Three Georgia Tech position coaches spoke with reporters Monday during spring practices. Each shared why he was led to Tech and coach Brent Key, who assumed full-time duties after an encouraging stint as the interim coach in 2022.
(Answers were edited for length and clarity.)
Offensive line coach Geep Wade, who coached at Appalachian State last season:
“Well, I’ve known Brent as a friend for about 10 years. And when I was at Marshall, he was at Central Florida. I’ve always followed him, always ran into him spring recruiting, always respected him. And then when he beat Pittsburgh, I texted him, ‘Heck, yeah. Good for an O-line guy to go get a win the way it should be done with toughness.’ It’s been great. He’s awesome to work for. And you have to think about it from my standpoint. I work for an O-line coach who’s a tough-minded human being. So we practice that way. So honestly, it makes my job easier.”
Running backs coach Norval McKenzie, who coached at Vanderbilt (his alma mater) last season:
“So for me, the opportunity to come back home to the great state of Georgia, have opportunity to see my family (McKenzie is from Powder Springs). The profession we have here is very demanding. And at times, I’ve only got a chance to see my mom and dad and my sister, who lives here, my niece, maybe three to four times a year. