Published Nov 25, 2024
Brent Key press conference notes and quotes ahead of UGA
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Kelly Quinlan  •  JacketsOnline
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ATLANTA- Georgia Tech football coach Brent Key spoke for the first time about the Georgia game on Black Friday to reporters on Monday afternoon following a Jackets’ practice. With the game on Friday, the Jackets moved everything up a day with the Friday kickoff.

“It was the normal routine just bumped up a day,” Key said of the schedule this week. “It is a big game this weekend, on Friday night for us. With the way the week is, it doesn’t matter what day you play on, we just back it up from that day. We've got a lot of work to do this week and a lot of work to put in. (UGA) are a good football team and there is a reason why they’re a top 10 team. They’ve got really good players and really good coaches. They are well-coached, they are disciplined and they go out and execute. They are especially hard to play at their home stadium at nighttime. We are ready for a challenge and we got to prepare this week and have our best week of preparation to be able to go out there and play a good clean game on Friday night.”

The Jackets have lost six in a row to Georgia and Key said that the losing streak to the Bulldogs and the stakes of the rivalry game are not something he will talk about with the team because it goes against the mantra of the program this season of not looking at the scoreboard and focusing on the play in the moment.

“Winning games is why you play games, for that opportunity to win, but we don’t talk about winning games. We don’t talk about anything other than playing to the best of our ability every play, one play at a time. I can’t sit here and tell them there is not scoreboard, but you don’t look at the scoreboard,” Key said. “That is not the way we are wired. It is not the way this team is built. That is why were able to have adversity hit and be able to continue to play through it because it is all about playing the next play.”

The Tech quarterback situation remains a big question going into the UGA game. Freshman Aaron Philo led the country in PFF score with a 93.7 in the win over NC State playing the majority of the game over starter Haynes King who is still nursing a throwing shoulder injury. Philo has played in four games this season and any snaps in the Georgia game would burn his redshirt. Key said that there has been zero discussion about saving or burning Philo’s shirt ahead of the Georgia game.

“We look at redshirts at the end of the season. Our guys on this football team are 100 percent in line with what we want to accomplish so there are no personal agendas over the team agenda when it comes to that,” Key said.

When asked if the Jackets will continue with the two-quarterback King and Philo rotation for Georgia, Key dodged the question.

“Who’s to say we will use both of them? We are going to put together a plan that gives us the best opportunity to have success in the game. Every week is a new defense, a new scheme and new coaches and a new way to attack things so really one week has no bearing on the next when it comes to putting the plan together,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM KEY'S PRE-UGA PRESSER