The “ACC Football Road Trip,” a series of shows airing this month on ACC Network, made a stop at Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
Hosted by Wes Durham and featuring former Florida State quarterback EJ Manual and former Virginia Tech wide receiver Eddie Royal, the hour-long broadcast highlighted Tech’s preseason efforts as the Jackets continue to prepare for their season-opening game against Louisville at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sept. 1.
First-year coach Brent Key took a break from conducting practice to join Durham, Manuel and Royal and update the progress of his team. He spoke about developing toughness, the balance of creating a tough culture while keeping the players mentally and physically healthy, what he’s looking for in his starting quarterback and the strength of his team’s rushing attack.
Key also was asked about being a first-year coach at his alma mater.
“This place means the world to me. But at the end of the day you’re not judged by feelings, you’re judged by the scoreboard,” he said. “We know that, and we’re very aware of that. So the work that goes into it, it is intentional. There is a reason behind everything. We take a lot of time, and we take a lot of pride in it, and we’ve got a staff full of guys that feel the same way, whether they played here or didn’t play here.
“There’s challenges at every place that you go and that you coach at. But to have a little bit of knowledge and prior knowledge of the things that are plusses and minuses that people use against you in recruiting, to be able to hedge those things out before somebody brings them up, those are all things as a staff we’re very aware of, and we work on all the time.”
The show also featured Tech defensive back LaMiles Brooks breaking down 2022 game film with Royal. Brooks explained the nuances of his pass breakup against Pittsburgh and his interceptions against North Carolina and Central Florida.
Defensive backs coach Travares Tillman, in his second season with the program as a coach, was featured as he chatted with the three hosts while simultaneously coaching individual drills. Tillman was a two-time All-ACC selection for Tech in the late 1990s.
Tech tight end Dylan Leonard took a break from practice to sit down and speak with the hosts. He was asked about the Jackets’ turnaround under Key over the final eight games of the 2022 season.
“There was a new spark of energy within the locker room,” Leonard said. “Key was there the first year I was there (in 2019). He’s been my dude, along with other coaches, since I’ve been there. He recruited me out of Milton (High). So a lot of kids love coach Key, and I think that’s what did the spark for us.”
Scrimmage Saturday
Tech will end its second week of the preseason when it holds a scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The Jackets then will be off Sunday before starting their third week of camp. Key told ACC Network on Wednesday that his team won’t begin preparing for Louisville until a week before the game.
Tech also is scheduled to scrimmage Aug. 19.
“We’ll start to separate out who’s going to help us and who’s going to be ready go for that first week of preparation for that first game,” Key said Monday.
Remembering Demaryius Thomas
On the eighth day of the eighth month, the Tech football program made sure to recognize the late Demaryius Thomas.
Thomas, who died Dec. 21, 2021, wore No. 8 for the Jackets during a career that saw him become a first-team All-ACC selection in college and four-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion as a professional. He wore No. 88 for the Denver Broncos.
On Tuesday, Georgia Tech Hall of Fame member Morgan Burnett spoke to the Jackets about the legacy of Thomas. Burnett was a former Tech teammate of Thomas.
“He was a very selfless player,” Tech running back Dontae Smith said about Thomas. “He didn’t do stuff for him. He didn’t want to be in front of the cameras. Everything he did was for his teammates, and that’s something that I took in because at times, it’s my last season, I could be selfish, I could work on stuff that I need to, but I got to lead, I got bring these youngers guys along.
“That was my biggest takeaway is that if I don’t make it about me, and I make it about the team, that’s how you win. You play as a team; that’s how you win games.”
Gold and Roddy White
Burnett wasn’t the only guest speaker to stop by one of Tech’s team meetings this week. Former Falcons star Roddy White was in the building as well.
White spoke to the Jackets on Wednesday.
“He said, ‘It’s not about you.’ There’s been different situations where it’s been about the team and to put the team first,” Tech running back Jamal Haynes said. “That’s when your self-accolades will start rising and coming into life. That’s one of the big topics I took away from it.”
Smith on Doak Walker Award watch list
Smith is on the official watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which annually honors college football’s top running back.
Entering his final collegiate campaign, Smith has rushed for 1,159 yards which ranks 47th in program history. He has led the Jackets in yards per rush each of the past three seasons and has scored 12 touchdowns on 208 career carries, good for one score every 17.3 rushes.
Smith ran for 420 yards and five touchdowns on 87 carries, all career highs, in 2022. He also caught 19 passes for 125 yards
The Doak Walker Award watch list of 75 will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists and three finalists in November. The winner will be announced in December.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
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