Back in the day, business attire (coat & tie) was the standard dress code for those covering a team. What's the dress code for folks in the press box these days?
KQ- There isn't one. I usually wear shorts and a polo or jeans and a polo shirt. Chad from the AJC is a button-down and khaki guy. One of the co-workers at the AJC is into wearing T-shirts with an unbuttoned collared shirt which is probably the most casual non-student dress I've ever seen. Most people are polo/button-down shirts and shorts when it is warm or jeans or khaki pants.
On an administrative level, is there any truth to the "Clemson wants out now" rumors? ...or is this just a pocket of fans who are making noise?
KQ- Clemson can want whatever they want. There are two issues at play here. One is the lack of an ability to get out of the GOR and no one will touch them until that is settled and the second one is ESPN has put a blockade on the SEC expanding or spending more money on college sports at the moment. I think the same people complaining about Calford are also totally against Clemson being a token Big 1G team when push comes to shove. Even the people reporting that Clemson wants to go to court are also maintaining they expect them to end up in the SEC. I personally think this is like the FSU thing, it is about pride and fundraising and trying to leverage the ACC. It worked out poorly for FSU.
Is there any reason we seldom travel to anywhere outside of the South East or invite power five teams from let’s say the Big 10 to Bobby Dodd? It has been more than 100 years since we faced Michigan and we have never faced Ohio State!
KQ- During the CPJ era the non-conference schedule became pretty difficult as teams tried to duck GT. I know former ADs tried to set up series with Northwestern and Purdue in the Big Ten and Cal and Stanford in the Pac-12 at the time and they were not interested in dealing with the triple.
The rule of thumb for non-conference scheduling during Chan and CPJ was sticking primarily with road games in areas they recruit heavily or 2-for-1 scenarios. That changed when they did those deals with Temple, USF, and UCF but they fit in the recruiting footprint so that was the reason for those games. Originally the BYU and Tulane series were 4-game series. The last two games were canceled both times as I recall. I know that happened with Tulane and I'm pretty sure with BYU.
From your perspective truly how different is the atmosphere and locker room from the last regime?
KQ- I'm not in the locker room. I likely will hear more about this after the season but whenever there is a coaching change at a school and I've covered quite a few there is usually a big shift and in the day and age of the portal there are concerns about how transfers get treated versus new players and there can be some leadership voids within the team. I think you are seeing that right now and that has been a constant during the entire GC3 era as well.
We know Key prefers to build a program from the high school ranks and retain those guys, but scale of 1 to 10, how hard do you think Key goes into the portal to fix the defense going into next year? With FSU and Notre Dame rotating back on plus the usual games, it only gets harder in ‘24.
KQ- Key wants to win. He tried to add some other players via the portal this past cycle to bolster the defense but they were outbid by multiple programs. Russell has detailed at least one of the situations that was more public where the kid ended up at the real USC for example. Collins lost out on some guys for the same reasons in 2022. They have to invest wisely with the funds they have in the portal targets and make sure they can be competitive and you can find some decent pieces.
A question for Coach Key - how do you reconcile your strong emphasis on toughness yet see your team repeated play with such a lack thereof, especially on the defensive side of the ball?
KQ- I can tell you what any coach would say. When you are dealing with 18-24 year-olds finding consistency is extremely difficult. Nick Saban struggles with it, the guy to the East does as well. They have significantly better talent who can somewhat overcome some of it, but I think you are seeing uneven products across CFB right now. There were two games just as ugly as GT's on Saturday. One the better team lost UCF-Baylor and the other USC held on barely over Colorado. Both of them jumped out early and went into coast mode and nearly blew it.
Teams are very fragile across CFB right now in large part I think due to the portal and the constant turnover on coaching staffs.
Saw Khari Gee dressed with his helmet on during defensive possessions. Encouraging to see a guy bounce back who had a serious health issue off field. Any idea how he’s been doing?
KQ- He is trying. He has been dressed a few times this year. I don't know if he will be able to play meaningful defensive snaps any time soon, but I'm happy to see him back out there.
You've discussed the "cheating" with MTSU in 2012. What's the story?
KQ- GT played them two years in a row and the third year apparently the genius Al Groh didn't change up his defensive signs and they stole Groh's calls and they adjusted to them. I think Buster was on that staff as the OC. It is a shame on Groh deal. CPJ wasn't mad they stole the signs, he was mad at Al for using the same damn signs for three years.
Are you surprised that after so many people gave the clown 3 or even 3+ years before they realized he was pathetic that many of those same people are wanting Brent canned after 1 💩 game?
KQ- I think there are a lot of people that have years of pent-up frustrations from 2016 onwards. It has been a rough patch for GT football overall during that stretch. There are always dudes who are not going to like a hire and not support the coach. I remember when I started an asshole "media" guy started a fire Paul Johnson in 2010. It was maybe the dumbest ****ing thing I've ever seen from a so-called media person. That sack of shit had his credentials pulled, but he had some dumbass fans supporting him.
Part 1: Are Brent and J Batt aligned in their approach to fix the football program? Said another way, do they agree on the prioritization of things needed to get things back on track, whether it be NIL, money for assistants, facilities, scheduling, etc.?
KQ- As much as they can be. I think their jobs differ in terms of priorities. Key is going to push for whatever he thinks he needs and whatnot. J Batt's job is the overlook the entire organization and balance Key's needs with the resources GT has. I think they have a good working relationship and an understanding of the needs/challenges/obstacles at hand.
Part 2: How involved is J Batt in the operations of the football program? Are he and Brent formally meeting daily, weekly, monthly, or even less frequently than that? I would think, just like any other job, you're having at least somewhat regular check-ins with your boss to report on progress, escalate issues or needs, etc.
KQ- Key meets with J Batt every week in and out of season and they go over everything that is going on so there is transparency. I actually bumped into Key and Batt both walking to the Edge this summer for one of these meetings so they were going on even during the most quiet part of the year. Batt is not an absent AD. He comes to practice and is monitoring what is going on with every sport.
