Brent Key has said that this season for Georgia Tech football has felt like a first year.
There are two new coordinators. A first-year starting quarterback. And five losses in seven games that have sent Key, in his fourth full season, digging into the framework of how he runs the program.
Key has not, however, responded by announcing wholesale changes. He isn’t yet “flushing things out,” he said earlier this week.
“That’s not leadership,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I’m not willing to do that, but continuity is a huge piece of things.”
Even something as simple as the dinner line has required extra work.
Key estimated that 60% to 70% of the people in the room, including coaches and staff members, had never gone through that routine the Tech way before this season.
“You’ve got to teach them how to do it,” Key said.
Key said he has accumulated at least a dozen pages of notes assessing what happened and what could be done differently. They range from roster construction and practice structure to, yes, something as basic as serving food.
Hindsight, Key often says, is 20/20. The point of all those notes is figuring out what to do with it, this weekend at Pitt and beyond.
“You’re building things to help you for the next year, the next season,” Key said. “Going through this year with the change that took place at the beginning of the year, now looking back at it, if that was to happen again, here’s how we handle it. At the same time let’s be out front of things to try to at least define and make black and white as much as you can for the following season.”
The larger issue extends well beyond Tech’s remaining five games.
The Yellow Jackets started last season 8-0 and were positioned to contend for the ACC championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Since then, they have lost nine of 12 games dating to last November.
That reversal is what Key is now examining.
“Do you look at it and say wholesale change?” Key said. “You look at it and say where do the failures come in that process? How we make it better and how we put an entire organization together top to bottom that goes out and plays on Saturdays in the fall and plays competitive football. At the end of the day that’s the name of the game.”
Georgia Tech football at Pitt: What you need to know
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Pittsburgh, Acrisure Stadium (51,416 capacity)
- TV: ESPN2
- Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network; 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM 264
- Odds: Pitt is a 7½-point favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is 54½.
- Series history: Pitt leads 12-6. Pitt won the most recent meeting 42-28, on Nov. 22, 2025, in Atlanta.
Top storylines ahead of Georgia Tech at Pitt
Josh Petty has an ‘alpha personality’
Josh Petty is in line for his first career start on Saturday.
The former five-star recruit returned from injury for his season debut at left tackle in the second half of last week’s loss to Boston College. Petty, a redshirt freshman, played nearly 30 snaps and performed well, especially as a run blocker, Key said.
“This offseason it was a lot of hard work,” Petty said. “It’s a lot that comes with going to surgery and coming out of that, and a lot of guys around the building helped uplifting with the physical parts of it, the mental parts of it. Had a great team around me and got back early and got it done.”
Petty’s return comes at an important time for Tech’s offensive line. The Roswell native is one of the highest-rated recruits in program history, and the position group has dealt with attrition for months.
Earlier this week, Key announced that tackle Ethan Mackenny and guard Kevin Peay Jr. will miss the rest of the season because of injury.
Despite playing sparingly as a freshman last season and being sidelined this year, Key said Petty remained engaged on the sideline during games and practices.
“He has that alpha personality,” Key said. “He’s going to say what he believes, what he thinks or a message from the coaches and he’s not going to care what other people think about him. He’s not going to care what other say.
“He’s got the personality where he doesn’t always come off the wrong way. It’s not always just berating somebody. It’s truly challenging other people.”
Petty acknowledged the results this season have been disappointing. But he said his return to the field and Tech’s five remaining games carry significance beyond this season.
“Life is a bunch of moments,” Petty said. “It is what you make of them, each moment. We’re in one right now. What we choose to do in these moments will determine the outcomes in the future and will determine what the rest of the season is shaped out to be.”
Chris Hewitt Jr. grew up in NFL locker rooms
Attrition has created opportunities for freshmen such as Chris Hewitt Jr.
In his first career start last week against Boston College, Hewitt, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound safety, made 11 tackles, including 10 solo. He is the only FBS freshman this season with 10 solo tackles in a game.
Hewitt grew up around football at its highest level.
His father played at Cincinnati and spent three seasons in the NFL with the Saints. He later coached at Notre Dame, Rutgers and with the Ravens and is now with the Colts.
The younger Hewitt grew up in NFL locker rooms.
“That’s when I really started falling in love with football because I would go to work with (my dad) every day,” Hewitt said. “I would see all the guys, and it was just like cool to see NFL players.
“Seventh grade, that’s when I really started to get into sitting in meetings with (my dad) and all that, and it would just grow my football IQ. So yeah, it’s really been a great advantage to have.”
Mendoza is back to form
Georgia Tech quarterback Alberto Mendoza ranks among the nation’s top 25 in completion percentage (71%), completions per game (21.9) and passing yards per game (244.9).
Mendoza has helped make the passing game a strength, often connecting with receivers Jordan Allen and Dalen Penson. But Key said there is something else he would like to see from his quarterback Saturday at Pitt.
“What I’d really like to see is him doing a great job of turning around and handing that ball to the running back and we get positive plays,” Key said. “That’s what I’d love to see a great job of. That would be very fulfilling night for one Brent Key as well as I’m sure all of Yellow Jacket nation and family.”
Tech is averaging just 123 rushing yards per game, 113th among 138 FBS teams.
And the Jackets have generally been at their best when they have been able to establish the run. They have rushed for at least 200 yards in 22 of their past 40 victories.
“What we can’t do is get frustrated if a play doesn’t work in the first quarter,” Key said.
“Offensive linemen get into a rhythm with how they play, no different than a quarterback throwing the football, no different than a kicker, punter, no different than a receiver that gets in the zone. O-line is the same way, and a lot of it for an offensive lineman is that confidence they feel.”