Smart: Brent Key's passion rubbing off on Georgia Tech
If anybody knows the pride one has for coaching at his alma mater it’s Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
Smart sees the same passion when it comes to Georgia Tech interim head coach Brent Key, who has coached the Yellow Jackets to a 4-3 record since taking over for Geoff Collins two months ago.
“They take on his personality of toughness, not beating themselves, being physical. You can tell they've probably honed down some things. He made some changes to special teams,” Smart said. “He played there. When you've got someone that played at that university and that's their alma mater, there's a certain level of want to desire to represent the University the right way.”
Smart and Key have known each other for years.
“That’s a program I know a lot about. I’ve known Brent for a long time,” Smart said. “He played at Tech while I played at Georgia. We played against each other. And we spent some summers together. And I have a lot of respect for him as a coach.”
Key also served as the offensive line coach at Alabama before coming back to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets’ staff also features names familiar to Smart, including offensive coordinator Chip Long. Former Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney is on Key’s staff, while defensive backs coach Traveras Tillman (Georgia Tech alum) was at Georgia for Smart’s first three years, first serving two seasons as a graduate assistant and a third as a quality control coach for defense.
“He was the O-line coach at Alabama one of the years we played them. And they did a really good job. His offensive lines are always physical, get after it,” Smart said. “There's a lot of familiarity with their staff, with ours, Chip Long, Cheney, and all the guys that have been over there. They're playing really well now. They're playing really hard now. I think he's done a tremendous job at getting these guys to compete.”
The results speak for themselves.
In Key’s first game, the Yellow Jackets upset what at the time was a ranked Pittsburgh team. Last week, Georgia Tech handed North Carolina just its second loss of the year.
“They beat two top 25 teams with him as the head coach,” Smart said. “You can see the emotion that he had after the Pitt win in the locker room because of how much it means to him.”
The win over the previously 13th-ranked Tarheels was particularly impressive to Smart.
Georgia Tech trailed by 17 points before the Yellow Jackets outscored North Carolina 14-0 in the second half to finish with the three-point win.
Touted Tar Heel quarterback Drake Maye, who some were touting as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, did not have a good day. Maye completed just 16 of 30 passes for 202 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and was sacked six times.
“Yeah, you know, they started a little slow. And then once they got in their groove, they were really aggressive, extremely physical. You know, I think they held UNC to their lowest output in terms of yardage and maybe points in the season,” Smart said. “They played really hard. And they did a great job defensively. Tech has good personnel, and the guys there know football and you can see that the kids are playing with a lot more passion and energy. They're one game from bowl eligibility and you saw it come out in the play against UNC.”
