ATLANTA- Georgia Tech football coach Brent Key spoke to the media after signing most of his 2023 class on Wednesday during the early signing period. Key addressed the various pieces of the class as well as his decision to keep the defensive staff intact and bring on new coaches on the offensive side as well as making Chris Weinke the co-offensive coordinator with new hire Buster Faulkner.
"Today being the early signing day period, really excited about the guys we're able to bring in at this point. We got 24 right now guys that have signed and a good mix of 18 high school players and six transfers. There are a few more that are still in play right now that you know we'll see as the day goes on kind of really what happens there and hopefully get some good news," Key said.
Key talked about the portal being a way to add younger guys with multiple years left and then backfill a few spots here and there where they need depth, but that being a slippery slope where they don't want to have to rely on the portal every year to fill a certain position need like they got stuck with OLs the first couple of years by not signing and developing enough guys.
Key said they signed 14 guys from Georgia out of HS and that will remain their priority going into the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.
Key said that AJ Artis is the new S&C coach and that they've added four other strength coaches to work with him.
Key said that Chris Weinke has been promoted to Co-OC with Buster Faulkner and Weinke will continue to work with the QBs.
Key said with his decisions on the staff he was looking for great teachers, great men and great recruiters so he took his time with the process on the offensive side of the ball. They will have the full staff announced in the near future with the one open spot left.
Key said he is pleased they were able to bring in 10 mid-year guys including multiple HS kids Elias Cloy, Evan Dickens, Gabe Fortson, Shymeik Jones and Zion Taylor for spring ball.
Key said on the OL signees he wanted to take HS kids and let them take their bumps and bruises and develop them long term and he is really pleased with the group he signed because every one of them came to camp and worked out with him personally and he also got to see them at school, in basketball practices, football practices and all of those things and that paints a full picture you can't get on film only and you learn their strengths and weaknesses when you put in that kind of time and that is way they want to develop their recruiting overall, years or time with kids not just tape.
Key talked about how important Errin Joe's return is and that he will be helping develop the long term plan for the recruiting and development piece for their program and they are 100% on the same page about it and how important getting kids on campus over and over and over again is and into camp when they are HS freshmen and coming back every year to see that development over time with kids and how they grow and develop.
On Haynes King, Key joked they were close to having to play Chris Weinke at QB this past season but his arm is so much decline he wouldn't have helped. He said that they wanted someone to come in with some experience playing games and someone who could compete with Zach Pyron and help build that room up but also fit in with Pyron style wise. He thinks that King and Pyron compliment each other and they are getting away from having QBs with too different of styles where you have to make huge adjustments if you have to switch for some reason.
Key said they are still feeling some after effects across the country from COVID and not having camps for almost two years as there are a lot of late takes going on and kids falling through the cracks and teams haven't been able to do their normal evaluation process of kids from freshmen in HS through SR years and kids missed camps and evaluations as well so you are seeing some of that with what people might see as an odd take.
Key said it was big adding Braelen Oliver and Andre White to help replace Charlie Thomas and Ayinde Eley along with the guys they have in the room, but it was also important to sign some younger LBs like Jacob Cruz, Nacari Ashley and Ashton Hefflin because they can't constantly being going to the portal to fill that position.
Key said that Malcolm Pugh and Bryston Dixon were finds because they will look for DL until the very end of the process and they are good fits with the culture they are trying to build on the DL. It sounded like Errin Joe knew about them from his time at Alabama from something Key said as well.
Key said ending up with 3 kids from Texas A&M was just random, Haynes King told them about Chase Lane (this is the story I got from multiple people) and that is how they connected because GT were already recruiting King and then the D guys were recruiting Andre White separately so it was just random they all ended up at GT. Lane just committed publicly earlier than King because someone on another network spoiled his plan.
Key talked about a big difference now being the fact he is the HC and he gets only one shot with kids and it was weird for him on the road because you see the same people over and over at schools that you've known for years and typically spend a lot of time with and he gets the one shot in their school now so there is no see you next week. Key said you realize quick that your role is the closer as the HC and you are selling the program a little differently. He said with transfers it is very different as well because they typically have more maturity and have been through the process and seen the pitfalls.
Key said added Trey Cooley was a big get for them because he is an every down back and they didn't and don't want situational guys, they want guys who can be on the field, block, catch and run the ball. They had a gap in experience they needed to fill and they think he is a great fit for the program and Trey can do all of those things he wants from an RB.
