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Podcast: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Episode: Brent Key, Head Football Coach Transcript: Every three minutes, first in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. The recovery can be long and often leaves them feeling weak, cold, and isolated. That's why during the month of June, as a part of the Subaru Loves to Care initiative, Subaru of Gwynette is partnering with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to provide warm blankets and messages of hope, written by our staff and customers to support patients facing cancer. To learn more about what we are doing for patients and their families in our community, visit SubaruofGwynette.com. Subaru of Gwynette. More than any other car dealer. the full board for a house era and i mean i saw you and when i saw you not too long ago over to stating for the george tech george and mean this to look like you lost some weight how have a good conscious decision because kenette that world is that can become a bit stronger season all and it's like you can give you can let stuff get away real fast but even if it's for its mental you know to get some sort of a relief and you know have control over something and it's uh... that's a better i feel like i mean you know to be in good shape and still you have been working on the morning's and now i've got to show the chief state down my throat but uh... that's a bad news coach it was good uh... about two minutes in front of me and his we uh... now that uh... i thought it's something i did you know give myself back in shape and i mean we're out here running around with eighteen to twenty three-year-old kids every day i mean she's making stronger me looking to their go to the opposite way right you must do your best to keep up right here with us on the law security systems news make a lot of i think i know the answer no coaches ever satisfied but what do you take out of the spring sessions yeah i mean you know to give you code speaking so we saw the long way to go we have a chance to be good down on that but not but all police all please the spring that's just you know one of those believe five you know sessions that we have leading up to the season you know that that was really session two so i felt like it was productive but we've uh... had opportunity to develop a lot of younger guys justice justice is walking through the ceiling of justice hands yet you come on you said i'm on the radio don't say we're not uh... or say something i mean we're live yeah i think they were something uh... open door policy there at george attack apparently open door policy and all it always so i don't want to be you i don't want to aid you but we're talking a little bit about what it is you have to implement you were sort of in the beginning of the evolution of you know playbook binder going to something that might be i can carry around with me and then we have drives now we have all the ways you can actually do a playbook when we say new quarterback i don't want to see new system but there has to be things where are you drawn like what it how do you figure out what your playbook is going to be this year as i'm running back to floss and the office of the type had and i think that uh... right that's all the but they know it's been a playbook so uh... uh... it's people even in all schemes are personal driven okay it doesn't matter what we like it's coaches what we know is coaches right my thing is we have to go to the best games that the the the the down the town that we have and is no secret i mean our quarterback and started a call for ball game so we got there and put it all of his plate and it's taken to win every game for special or the beginning right that that's ludicrous that makes no sense to me you know that's all we built up the election was we're able to really develop the younger guys at the on the line the spring which i was really pleased with the tight ends and the running back to me you do that you can take the pressure off the young guy so he doesn't have to go out there and win it until it's time for him to right but let me defeat what you get accustomed everything uh... we want to sit there and try to take you know deep shot every single time down the field will be completion driven you know hit the check down take it you take this you know six to eight ten yards on a check down and that's so that's a profit and pay for you i don't want to sound meta but the playbook almost writes itself both offensively and defensively because if you're smart enough and you're observing what guys can do and it might get bigger as the season goes along you add stuff as a season goes along based upon personnel and our ability to pick it up but in some ways the playbook actually decides itself does it not then based upon your what we believe will put them in the best best position away yeah and and and what's the retention level of the players right you know how are we teachers to be able to give them information that they can retain right so they go out and execute it right in the matter how much you give them if they can't retain it and go out and execute on on saturday afternoon and um... you know i believe we have smart guys here uh... football's very important to to our team to the players on our team uh... and these guys take a lot of pride in in in learning the information and retaining information so therefore that gives us an advantage on saturday's is that the volume we carry should be higher than other people elbrida