Key opened the presser saying he had no injury updates to share on QB Haynes King or anyone else. King has been practicing and he is out there and they will see where he is at leading up to the game.
Student-Athletes of the Week: Aaroh Philo and Troy Stevenson IV
Scout Team Players of the Week: Lawson Pritchett (defensive), Joseph Mosley (special teams) and the entire scout team OL
Key said he is really excited about some of the young OLs.
The captains for the game are Haynes King, Jamal Haynes, Kyle Efford and Tren Tatum.
Key said that Miami is one of the best teams in the country if not the best and Cam Ward is a very special player who finds ways to win even when they've been down this season and that is a reflection on his leadership of their team.
I asked Key if they may go back to a 2-QB system like they used in 2022 at the end of the year and he joked they've been working some QBs at offensive tackle, he asked me to clarify if I meant piecing together a game plan around skillsets and I said yes, he said his goal is to have one voice and when you roll QBs there can be issues with cadence and false starts and different things and he wants a guy to get his rhythm. He said it is like baseball you don't take a pitcher out in the second and put him back in the fourth inning to pitch. He said because of the green dots they can't play all three together at the same time anymore (I had jokingly suggested this to him the other day).
On Miami's run D, Key said they are very talented and deep in the front seven and do a good job of supporting with the safeties in the box when they need to depending on personnel and situations. He said they are very multiple up front and they play all three fronts and stem and twist and can wreck things up front pretty quick so it will be a big challenge for them.
Key was asked about his relationship with Damon Stoudamire and Key said that they have a great relationship and Damon is 50% like Key and 50% the opposite (he made a GT nerd joke about himself) and he loves the way Damon coaches the game and his intensity and he no-nonsense relationship with people in recruiting and his tenacity and the fire he has on the road.
Key said that Nell Fortner is another coach he greatly admires and she is one of the best coaches in any sport in the last 25 years and he likes to pick her brain.
He loves what the women's volleyball basketball program is doing.
Key said Danny Hall has been here since he was a player and he used to go to games and heckle the opposing teams and support baseball and Hall and his wife have been great and they understand how to help.
He said Bruce Heppler has done an amazing job and when he sees him he will always just as a question to pick his brain a little bit.
I asked Key why they've had more success playing ranked teams and keeping in close games mostly with ranked teams during his time as HC and he said he can't put his finger on it and each one has been a different challenge and this is the first time they'll play #4 that he can remember and he said the mentality of GT is to be an underdog and GT is the ultimate underdog school and GT is made up of outcasts, castaways and people who weren't good enough, too short, too small, too fat or whatever and they come here and go through it as a student athlete or as a student at Georgia Tech and that underdog mentality is part of the DNA of the entire institution. He said they like to hear what they can't do like putting people in outer space or on Mars and building the biggest computers or building the smallest smart phone or running the biggest companies in the world, that is what makes the student body special here and you don't always realize that until later on. What the kids go through on a day-to-day basis at Georgia Tech prepares them for those challenges later in life. He said he wants to see 25,000 of us nerds together on Saturday in BDS and they can help change history and the outcome of the game.
On the tweaks from the bye week, Key said that everyone on offense took turns going over things and it was like that across the board in the program. He said from concentration to catching the ball before you run, hitting landmarks running, it was very detailed and focused on execution. He said they looked at the scheme and the scheme is personnel driven and what personnel changes they needed to make and what fits this group best is something they really worked on offensively.
Key said he has never engaged in any of the homecoming stuff, he is bummed he didn't get a chance to party or do any of that stuff. He said he wants the students to go to bed early or stay up all night and be in the stadium at 11 am on Saturday.
Chad asked him about Keylan Rutledge for a feature and Key aid that he has had a great impact on Jordan Williams and he is such a solid person and piece for them. He has a wide body and plays with a low center of gravity and he is a throwback player. Key said it is amazing how he came back from his injury and nearly having a toe cut off and removed and you are seeing him settle back in now.
I messed up my back jumping up and hitting a balloon and the David Gilmour concert on Monday and Key picked up on it last night at hoops and was joking with me about being on the IR when answering a question about seeing the shrinking gap this season with how they've lost games and played without key guys. He said that they talk about having urgency when they play and also patience for the process because that is a longer-term thing, injuries can't be excuses for poor play or execution and his job as the head coach is to put them in a position to win. If they don't execute then he can't sugarcoat it either. Everyone has injuries, that isn't an excuse. He thinks they've played the best defensive football since he has been back at GT over the last few weeks and he wants to get all phases playing their best while continuing to acquire and develop more depth through recruiting and that is the next step. They have to develop who they have and not lose sight of the process either. He said a lot of coaches can also derail themselves on Sunday or Monday by not looking at the details and focusing too much on the big picture. He said that is the fine line he has to walk as a head coach every day and being open-minded about evaluations of everything, but at the end of the day he is judged by the results, but you have to put some of that aside when you are building the program up.
Key was asked about Big Boi and if he was an Outkast fan and he said that he was in Atlanta in the 1990s of course he was and he could karaoke a lot of their songs back in the day. (I would pay to see this)
Key said that he feels a big charge from doing his radio show on campus and connecting with the students and he wants to be visible and approachable for the student body and also views it as a way to thank them for their support as well.
