ATLANTA- The biggest news coming out of Georgia Tech's win over South Carolina State was a pair of injuries to starters Eddie Kelly and Chase Lane on opposite sides of the ball.
Kelly moved into the starting lineup at field end replacing Sylvain Yondjouen who tore his ACL in the season opener against Louisville. The transfer lineman went down late in the South Carolina State game with an injury and was in so much pain his screams were audible in the stadium. Key said that Kelly was back in action on Tuesday and will play against Ole Miss.
"Eddie is back and is a full go in practice," Key said.
Starting Z receiver Chase Lane left the game and returned to the sideline on crutches and he will miss the Ole Miss game.
"Chase will be out this week and we will continue to see week-to-week with him where it ends up. It is not a season-ending injury by any means," Key said.
Eric Singleton Jr. was splitting time with Lane despite being a true freshman and he had five catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns in his first two collegiate games. He is likely going to start in Lane's place.
The other player expected to be in the Z receiver rotation, D.J. Moore had his arm in a cast at the South Carolina State game and appears to be out for a few weeks. Avery Boyd would be another option there or James BlackStrain or Juju Lewis.
Key said they had some error corrections on Sunday, but not a ton and they were able to get a jump on preparing for Ole Miss.
Key said practice was good Sunday and today and they are getting the team ready for a good atmosphere at night at Ole Miss this week between two good football teams. He said they are evenly matched when you look at it statistically so they have a chance to play a game there for four quarters and see how it shakes out.
Key noted they've played a game in three different venues to open the season. It will be four next week with Wake Forest, I'm curious if that is some kind of GT record.
Key said the OL was consistent across the board and that was expected last week. They made some changes to the lineup (Ethan Mackenny at LT, Connor Scaglione at RG and Jordan Williams at RT) and they played well.
Key said Ole Miss has a new DC (Pete Golding) who he knows (he is actually good friends with Pete) and there is some familiarity but the scheme is very different from what he ran at Alabama and matched the personnel to complement the team. He said they are aggressive and like creating negative plays. He also mixes up coverages on the back end to confuse the QB and receivers in the passing game. They like cheating an extra hat in the box as well to stop the run. They've shown great improvement in the first two games.
Key said his prior working relationships with Lane Kiffin and Golding will have no impact on the game plan or the game. He said that was a long time ago.
Key said the DL needs to affect the QB and get more sacks, but they are creating pressures and getting the backfield to create negative plays for the RBs as well.
Key said Kiffin likes to get he ball deep in a bunch of different ways, play-action and RPO and they use that RPO game to sell the play-action as well and create explosive plays. You just have to play sound techniques and communicate to slow them down. They are not going to stop every single one, but the goal is to be efficient and adjust.
Key said they are not there yet in terms of eliminating penalties but they've made improvements with discipline and that shows up in more than penalties, putting your head on the right side of the block or other things. Penalties will occur and he will stress working on them but there are lots of yards that you can gain by not having them.
Key was asked about the game last year and he said he can't even remember Sunday. They've looked at the tape and Ole Miss is explosive and the QB manages the game well and they have one of the best RBs in the country in Judkins and they will let him loose. Kiffin loves running the ball and establishing that and then taking shots. They have to cover for the explosives and try to slow down Judkins.
Key said he is excited about the WRs on the team and the young guys they have like Singleton there. He said they should improve as they get more experience as well. He said that Buster Faulkner does a nice job spreading the wealth in that room. He has been very pleased with how the WRs are blocking and they were leading the charge in the second half of the SC State game and even in the first game. He challenged them and they are blocking for each other and that helps them be more explosive in the perimeter game.
Key said that Faulkner has a good command of the offense and they are scoring points but his main concern is winning weather it is 2-0 or 50-0.
Key said the kicking competition remains open between Gavin Stewart and Aidan Birr. He said it was great to see Birr get to connect on some kicks and he has confidence in both of them. He said that Gavin's kickoffs have been huge for field position so far and they are both consistent and capable and that is what they want from their kickers.
I asked about the lack of balls to the TEs and he said that was something they really focused on in the spring and camp, but coverages when they've called stuff for them has had them covered and so they've had to throw the ball to other plays. He said he is proud of the way the TEs are playing though and how unselfish they've been blocking. Key said that Dylan Leonard is blocking his tail off and a lot of times you don't see that when someone isn't getting the ball, they want to be selfish and he is not being selfish and is being completely unselfish and he wants to win more than having his name in the paper.
They had a physical practice today and they'll have another tomorrow, they can't just focus on the Ole Miss RB and put seven in the box because they'll get behind you. They have to have some balance on defense and mix things up and change up coverages to keep them out of rhythm. Key said he tells the team all the time, "we always want to be the hammer and not the nail."
Key said it was big getting Kyle Efford and Braelen Oliver major snaps against SC State and they need to play more because they won't make it through a season with just Paul Moala and Tren Tatum playing every snap. He said that even Dre White graded out well hitting 9/10 on his assignments against SC State and they'll need all of them to contribute this season. He was very proud of how Kyle made adjustments and took them back to the field.
Key said that Omar Daniels getting major playing time was another big benefit last week and KJ Wallace at the STAR position gets a lot of burn, but they need to develop more guys there and that Omar is going to be a really good player for GT in the future.
Key said that Haynes King has a really good command of the offense right now and what the other 10 guys are doing and the 11 on the opposing defense as well. He has experience and won't be rattled in big road games. He has been better about protecting the ball as well and knowing when to throw it away or run. He said there is still work to be down, but he is improving each game.