Mendoza your quarterback comes from obviously indiana where they want a championship didn't start any games as brother did but i bring it up for this reason based on what indiana did you want to win all the time i get that is there more pressure determines around quicker now for college coaches but yourself you know do you do every here's with every here's what's external i did you do you listen to it you let it drive you i don't know i'm driven by the by the people in the building the players in this building i don't i don't put the external pressure up in a pressure on myself individually right as a person as a competitor is someone that loves football someone that loves Georgia tech in the press ruffled on myself i don't think you ever be matched by anything outside so uh... yeah we'll are the goal to win every game yes i have to be about you know twelve teams versus sixteen team play off and said it matters one thing left at the end of the market to two to twelve to two to sixteen you still didn't win at all branky willess on the law security systems news make a line what did it mean to you what did it mean to the program they have a couple of guys drafted well effort in the work we put in it is paying off from a development standpoint but also the guys were bringing the program you know guys have the right mindset you're going to that next level of metal fruit next year to be a a big year for that uh... to continue what we've been doing you know the it's also the type of players you recruit and and that that's that's a big thing we've talked to a lot of recruiting staff maintenance morning is about the body types recruiting and and continue to increase the size and the girls the guys that we bring in because look i mean there's only it's a big man game will know that and pre-set and build it really not now just the trenches in the in the back but you know we've had the tight ends though on the d-line the back soon but you know to continue to expanded out to the receivers and the in the defensive backs in the corners right those the ones that we've got to take that next up and then and get those guys pushed out in the hydraics as well one of the oldest adages in the world of college sports has always been uh... the best thing about a freshman they become soft more with the transfer portal what's the equivalent of that now because we you know you have some freshman uh... but let's be honest if you have a hold of filling and go get a twenty-year old who's been left in who's not under his mommy's uh... roof and everything's going on that i know that he can handle college in all likelihood if you can afford it you're gonna go get that guy so what's the what's the development stage in the transfer portal world that's equivalent to the best thing about freshman is they become soft i still enjoy the development part of it mom but i think you look at position by position uh... you know if you guys are on the field playing in the first couple of years uh... you know got to college play football and put the work in the effort into play right so if there's not an opportunity to make the singular positions the quarterbacks the running backs you know those guys won't be on field and they they want to be plane right right so you really look at those high school guys and do they have the ability to come in and help you in the first couple of years uh... you know it's not the blind scrimmage is different i think offensive line are different because they still develop it a little bit of a different rate uh... but you're seeing that move earlier and earlier and it's all based on what type of players are bringing in but at the day i don't care if they're seventeen-year-old freshman coming in or twenty-two year-old senior uh... that's played other places i got to help us win football games or gosh can help us win games that's up to myself and staff you know with the valuation part of it and in the character part or to give them a feel that they mature enough to help us win it are there still ten twelve fifteen guys who i don't want to see just practice wild guys because that is selling at really short but understand their role and the trade-off is i'm getting an education i might not play but i'll bust my ass being on practice while i was having the new year doing the things that it there's we give you the number of guys you can carry that absolutely believe that that's the A place and board. They do it well. You damn rapid is a place for those guys. I mean, the guys that want to be a part of a team, that want to be a part of the team on Saturdays, that want to be a part of the winning culture within a program, right? That they might know they're not going to get on the field in your one or two, right? But they're here for different reasons. Right now, on the flip side of that, you want everybody to be competitor, right? I don't believe in this waiting your time. Right? I mean, I'm not going to wait our time. Now, everybody's been working every day to be on that field, play in, starting and playing meaningful reps. But I mean, there's only 22 starters on the football team. But, you know, so you've got over 80 guys on that team that aren't going to be starting in a given week, right? But understanding the roles within games, right? Understand the role within the team. I'd say there's a strong team to me is going to have 20 to 25 guys, right? To understand the value of the team. Right? To understand the value of coming to Georgia Tech. Understanding the value of being in this program. To