GT FB: Brent Key media availability (Aug. 22, 2024 - Dublin, Ireland)

first off I just want to you know tell you how excited we are as a football team uh but the football team is only the part that comes over and just to perform and play and uh compete on the field on Saturday this is really for all of Georgia Tech uh you know for the Georgia Tech uh Community our alumni uh the administration that's worked so hard I mean Josh Thompson our dfos work so hard to put this on uh for for us as a football program uh but all of Georgia Tech and it's a chance for us to Showcase Georgia Tech for to let people see who we are but on a grander scale than that it's a chance to continue to take American football uh internationally uh you know learn more about other cultures other countries uh other countries learn more about our game uh but when you talk about coming to Ireland and who we are as a football team so many similarities in our program and really not only the city of Dublin but the entire country I mean blue collar you know Workman uh you know strong family values uh you know all of those things that we really Encompass the football program too so I think it's a great opportunity for us to come here and uh have a chance to compete on Saturday uh in in in a wonderful City and a wonderful country uh as you can see we you know did a little on the helmet to uh obviously we have our GT on it but we also added uh tell me exactly Celtic not Celtic not not I was making sure one like something Shanahan would tell me that was like actually not the right thing I should say so uh but no with that guys again we're extremely uh extremely happy to be here extremely fortunate to be here and that we'll open with any questions cool if you can raise your hand for questions we start by coach first of all welcome to welcome to H what is your messages being to the players ahead of the game well I can't tell you that uh go fight win no uh we really our messaging starts way before the game it starts a week in advance uh and every day is a buildup really into the game day so it's it's a very intertwined uh long thing that we talk about but it's uh uh at the end of the day we want our guys to compete we want our guys to you know play as hard as they can one play at a time uh you know it's not about we don't look at the scoreboard we don't worry about the last play uh we continue to you know play each play uh one play at a time as hard as we can and uh then at the end of the game we'll see we'll see what happens K uh Brent was it like having coach Sabin here I saw you talking to him before and having him do his first game you know doing his first game be your first game of the season what's that like yeah it's it's it's it's really cool uh for him to be here for him to see this next chapter of his life uh I think everyone's excited to see that uh you know what the value he'll be able to bring uh to the network and to the into game day uh but on a personal level I mean he he's a he's been a huge mentor to me he's been a uh you know he's been a huge impact in in my coaching career and a lot of the things I do dayto day now uh as a head coach a lot of the things in our program um you there there's very very strong influence from him uh all over the Georgia State football program so to be able to see him talk to him uh catch up on some some other things and then you know talk little football as well uh you know it's great to see him Coach ke you've been over a few times already you know with Georgia Tech but also as a coach before as well is there anything you can take from those previous couple times coming over that can help your team maybe get an edge uh going into the game yeah I think anytime you you you you start to stack experiences you learn from them right and you know just to go about something and say well we're going to do it the same way the next time I mean you you don't no one stays the same you either get better or you get worse so we're always looking to see different things we can tweak change uh adjust uh whether it be scheduling whether it be uh you know protocols leading into the game whether it be you know the way we travel whatever it is but uh you know there there's always things that working to pick up on and adjust and make better has David shanon giv you any sort of insight into what to expect when you're here can you say that one more time I'm from the I'm from the south I'm I'm from the south in the United States I'm I'm from La well it's not it's not Los Angeles it's lower Alabama has has David Shanahan given you any insight into anything special that you might experience when you're here in arand uh this is a wonderful country and a wonderful City but we're here to play a football game right we're on a very strict schedule being here the greatest experience we can have in in this great country is to go out with a win on Saturday right and you know I'll bring them all back on vacation later on but we're here to win a football game when it comes to you know you you talked about kind of the Irish people sharing kind of the values um of Jor did but when it comes to the football all right I'm gonna have to ask you to start over if you can SL you want me to start talk way I like talk yeah I'll slow up for you um thanks why in terms of the expansion of American football why does Dublin serve as a good base to maybe move further into Europe and further around the world well I think it starts with the relationships with the two countries I mean the the the relationship between Ireland and the United States is as strong as anything uh you know it's a you know from tourism to trade to uh you know people living you know moving uh it's it's a very strong relationship between the two countries so um why would we not be able to share uh you know among other things we already do why want not share our our Sports what is it you look out for in a player I suppose there's any young players listening today who have dreams of playing American football someday well every positions different there's a lot of positions on the team but for the most part you know minus the uh Specialists were the kicker punters uh they're a little different in terms of the abilities that they bring uh you know majority of the punters kickers uh in the United States have strong soccer backgrounds uh they you know they they've been this small kicking kicking the ball and that's where they've developed the leg strength and the and the techniques to do those things uh but really I could I could go over those things for uh for 30 minutes about different positions but if I had to say one thing toughness right the toughness that that that players have to have uh to play the game of football uh big strong you know big strong smart tough guys uh usually have