Georgia Tech football and coach Brent Key not only are trying to build on — and improve upon — back-to-back 7-6 seasons. The program also is focused on sustaining the momentum of a top-20 recruiting class.
Key and his staff have been crisscrossing the state (and areas of the Southeast) this month as they start to look to solidify the next group of incoming Yellow Jackets. Key has visited Fellowship Christian School in Roswell, Douglass High School in Atlanta, Kell High School in Marietta, Cartersville High School, Calhoun High School, Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross and Hebron Christian School in Dacula, to name a few. The former Tech offensive lineman dropped into those campuses via helicopter.
“Man, the last two weeks out on the road have been outstanding,” Key told 680 The Fan on Monday. “Being in the state of Georgia, the high school coaches — I think what it is, look, when you say you wanna recruit a state, there’s 431, I think, high schools in the state of Georgia that play football? You’re not gonna get in every single one every time you’re out. But you know what? We got people at the office that are calling coaches. We’re staying in contact. We’re doing all sorts of things to continue to build that.
“It’s not just what happens on the field. It’s also the genuineness that comes out of your office. I’m not trying to go into 15 schools a day and lay a business card down and walk out. I’m trying to have conversations and talk ball and really build true relationships. Now, two years in, you’re seeing the payoff of that.”
Tech’s 2025 recruiting class has 24 signees and two verbal commitments — running back Isaiah Groves of Cross Plains, Tennessee, and kicker Landon Shaffer of East Paulding High School. It’s a class that ranks 19th nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite, and second among ACC programs behind only Miami.
Tech also has commitments from 16 college transfers (none of whom have been announced by the program) who intend to be Jackets for the 2025 season. The transfer portal market is a major aspect of how college rosters are built in the modern age of NCAA athletics, but Key said he doesn’t want to stray too far from consistently bringing in top high school talent each recruiting cycle.
“The high schools become somewhat of an afterthought now, and I don’t think that needs to be the case,” he said. “It’s not gonna be the case here at Georgia Tech. We’re gonna recruit the high school guys. I think that’s how you build a foundation for a long time.”
While Key and his staff continue to search for the best fits for the 2026 recruiting class, a search which includes a Junior Day this weekend in which prospects will visit campus, the program’s 2025 squad has begun offseason training. Key lauded strength coach A.J. Artis for beginning to build not only the physical performance of the ’25 Jackets, but also the cohesiveness in the locker room.
Key, starting his third offseason as the program’s full-time coach, added the identity and personality of his team starts now, long before the season kickoff Aug. 30 at Colorado.
“Excited about the guys we have coming back. I’m excited about the additions. I’m excited about the freshmen we have coming in and the ones that are already (enrolled),” Key said. “You talk about culture, and y’all have heard me say it before, I think ‘culture’ is a term people use very loosely and put on Instagram or in fancy sayings or what not. Culture is what happens when you’re not really looking, when you don’t think it is, you don’t know it is, it’s organic. It just becomes part of what the team is.”
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