ATLANTA- Georgia Tech interim football coach Brent Key has led his team through tremendous challenges this season posting a 4-3 record since taking over for Geoff Collins following his termination, but Saturday's trip to Athens to face #1 UGA will be his biggest as a head coach. The Jackets are banged up and going into the game with their third and fourth-string quarterbacks helming the offense and a banged-up and bandaged offensive line. Key has spent a lot of time focusing his players on the challenge of each game and that has led to back-to-back road wins over ranked teams, but the Georgia game is a rivalry and Key knows there is a difference.
"So we had a really good practice today. After the win on Saturday night, It was good to see the guys come back out today and have good focus with good energy getting ready to go into the game this week. After a really good win on Saturday, the kids played their tails off and played for the entire game, through a 60-minute football game and have ups and downs within the game, it was really a testament that these kids' character, their grit that they have, and how hard they want to play for each other and how much they love playing for Georgia Tech," Key said. "I'm really happy for those kids and the success they were able to have. It is on to a new one this week and we've got a big challenge in front of us playing the number one team in the country at their place."
Key said that he has been impressed with how Kirby Smart has built his overall program and not just the talent on the roster.
"They've got a solid football team all-around. He has done a really good job of recruiting and developing talent there. They have a good staff. They are coached well and they are in the right spots with good players and they are a really good challenge for us," Key said of the Bulldogs. "It is not just a collection of good players, it is a collection of good players playing good football. They do a good job of gameplan and scheming week to week versus different opponents offensively or defensively and they are really sound on special teams and have a good kicker. They can control the vertical field position with their kicking game. Offensively they've got some really good weapons on that side of the ball that is unique to college football nowadays. Very rarely do you see a group of tight ends that are that explosive yet able to block and do the things they are able to do. They have a good clutch of running backs and they've got some receivers who can hurt you too."
