DUBLIN — On a cool, windy day Thursday, Georgia Tech arrived in Ireland, then practiced, ahead of Saturday’s showdown with No. 10 Florida State.
The Yellow Jackets landed in the morning and then worked out for about 90 minutes starting about 12:30 p.m. local time on the practice pitch adjacent to Aviva Stadium, the venue for Saturday’s game. Tech coach Brent Key he and his staff have tried to make the trip as normal as possible for his program.
“As a coaching staff, this is no different than any other game,” Key said during a news conference after Thursday’s practice. “At the of the day, our job is to come up here and prepare a football team to come play a football game and hopefully come out victorious. Other than being on a flight a little bit longer than we would some other times, that’s it.”
Key was asked 11 questions during a Q&A with about 20 media members, the conversation ranging from his team’s visit to the Emerald Isle, the game itself and his distaste for black pudding. He also spent a good deal of time discussing punter David Shanahan, an Irish native, as well as how much Saturday’s game could continue to create a pathway for European players to play college football.
The second-year Tech coach also was asked about Nick Saban. The former Alabama coach, who Key worked for from 2016-18 as Alabama’s offensive line coach, was present at Thursday’s practice. Saban now works for ESPN’s College GameDay, which is broadcasting live from Dublin on Saturday.
“On a personal level, he’s been a huge mentor to me,” Key said of Saban. “He’s had a huge impact on my coaching career. A lot of things I do day-to-day now as a head coach and a lot of things in my program, there’s a very, very strong influence from him – all over the Georgia Tech program.”
After practice, the Jackets boarded their team buses and headed to the EPIC Museum, a site which highlights Irish emigration throughout the world. It was there that a surprise was waiting for Shanahan.
David Cleary, the museum’s director of sales and operations, took Shanahan into a room highlighting Ireland’s greater sports exploits. Cleary then had Shanahan man an interactive exhibit that included a feature on Shanahan’s successes with Tech football.
“That’s class,” Shanahan said.
Tech will treat Friday in Dublin as it would any other day-before-the-game day. It will hold a light morning practice before putting the final polishes on the game plan for FSU. Key and a few players will make an appearance at Helluva Block Party at 3 p.m. at Merrion Square Park.
Then it’s on to Saturday and the season opener, a game the Jackets are clearly champing at the bit to play to showcase what kind of team they are.
“I’m not so much curious as I am excited,” quarterback Haynes King said. “Excited to show what we’ve done and how hard we’ve worked this offseason and how we we’ve came together as a team.”
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