3 interesting things Georgia Tech HC Brent Key said at ACC Media Days 2024
Brent Key is looking to rebuild his alma mater, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, after previous head coach Geoff Collins finished his tenure with a 10-28 mark. After taking over midway through the 2022 season, he has led the team to an 11-10 mark.
The Yellow Jackets head coach spoke at ACC Media Days 2024 on Monday. Take a look at three interesting things said by Key below.
3 interesting things Georgia Tech HC Brent Key said at ACC Media Days 2024
#1: Praises ACC expansion
The ACC was the last Power Five conference to be affected by conference realignment. The California Golden Bears, Stanford Cardinal and SMU Mustangs are all set to join the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024. Brent Key praised the expansion, stating:
"The new ACC, we'd like to welcome three new teams. When you have Stanford, Cal, SMU, teams that really expand the geographic footprint of the ACC, make it an even more dynamic league when you look at the landscape, the cities we play, that we're able to travel to.
When they made the expansion, when they were going through to select teams that didn't jeopardize or didn't conflict the integrity that this league has not just on the field of play but also in the classroom, an academic standpoint."
#2: Fires back at narrative surrounding ACC
There have been claims that the ACC is lacking behind the other powerhouse conferences in college football, with several suggestions that they could be headed towards a destructive path similar to the Pac-12. Brent Key fired back at that notion, stating:
"Look, there's a little bit of a narrative right now about this league. There is. That football is not the same in this league for whatever reason as others. That's up to us as coaches to continue to go out and how we put our football teams together, how we build our football teams, to go out and compete, how we compete each week, week in and week out, what's important to us.
That's my job, right? That's my job as the head coach at Georgia Tech. That's what I know about this league, that's what I know about Georgia Tech and this league, right? That's the priority, is to build this football team with these guys here, to build this team to be able to go out and compete week in, week out, be a championship football team. That's the end goal."
#3: Discusses exposure of big season-opening matchups
2024 will mark the second consecutive year that the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets open their season at a neutral site. After facing the Louisville Cardinals in Atlanta to kick things off last year, they will travel to Dublin, Ireland to begin their season this year. Brent Key discussed starting their season on a big stage:
"I think the exposure you get is great for these young men, great for these guys to be able to have exposure on the national level, for people to see them. That's why they changed these rules several years ago in terms of NIL, name, image and likeness, is to create exposure for these students."
Apart from Brent Key, three Yellow Jackets; quarterback Haynes King, running back Jamal Haynes and defensive tackle Zeek Biggers took questions on Monday following their best season since 2018.