understand the value of competing, you know, every day. I think we have probably a higher number than in some schools. Because of the value of the total person that's involved here. Right. He is with us on the Loud Security Systems News, May 4 Line. You're in Alabama for three years. I bring it up because a couple of days ago, Kirby said the best Alabama teams with depth and everything else would beat the dog out of all of these teams right now. Do you feel the same? One way. 100% I mean, that's not even a question. I mean, those teams, you know, those 16 17 teams. I mean, it was, yeah, there were a lot of good players that were going to feel playing. I was acquired during those years in that run that we had. That's what can ever be duplicated. I mean, the guys that were on the bench that we mean, you know, Queen and Williams was giving us fits on scout team is second year in the program. I mean, he's in his second year in college and he's on scout team full time, absolutely wearing us out. Right. No one even heard of them on the field. So, you know, that's the depth that was able to be acquired then. But I don't think that'll ever happen again. Matter of fact, I'd be willing to, you know, to almost a better wager. But I'd be willing to guarantee that that will never happen again. It was a terrific time to be there. It really was just to think back on it and how we went through the recruiting battles to acquire that type of depth. It did also help Nick was able to keep everyone there. And I think you see the difference now with, you know, obviously the environment of college football is different, but Nick was special. Yeah, the other part of that is you're talking about a time and it goes back to what we just talked about a minute ago. If you want to play, take someone's job. Take someone's job. Be so good that we cannot not put you on the field. Now you can't get on the field. I just go someplace else. And I don't want to paint with that broader brush, but there is a lot of that going on. You know more than anybody else. Great. The reason there's a thought out there about some people that coaches don't play the best players. I mean, they think they're better than the person in front of them. I make that very clear with our team. My job is to put the best players on the football field, right? Commitment that I have to honor every single day to put the best Georgia State football team on the field. Why would I not put the best players? I don't care how old they are. I don't care how long they've been in the program. They're the best players. They'll be the best players. What has to happen for a kid on a Monday or a Tuesday or a Wednesday to catch her eye? How many times does he have to catch a position coach's eye, which moves up to you, a coordinator's eye to move up to you? What does a kid have to do on the field during the week where you go? This seems to be pretty consistent. I think he's supposed to get time on Saturday. Well, you said it right, consistency. The consistency with what they're doing, right? A lot of things that happened before the play even, the poor the ball snapped and after the whistle's dead, you know how they carried themselves. But also a lot of those things are put into place and those disciplines are instilled into them January to July. You know, it's not on the field, but then we do developmental practices with all of our young guys. Every Thursday, those guys are out there for an hour before the other guys come out. We're working every day to develop those guys. So, you know, we'll have guys catch our attention during those Thursday practices for a couple of weeks. And all of a sudden you look now, they're not in play on special teams. Now they're in the depth, but into the year. And that's the whole thing I've set out this year saying is, right, if we were to play in our best football in November, December and January this season, we've got to develop a greater number of players on our team, right, a deeper amount of depth on our roster at every position. And that's in the mindset and the most out of this is January. I think the one key thing is, and maybe some players, younger kids don't realize it, even below the college level, there's nothing is a wasted exercise. Nothing should be considered a wasted exercise. You talked about getting out there early. Everything has a purpose. And if you're not putting forth the effort, people like you are going to notice, every coach is going to notice, in fact. Yeah, I'm going to say everything you do, you're training for something. You don't have to write yourself out of dots, yeah, but I got a call back to that cheesesteak thing. I'm going to say between the two of you, how many cheesesteaks did you really eat? So one each, but I mean, they went down in about two minutes. I knew I could get on the phone with you guys. They were just in there, like, tell them if they're going to sit down and have lunch with us, it's going to be about two minute lunch. I'm out. I mean, there's three stripping down face and everything. So you mean to tell me, you're going to go on people to see. There's no time to sit down and chit chat. I don't want to call BS, but you're telling me you're just going to be done with one cheesesteak. Now, do you get off the phone and grab another cheesesteak that got you grabbed one to go? How did this work? You did that. You said how many we eat then? You didn't ask how many we're going to eat throughout the rest of the day. So there's after lunch. Lunch two, we like to call it lunch