Key said that Taye Seymore is a guy they see as a safety and not a LB like other schools like him. "lat footed, high to low type players. If you turn his tape on the first thing that jumps out at me, he will come and strike you. I mean he comes down he'll he can run. He's got legitimate track times in the 100. It shows up on tape. The thing he shows that is great is he has great contact speed," he said. Key explained what contact speed is, if you run a 4.6 when you contact the offensive player you are still at full speed running that 4.6 at the point of contact. He said he is much faster than people realize and he could also play nickel as well.
Key made no excuses for the star ranking, he said that he wasn't going to sit there and say X-number of players went to the NFL who were two-stars. They are in this situation right now and they need to have some success and use their process to sign guys that will have more star power, but that isn't an instant thing. They are also looking for guys they can develop and guys who can fill immediate needs as well. So those things cross in recruiting and you try to get a mix of guys who can play now and guys who will be really good in 2-4 years with development. He said they could've signed more guys to win the press conference but he wanted to sign guys that will help them win in year two, three and four rather than taking kids who are not fits.
Key said that signing help at receiver was a big part of this class and they need to stretch the field sideline-to-sideline and vertically and they need to be able to take the top off the defense and they need guys with straight line speed and guys with some wiggle and he feels like they got that.
At the end of the presser I asked him about retaining Thacker, Semore, Knight, Turner and Tillman on D and why he did that and he said,
"I think at the end of the day as coaches we're judged as our resumes were judged by the way you play on the field, and they say your resume should be your film. I've heard that for years and years as a coach. So that's a big part of the evaluation that takes place when you look at coaches is the film. How your position group plays. The same things that you hire a coach on being a good person, being able to be a great teacher, and being a great recruiter, and then motivating your team to play hard. Right? That's the same thing that we're all judged on. Our ability to do those things. So that was a big factor in a lot of the decisions that I have made."
On Buster Faulkner
"I know exactly what offense we are going to run here and exactly what is needed to run it. There were a lot of people I talked to, a lot of different ways of going about it and to finally come to the point and find the person that is able to run that offense with input from other people on the staff. Input of everyone on the staff, run the offense that we want to and at the same time has experience of doing it different ways, at different places, has been a part of championship teams and understands what it takes to be on a championship team and bring that mindset to continue to add to the rest of the guys in the room."
"Today being the early signing day period, really excited about the guys we're able to bring in at this point. We got 24 right now guys that have signed and a good mix of 18 high school players and six transfers. There are a few more that are still in play right now that you know we'll see as the day goes on kind of really what happens there and hopefully get some good news," Key said.
Key talked about the portal being a way to add younger guys with multiple years left and then backfill a few spots here and there where they need depth, but that being a slippery slope where they don't want to have to rely on the portal every year to fill a certain position need like they got stuck with OLs the first couple of years by not signing and developing enough guys.
Key said they signed 14 guys from Georgia out of HS and that will remain their priority going into the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.
Key said that AJ Artis is the new S&C coach and that they've added four other strength coaches to work with him.
Key said that Chris Weinke has been promoted to Co-OC with Buster Faulkner and Weinke will continue to work with the QBs.
Key said with his decisions on the staff he was looking for great teachers, great men and great recruiters so he took his time with the process on the offensive side of the ball. They will have the full staff announced in the near future with the one open spot left.
Key said he is pleased they were able to bring in 10 mid-year guys including multiple HS kids Elias Cloy, Evan Dickens, Gabe Fortson, Shymeik Jones and Zion Taylor for spring ball.
Key said on the OL signees he wanted to take HS kids and let them take their bumps and bruises and develop them long term and he is really pleased with the group he signed because every one of them came to camp and worked out with him personally and he also got to see them at school, in basketball practices, football practices and all of those things and that paints a full picture you can't get on film only and you learn their strengths and weaknesses when you put in that kind of time and that is way they want to develop their recruiting overall, years or time with kids not just tape.
Key talked about how important Errin Joe's return is and that he will be helping develop the long term plan for the recruiting and development piece for their program and they are 100% on the same page about it and how important getting kids on campus over and over and over again is and into camp when they are HS freshmen and coming back every year to see that development over time with kids and how they grow and develop.
