Tech Not Yet Ready For (Coach) Primetime Says Key
Following last Saturday's scrimmage, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key said his team is nowhere near ready to play Colorado. An agitated Key held forth in a weekend press conference immediately following the Saturday practice.
" The only good thing about today is we have 13 days to fix it", declared Tech's head man.
What was he fired up about? Well, just about everything, it seems, but the overall concern was about toughness and resilience, two qualities that Key exemplified as a player and values highly as a head coach.
Giving a bit more detail, Key said that practice was extended to 125 plays in an effort to help sort out the depth charts and see who was going to play for Tech when the games crank up. In that segment there were "...too many mistakes, too many blown assignments " to make things go forward as he had hoped.
" We're not even close in mental toughness– the grit and fortitude that you have to have in order to play this game", lamented Key.
What changed, he asked rhetorically.
" The heat.. you're tired...voices saying ' don't get hurt'..", he said , complaining aloud about what he perceived to be an inability to deal with adversity.
To deal with all that , Key said that next week's practices will be camp practices. " Camp practices ", he said again, in effect vowing to instill the toughness he had not seen on this Saturday, and needs to see before August 29.
Later in the press conference, Key softened a bit while recalling his own fandom regarding Georgia Tech back when he was a 12-year old growing up in Birmingham Alabama. As to whom he rooted for in 1990, he asked " Are you kidding me? Georgia Tech, baby!"
Key said he had on his wall Sports Illustrated photos from Tech's dominant 1991 Citrus Bowl win over Nebraska that propelled the Jackets to a share of the 1990 national championship. He also.pointed out that Georgia Tech had some pictures taken even earlier by SI in 1990, when Bobby Cremins' infamous "Lethal Weapon 3" team made it to the Final Four that preceding March.
Key said the picture he had was of then- Tech center Malcolm Mackey " ..throwing it down", he said, while making a dunking motion with his hands.
Full disclosure, this author still has the cover picture of RB William Bell generated earlier in the 1990 football season ,when Georgia Tech came from behind to whip #1 Virginia in Charlottesville (see below) in November.
Key explained that while he was growing up in Alabama, he had little connection to pro football , but he loved college football—including Tech --because, as he said," good football is good football".
Tech's head man went on to say that he will talk about Colorado with his troops next week, as they ramp up game- specific preparations for the Buffaloes set for August 29 in Boulder.
Key finished his remarks with a heartfelt "thank you" to Tech students for tbeir growing support of the Yellow Jackets. He assured all Tech fans that he and his staff " will put a quality product on tbe field".
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com