Student-Athletes of the Week: Aaroh Philo and Troy Stevenson IV
Scout Team Players of the Week: Lawson Pritchett (defensive), Joseph Mosley (special teams) and the entire scout team OL
Key said he is really excited about some of the young OLs.
The captains for the game are Haynes King, Jamal Haynes, Kyle Efford and Tren Tatum.
Key said that Miami is one of the best teams in the country if not the best and Cam Ward is a very special player who finds ways to win even when they've been down this season and that is a reflection on his leadership of their team.
I asked Key if they may go back to a 2-QB system like they used in 2022 at the end of the year and he joked they've been working some QBs at offensive tackle, he asked me to clarify if I meant piecing together a game plan around skillsets and I said yes, he said his goal is to have one voice and when you roll QBs there can be issues with cadence and false starts and different things and he wants a guy to get his rhythm. He said it is like baseball you don't take a pitcher out in the second and put him back in the fourth inning to pitch. He said because of the green dots they can't play all three together at the same time anymore (I had jokingly suggested this to him the other day).
On Miami's run D, Key said they are very talented and deep in the front seven and do a good job of supporting with the safeties in the box when they need to depending on personnel and situations. He said they are very multiple up front and they play all three fronts and stem and twist and can wreck things up front pretty quick so it will be a big challenge for them.
Key was asked about his relationship with Damon Stoudamire and Key said that they have a great relationship and Damon is 50% like Key and 50% the opposite (he made a GT nerd joke about himself) and he loves the way Damon coaches the game and his intensity and he no-nonsense relationship with people in recruiting and his tenacity and the fire he has on the road.
Key said that Nell Fortner is another coach he greatly admires and she is one of the best coaches in any sport in the last 25 years and he likes to pick her brain.
He loves what the women's volleyball basketball program is doing.
Key said Danny Hall has been here since he was a player and he used to go to games and heckle the opposing teams and support baseball and Hall and his wife have been great and they understand how to help.
He said Bruce Heppler has done an amazing job and when he sees him he will always just as a question to pick his brain a little bit.
I asked Key why they've had more success playing ranked teams and keeping in close games mostly with ranked teams during his time as HC and he said he can't put his finger on it and each one has been a different challenge and this is the first time they'll play #4 that he can remember and he said the mentality of GT is to be an underdog and GT is the ultimate underdog school and GT is made up of outcasts, castaways and people who weren't good enough, too short, too small, too fat or whatever and they come here and go through it as a student athlete or as a student at Georgia Tech and that underdog mentality is part of the DNA of the entire institution. He said they like to hear what they can't do like putting people in outer space or on Mars and building the biggest computers or building the smallest smart phone or running the biggest companies in the world, that is what makes the student body special here and you don't always realize that until later on. What the kids go through on a day-to-day basis at Georgia Tech prepares them for those challenges later in life. He said he wants to see 25,000 of us nerds together on Saturday in BDS and they can help change history and the outcome of the game.
On the tweaks from the bye week, Key said that everyone on offense took turns going over things and it was like that across the board in the program. He said from concentration to catching the ball before you run, hitting landmarks running, it was very detailed and focused on execution. He said they looked at the scheme and the scheme is personnel driven and what personnel changes they needed to make and what fits this group best is something they really worked on offensively.
Key said he has never engaged in any of the homecoming stuff, he is bummed he didn't get a chance to party or do any of that stuff. He said he wants the students to go to bed early or stay up all night and be in the stadium at 11 am on Saturday.
Chad asked him about Keylan Rutledge for a feature and Key aid that he has had a great impact on Jordan Williams and he is such a solid person and piece for them. He has a wide body and plays with a low center of gravity and he is a throwback player. Key said it is amazing how he came back from his injury and nearly having a toe cut off and removed and you are seeing him settle back in now.
I messed up my back jumping up and hitting a balloon and the David Gilmour concert on Monday and Key picked up on it last night at hoops and was joking with me about being on the IR when answering a question about seeing the shrinking gap this season with how they've lost games and played without key guys. He said that they talk about having urgency when they play and also patience for the process because that is a longer-term thing, injuries can't be excuses for poor play or execution and his job as the head coach is to put them in a position to win. If they don't execute then he can't sugarcoat it either. Everyone has injuries, that isn't an excuse. He thinks they've played the best defensive football since he has been back at GT over the last few weeks and he wants to get all phases playing their best while continuing to acquire and develop more depth through recruiting and that is the next step. They have to develop who they have and not lose sight of the process either. He said a lot of coaches can also derail themselves on Sunday or Monday by not looking at the details and focusing too much on the big picture. He said that is the fine line he has to walk as a head coach every day and being open-minded about evaluations of everything, but at the end of the day he is judged by the results, but you have to put some of that aside when you are building the program up.
Key was asked about Big Boi and if he was an Outkast fan and he said that he was in Atlanta in the 1990s of course he was and he could karaoke a lot of their songs back in the day. (I would pay to see this)
Key said that he feels a big charge from doing his radio show on campus and connecting with the students and he wants to be visible and approachable for the student body and also views it as a way to thank them for their support as well.
