you are going to fight the Baltics then you have to train in the Baltics."
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Student-Athletes of the Week
Defense: Makius Scott
Offense: Bailey Stockton
Scouts of the Week:
Special Teams: Troy Stevenson IV "he has been doing really good job not just on special teams but on defense as well and really developing as a young player on the back of the defense."
Offense: Daylon Gordon "he proves when you are selfless no matter what you are, freshman, sophomore, junior or senior it doesn't matter. You going to do what it takes for what is best for the team to win and he took a lot of reps doing it."
Defense: Cedric Franklin "he was the scout team special teams player of the week and this week being defense."
Key said it is good to see some of the true freshmen pop up on this as they start to settle into college and not be overwhelmed by every single thing they do.
On Thursday they do some extra developmental stuff for 40 minutes working with the younger players and some of the older guys as well. Some of them could be guys that can help you as the season goes on. They are trying to build quality depth so they can have more guys that can help.
Key is excited to be back in BDS with the fan support and atmosphere they are trying to develop and he is excited to see the team go out and compete again.
Key said that they have a lot of decisions to make as a staff about who will help them compete for 60 minutes and who is all in and who loves playing football vs who loves being a football player. The stakes get higher as the season continues on and he is challenging himself, the assistants, the staff and players so they are all in and they are all in this together and they've got to make tough decisions.
I asked for any injury updates, Key said that everyone that is hurt ala LaMiles Brooks, Malik Rutherford, Horace Lockett etc are game-time decisions this week.
Key said he disagreed with Clayton Powell-Lee saying they had a good practice when he watched the film back from Wednesday, he said they have a lot of personnel decisions to make across the board and he wants to see an increased sense of urgency. The whole point of practice is to shrink the gap between practice and the game and that is their goal as coaches and that improving is a big part of the growth of the program.
On VMI playing without their starting QB and the impact of that, Key said you have a plan and make adjustments and they have some things in mind that they might see with the other QB but they won't know until 3:30 on Saturday.
I asked Key if he was planning to expand who plays through those personnel changes he alluded to and he said he decides who plays and if they are ready to play. He isn't looking for guys sitting around waiting for their turn, you create your own opportunity with the way you practice and the way you develop and improve. Guys might be on scout team or 50% scout team and you give it your all and play it like a game and that is the gap shrinking he wants to see.
Chad asked about Zach Pyron and what they like about him, Key said he prepares like he is the starter every week and that is his challenge to everyone on the team. When you get to the point that everyone on the team prepares like the starters you have a chance to really improve your overall team because they are going to push each other and improve themselves and maybe bypass the guy in front of them..
Rod asked about Trelain Maddox and his timetable and Brent gave him shit about asking about RBs every week, Key said they will see on Maddox. They don't want to rush him and put him in a spot his isn't ready for yet physically or mentally.
I asked about the safety spot with LaMiles Brooks hurt and how they shuffled guys like moving Omar Daniels around and where was Jayden Davis in the game, he said that Jayden played on special teams. Key said that is a position they need to develop more depth that is ready to play, they have depth in numbers but not guys ready to play. They have guys with the traits who are good athletes but they are not always ready to play. He said they are seeing some young guys make an impact on special teams and they are looking at who is the best today, who will be the best in week six or week eight and that is how they have to look at it. Everyone is going to make some mistakes especially in their first game and you have to be able to learn from those as well. They don't learn by sitting and watching other people play though, they have to do it so getting the live reps on special teams should help shrink that gap.
Key said of the young guys that are stepping up on special teams, Jayden Davis made some plays, Luke Harpring, and Amontrae Bradford made some big plays there the past couple of week and Jordan Boyd is a big dude that can run and people should watch him run down on a kickoff. Christian Pritchett is another one and Anthony Carrie is another one that is getting in there and playing, they have a handful of young guys that are getting in on special teams that should get onto the field eventually at their positions.
Key told the story of meeting LaMiles Brooks when he was in 9th grade when he was at Alabama and he was 6' and 138 pounds and ran a 4.6, he said he still calls him Miles because that is how he was introduced when they met and how he is saved in his phone. Key said he is a guy who has been with him every step of the way here and he has a relationship with that is greater than what is on the field. He said they love him and he has had a tough go if it getting banged up whenever it starts to come together for him, but he is like a coach on the field for the younger guys and he doesn't get in a pouty mood and is himself despite the challenges and he keeps encouraging the younger players and he has seen him mature a lot over the last two years and he will be successful in live in whatever avenue he chooses.
I asked about the backup OLs and if we will see them because of the lack of experience aside from Corey Robinson II who is rotating at tackle and Ethan Mackenny who can play guard or tackle, the rest like Harrison Moore, Brandon Best or Tana Alo-Tupuola haven't really played a college snap, Key said that this isn't the YMCA and everyone doesn't get to just play. He said some years you will play 5 OLs and just hold on for the season, that is rare often you play 6-7 guys that you feel okay with going into a season and you might lose three of them to injuries and there have been years where he had 8 play that they could rotate. He said that there is a lot that goes into playing on the OL and some of it even comes down to maturity and strength (physical) and if they are able to execute the way are supposed to.
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