On Haynes King, Key joked they were close to having to play Chris Weinke at QB this past season but his arm is so much decline he wouldn't have helped. He said that they wanted someone to come in with some experience playing games and someone who could compete with Zach Pyron and help build that room up but also fit in with Pyron style wise. He thinks that King and Pyron compliment each other and they are getting away from having QBs with too different of styles where you have to make huge adjustments if you have to switch for some reason.
Key said they are still feeling some after effects across the country from COVID and not having camps for almost two years as there are a lot of late takes going on and kids falling through the cracks and teams haven't been able to do their normal evaluation process of kids from freshmen in HS through SR years and kids missed camps and evaluations as well so you are seeing some of that with what people might see as an odd take.
Key said it was big adding Braelen Oliver and Andre White to help replace Charlie Thomas and Ayinde Eley along with the guys they have in the room, but it was also important to sign some younger LBs like Jacob Cruz, Nacari Ashley and Ashton Hefflin because they can't constantly being going to the portal to fill that position.
Key said that Malcolm Pugh and Bryston Dixon were finds because they will look for DL until the very end of the process and they are good fits with the culture they are trying to build on the DL. It sounded like Errin Joe knew about them from his time at Alabama from something Key said as well.
Key said ending up with 3 kids from Texas A&M was just random, Haynes King told them about Chase Lane (this is the story I got from multiple people) and that is how they connected because GT were already recruiting King and then the D guys were recruiting Andre White separately so it was just random they all ended up at GT. Lane just committed publicly earlier than King because someone on another network spoiled his plan.
Key talked about a big difference now being the fact he is the HC and he gets only one shot with kids and it was weird for him on the road because you see the same people over and over at schools that you've known for years and typically spend a lot of time with and he gets the one shot in their school now so there is no see you next week. Key said you realize quick that your role is the closer as the HC and you are selling the program a little differently. He said with transfers it is very different as well because they typically have more maturity and have been through the process and seen the pitfalls.
Key said added Trey Cooley was a big get for them because he is an every down back and they didn't and don't want situational guys, they want guys who can be on the field, block, catch and run the ball. They had a gap in experience they needed to fill and they think he is a great fit for the program and Trey can do all of those things he wants from an RB.
Key said that Taye Seymore is a guy they see as a safety and not a LB like other schools like him. "lat footed, high to low type players. If you turn his tape on the first thing that jumps out at me, he will come and strike you. I mean he comes down he'll he can run. He's got legitimate track times in the 100. It shows up on tape. The thing he shows that is great is he has great contact speed," he said. Key explained what contact speed is, if you run a 4.6 when you contact the offensive player you are still at full speed running that 4.6 at the point of contact. He said he is much faster than people realize and he could also play nickel as well.
Key made no excuses for the star ranking, he said that he wasn't going to sit there and say X-number of players went to the NFL who were two-stars. They are in this situation right now and they need to have some success and use their process to sign guys that will have more star power, but that isn't an instant thing. They are also looking for guys they can develop and guys who can fill immediate needs as well. So those things cross in recruiting and you try to get a mix of guys who can play now and guys who will be really good in 2-4 years with development. He said they could've signed more guys to win the press conference but he wanted to sign guys that will help them win in year two, three and four rather than taking kids who are not fits.
Key said that signing help at receiver was a big part of this class and they need to stretch the field sideline-to-sideline and vertically and they need to be able to take the top off the defense and they need guys with straight line speed and guys with some wiggle and he feels like they got that.
At the end of the presser I asked him about retaining Thacker, Semore, Knight, Turner and Tillman on D and why he did that and he said,
"I think at the end of the day as coaches we're judged as our resumes were judged by the way you play on the field, and they say your resume should be your film. I've heard that for years and years as a coach. So that's a big part of the evaluation that takes place when you look at coaches is the film. How your position group plays. The same things that you hire a coach on being a good person, being able to be a great teacher, and being a great recruiter, and then motivating your team to play hard. Right? That's the same thing that we're all judged on. Our ability to do those things. So that was a big factor in a lot of the decisions that I have made."
On Buster Faulkner
"I know exactly what offense we are going to run here and exactly what is needed to run it. There were a lot of people I talked to, a lot of different ways of going about it and to finally come to the point and find the person that is able to run that offense with input from other people on the staff. Input of everyone on the staff, run the offense that we want to and at the same time has experience of doing it different ways, at different places, has been a part of championship teams and understands what it takes to be on a championship team and bring that mindset to continue to add to the rest of the guys in the room."