pretty good success so but every play every position is different but the the toughness we have to have and it has to be instilled in each individual player in order to be a successful football team have time for a couple more we'll bring the players and so back here how important is it for you and your coaches to try and make this look like a normal game day you said the most important thing is on Saturday but obviously with the travel how much preparation of year your stop as a coaching staff this is no different than any other game right we we we we we play games at home we play games on the road uh it's the administration it's the operations speaking of I see John Palumbo up there uh you know one of our administrators who's done a fantastic job uh Mike Flynn uh you know I already mentioned Josh uh Thompson and the job that he has done uh you know from the operation standpoint of the football program they put so many hours and so much time into this trip in order for us as football coaches to be able to maintain a normal schedule and that's why I'm so appreciative and all of us as coaches and all of our players are so appreciative because at the end of the day our job is to come over here prepare a football team to come play a football game and and and hopefully come out Victorious right so they've done a great job of allowing me to do that and then in turn our staff to do that so other than uh being on a flight a little bit longer than we would some other times uh that that that's that's it it is and uh you know not a whole lot different than going East Coast West Coast the United States has been different for your players kind of coming internationally and how you've seen them versus previously when you've just gone East Coast West Coast had to get passports seriously I mean these kids I said this in a press conference the other day that new college football game came out right they stay up play playing that thing all night long then they go to practice then they go to uh class all day right they're 18 20 22 years old they're going to do those things regardless so it's not it's not a lot different we got off the plane I they're full of energy they're smiling uh you know people watching as we're on the bus we had really good energy and focus in the practice today so uh to make it as normal as possible for those kids is what our job is anything else okay we'll take the two in the back and then we'll sure uh thanks very much there's a few guys who were playing college football and NFL you Charlie Smith at New Orleans from County down youve also Jack scon playing college football you have Jude Mami as well you have David within your own ranks a lot of people from Ireland looking at this as a sport whereas maybe previously that was something they did across the water there's a pathway there now uh is that something you welcome oh yeah and really our sport in in the United States the the international part of it and the expansion of the sport internationally really started it has started uh the NFL has really embraced it the NFL has embraced coming uh overseas and going to different countries to play um I mean it was 10 years ago that I came here with uh with with UCF we played we played Penn State here in 2014 and just to see the growth in knowledge of the game of football in this country right the the growth in people that will be at the game I don't know what the exact crowd number was 10 years ago but it might say something on paper but I know what I saw with my own eyes and then you know to to walk out there on Saturday and see I think what 51,000 in in the stadium I mean that's going to be amazing and uh it's a it's a cool thing to witness and see and be a part of because it is the expansion of football American football across the globe the back coach I know the offseason emphasis for hannes was to to protect the football I can you kind of assess how much of that message has been taken to heart and how much you can still play with his play making ability and stay safe in your confidence and Coach F's confidence and Coach W's confidence in that yeah we haven't played a game yet so we'll know once we play a game no I mean he's done a tremendous job in practice we're going against each other uh we know where we are relative to each other uh we'll see on Saturday where we are relative to a team uh you know M you know that that's the beauty of football is you play an entire season okay it's not one season you look at right every game we look at to improve from that previous game right and take it the next week and then the next week and the next week well then you look at it an entire season you see improvements then you see values then you see here then you see here right as long as it's doing this and not this right you're making progress like I said earlier you either get better or you get worse I mean no one stays the same we're constantly trying to improve right we're trying to improve ourselves individually and then collectively as a football team right I can't predict what'll happen in the future I can't predict what'll happen on Saturday right I can't predict what'll happen during the season but if I look at the past a pretty good predictor of it I know in my head how how how Haynes is gonna play did you have one right here no okay you said you said you weren't aend but have you let the players try black pudding yet okay so first off before we go there I love the way he started so and you just kept you just asked it you just you jumped in that you you jumped in you took you took the bull by the horn so um you talk about what again black pudding you said you weren't a fan but have you let the players try it yet the blood sausage oh I know I do not want to be disrespectful because I love this country right I love coming here right there's so many things about this country that that I enjoy back in the United States your your pig sausage blood Sal whatever it ain't one of them okay it's not I'm sorry there's things I don't like in the united I don't like I don't like little green peas English peas those little things those little green peas I don't like those either and they're in the US but like I despise it like I said I'm I'm from the south weat grits and biscuits and eggs and bacon and our sausage is round and comes from a a pig I'm just not a fan of it but David absolutely loves it and swears by it he also told me about a saying that was about pigs flying and something so yes about flying on a pig's back and he thought I was going to go come over here 6 months ago and tell everybody that and when I talked to some people that I really trust and they told me what it meant he set me up he totally set me up so and he's right there waiting to come talk to y'all so again appreciate it guys go jackets