two. There's lunch two, three, four. Then it's kind of rolling into your dinner and then, you know, I mean, you got recruits in this weekend. So who knows? I mean, it might just be a weekend affair. You're one of those guys like when you're breaking down whatever it is, film, tape, video, you're eating and you don't even realize it. M&M's or whatever the hell it might be. So these are big like dish on my desk. They had, you know, people came in and had, you know, different, uh, it went from having candy in there to different chips and, I mean, I'd be sitting here watching film. I'll feed up on my desk and all of a sudden it'd be half empty. I'm like, damn, we're, we're, we're, we're all go. Who stole my hair? Everything. Yeah, it was me. Hey, that's part of that part of the trimming down and getting back in shape was moving that, uh, that candy dish over the other side of the room. Yeah, I understand that. Don't have it in the house. It's going to go. Last thing and I don't know strength coach wise. We've talked to you about how we might be the most important person in the building. I think most coaches will tell you he is the most important person in the building. What's the size of the staff compared to what it used to be when you were playing? I don't even know this as an answer. I'm not asking to be a wise guy. What was the strength staff? Yeah. What was the strength staff in the 90s? What's the strength staff now? Gosh, we had two guys. You know, the head to head, the assistant and then an intern. So I guess three total and we've got, uh, we've got five, uh, five plus two QCs. Um, I think we probably have, you know, we count interns, probably 12, eight, eight, eight, 10 to 12. You can't hide. Like the other thing is, I know that you guys had a left in the 90s. You had to do whatever it is you had to do, but you can't hide. Is this like keycard when you know who's in there and, I mean, what kind of tabs are we keeping on these guys now? What do they have to record to let everybody know that they did their work in a given day? Oh, goodness. I mean, everything's tracked. You know, this may be monitored. I mean, it's in front of them. It shows, you know, the speed that they do things with, you know, the weights. You know, knocking away from you guys come down and see the new weight room. It's open it up next week. I think next week it's open it up. And I mean, it's, there's, I mean, 72 racks in there, I believe 18 30s. Yeah, 72 racks. We put the whole team in there one time. So, uh, I think there's 150 cameras stationed out around the whole thing filming everything they do. Uh, no, it's, it's state of the art. I mean, you know, there's no room to hide. And look, I don't think anybody on our team does want to hide. I think they want to win. And they know that the weight room is the, is the path that you have to go through. It's one of the champions you have football team. Is this all in the fan center? Is the weight room in the fan center? Yes. Yes. I didn't realize. So you guys have offices, weight room, everything, coaching rooms, everything is in that center now. And then weight room, cafeteria, all the meeting rooms, team meeting room, position meetings, coaches, offices, training room, everything's in there. Well, looking forward. Yeah, looking forward to seeing it, looking forward to spending more time down there. We'll rush through a lunch and tour the facilities. I'm not rushing through. Hey, we got a private room set up in the back just for you guys to sit down and have lunch together with us. I like it. Wow. I'm just not working out with the strength and conditioning coaching. And that was a one off run. Oh, man. Hey, I was looking for pictures of that the other day. And they broke you down. Yes, they did. There was a moment where he looked like he was a bonafide three-pack a day smoker. What? Just said. That's the look of a man. You understand? Smoke's three-pack. Rentamino doesn't care about anybody. Doesn't call anybody. That was the only time in our third. He called me later that evening to check on me to see how I was doing. That's how concerned he was. First in the US is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. The recovery can be long and often leaves them feeling weak, cold, and isolated. That's why during the month of June, as a part of the Subaru Loves to Care initiative, Subaru of Gwynette is partnering with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to provide warm blankets and messages of hope. Written by our staff and customers to support patients facing cancer. To learn more about what we are doing for patients and their families in our community, visit SubaruOfGwynette.com, Subaru of Gwynette, more than a car dealer. I'm Drew Burris, outfielder for Georgia Tech Baseball. In baseball you learn quickly that talent alone doesn't win games. Teamwork does. You can have all the talent in the world, but without teamwork it won't lead to success. That's why I'm proud to partner with Associated Credit Union. Because helping people reach their financial goals takes the same approach. Teamwork, collaboration, and working together toward the win. Visit huonline.org to learn more. Associated Credit Union, where anyone in Georgia can live, bank, and grow. Show notes: He had a 1st Round pick in last week's NFL Draft, he just played golf with twenty-five fellow ACC & SEC Coaches & legends, and the post spring practice game plan is in full swing. Much to catch up about with our man Coach Brent Key. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.