Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key spoke to the media ahead of this week's game vs. Pittsburgh to share his final thoughts on the game vs. Boston College. Coach Key was blunt about what happened and what's hurting the team. 

Defense was panicked from the start

To say Georgia Tech's defense did not play well is a massive understatement. The Yellow Jackets gave up 399 yards on the ground and 500 total to an Eagles team that has one of the worst offenses in the ACC. Safe to say, Key was not happy with the performance.

“There was not one player on defense that looked calm, set, and ready to play ball. There was a panic. There was a sense of panic from the second and third levels, you know, where to go, how to align, what to do. And that's an alarming thing when you see that early in the game. So, again, without getting into all the, you know, X's and O's part, but talk about common sense. Common sense tells you to. If you're not doing a bunch of things well, simplify it down and do your best to do one thing well, right,” said Key. 

No public announcement of changes but things have changed in the program

There has been a lot of discussion about the job that defensive coordinator Jason Semore has done, not just against Boston College, but for the entire season. Key responded to questions about Semore's status today:

“We'll adjust people, responsibilities within the game within the week. But don't expect to hear some public, you know, public cry of this person has been fired and relieved of their duties and whatnot. Because, again, it's what's best for the players at this time. And I'm not going to get into, you know, what has been changed organizationally or administratively or whatnot, because then that goes into the planning of the game and the opponent and whatnot. So we got a great opportunity this weekend to go up to Pittsburgh and play a team that really has been two sides of the storm,” said Key. 

On Halftime Adjustments 

Georgia Tech has been a solid team in the first half of games, but whether it is adjustments or something else, they have played poorly in the second half of games for the most part.

“I've done a massive deep dive into halftime. I won't get into all the specifics of it, but from the time we step in the locker room to the time the ball is kicked off in the second half, I have really made a massive change with all those things. When we talk about change with the team, standards, expectations, those don't change.

A lot of things don't change. We have to do them better, do them more efficiently, do them more collaboratively, whatever that is, that specific thing. But then there are things that you look at and say, at the end of the day, guys, we're two and five. So to keep doing everything the same is the definition of insanity. 

I told the players they would see the change, but there are a lot of things they won't see change. how we're going about the daily planning, responsibilities in different facets within the organizational structure of the program. So a lot of those things are things that people won't see; players won't see, until they see the final part that's given to them on a Tuesday morning or a Wednesday morning, just the preparation part of it,” said Key. 

On Josh Petty and him finally playing 

Saturday was the first time that former five-star OT Josh Petty got to get on the field for Georgia Tech and it was a fairly encouraging performance. He was the highest-graded player on Pro Football Focus and he should be in line for more snaps over the final five games of the season.

“He is 100% cleared. The guy played 27 snaps on Saturday. He's played 21 in his career prior. And that was a year ago. And so you're talking a two-year stretch since he's played a lot of football. It's more of a football conditioning. Because, look, this guy is going to do what he has to do on the field, and he's going to sprint 20 yards down the field and pick up the ball carrier and try to get the extra block in front of the inside. He's going to do all those things. you know, from a, from a stamina, cardiovascular, you know, muscle atrophy, strength. That's what we're watching. So we're watching the practice today, but also, like, you know, one guy up, one guy down. So you gotta, you also gotta continue to have some answers and replacements that at least can get in and play serviceable football.

But my impressions of Josh. were exactly what I've expected for two years out of Josh. Josh is a tremendous talent. Played a lot on raw emotion on Saturday. But, you know, we got in a position where we weren't able to even call runs as much in the second half. But if you watch, you know, the few runs we did have in the second half, they were pretty efficient runs. If you look at what he was able to do. to make that thing go. You see why I believe he's a special player. He's got a long way to go. 27 snaps in the last two years.

So there's a lot of things that'll happen. It'll happen fast. You know, the God-given ability and talent allow him a lot of ground to make up, where if a guy takes an inside move, he just naturally has the ability to get back in front of the guy. to post it out, and cut the guy off. And, you know, as he continues to get more and more technique-savvy with things and continues to get his football shape and condition, really excited to have him back. Really excited."

Georgia Tech will face Pittsburgh this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN2.