Kelly moved into the starting lineup at field end replacing Sylvain Yondjouen who tore his ACL in the season opener against Louisville. The transfer lineman went down late in the South Carolina State game with an injury and was in so much pain his screams were audible in the stadium. Key said that Kelly was back in action on Tuesday and will play against Ole Miss.
"Eddie is back and is a full go in practice," Key said.
Starting Z receiver Chase Lane left the game and returned to the sideline on crutches and he will miss the Ole Miss game.
"Chase will be out this week and we will continue to see week-to-week with him where it ends up. It is not a season-ending injury by any means," Key said.
Eric Singleton Jr. was splitting time with Lane despite being a true freshman and he had five catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns in his first two collegiate games. He is likely going to start in Lane's place.
The other player expected to be in the Z receiver rotation, D.J. Moore had his arm in a cast at the South Carolina State game and appears to be out for a few weeks. Avery Boyd would be another option there or James BlackStrain or Juju Lewis.
Key said they had some error corrections on Sunday, but not a ton and they were able to get a jump on preparing for Ole Miss.
Key said practice was good Sunday and today and they are getting the team ready for a good atmosphere at night at Ole Miss this week between two good football teams. He said they are evenly matched when you look at it statistically so they have a chance to play a game there for four quarters and see how it shakes out.
Key noted they've played a game in three different venues to open the season. It will be four next week with Wake Forest, I'm curious if that is some kind of GT record.
Key said the OL was consistent across the board and that was expected last week. They made some changes to the lineup (Ethan Mackenny at LT, Connor Scaglione at RG and Jordan Williams at RT) and they played well.
Key said Ole Miss has a new DC (Pete Golding) who he knows (he is actually good friends with Pete) and there is some familiarity but the scheme is very different from what he ran at Alabama and matched the personnel to complement the team. He said they are aggressive and like creating negative plays. He also mixes up coverages on the back end to confuse the QB and receivers in the passing game. They like cheating an extra hat in the box as well to stop the run. They've shown great improvement in the first two games.
Key said his prior working relationships with Lane Kiffin and Golding will have no impact on the game plan or the game. He said that was a long time ago.
Key said the DL needs to affect the QB and get more sacks, but they are creating pressures and getting the backfield to create negative plays for the RBs as well.
Key said Kiffin likes to get he ball deep in a bunch of different ways, play-action and RPO and they use that RPO game to sell the play-action as well and create explosive plays. You just have to play sound techniques and communicate to slow them down. They are not going to stop every single one, but the goal is to be efficient and adjust.
Key said they are not there yet in terms of eliminating penalties but they've made improvements with discipline and that shows up in more than penalties, putting your head on the right side of the block or other things. Penalties will occur and he will stress working on them but there are lots of yards that you can gain by not having them.
Key was asked about the game last year and he said he can't even remember Sunday. They've looked at the tape and Ole Miss is explosive and the QB manages the game well and they have one of the best RBs in the country in Judkins and they will let him loose. Kiffin loves running the ball and establishing that and then taking shots. They have to cover for the explosives and try to slow down Judkins.
Key said he is excited about the WRs on the team and the young guys they have like Singleton there. He said they should improve as they get more experience as well. He said that Buster Faulkner does a nice job spreading the wealth in that room. He has been very pleased with how the WRs are blocking and they were leading the charge in the second half of the SC State game and even in the first game. He challenged them and they are blocking for each other and that helps them be more explosive in the perimeter game.
Key said that Faulkner has a good command of the offense and they are scoring points but his main concern is winning weather it is 2-0 or 50-0.
Key said the kicking competition remains open between Gavin Stewart and Aidan Birr. He said it was great to see Birr get to connect on some kicks and he has confidence in both of them. He said that Gavin's kickoffs have been huge for field position so far and they are both consistent and capable and that is what they want from their kickers.
I asked about the lack of balls to the TEs and he said that was something they really focused on in the spring and camp, but coverages when they've called stuff for them has had them covered and so they've had to throw the ball to other plays. He said he is proud of the way the TEs are playing though and how unselfish they've been blocking. Key said that Dylan Leonard is blocking his tail off and a lot of times you don't see that when someone isn't getting the ball, they want to be selfish and he is not being selfish and is being completely unselfish and he wants to win more than having his name in the paper.
They had a physical practice today and they'll have another tomorrow, they can't just focus on the Ole Miss RB and put seven in the box because they'll get behind you. They have to have some balance on defense and mix things up and change up coverages to keep them out of rhythm. Key said he tells the team all the time, "we always want to be the hammer and not the nail."
Key said it was big getting Kyle Efford and Braelen Oliver major snaps against SC State and they need to play more because they won't make it through a season with just Paul Moala and Tren Tatum playing every snap. He said that even Dre White graded out well hitting 9/10 on his assignments against SC State and they'll need all of them to contribute this season. He was very proud of how Kyle made adjustments and took them back to the field.
Key said that Omar Daniels getting major playing time was another big benefit last week and KJ Wallace at the STAR position gets a lot of burn, but they need to develop more guys there and that Omar is going to be a really good player for GT in the future.
Key said that Haynes King has a really good command of the offense right now and what the other 10 guys are doing and the 11 on the opposing defense as well. He has experience and won't be rattled in big road games. He has been better about protecting the ball as well and knowing when to throw it away or run. He said there is still work to be down, but he is improving each game.
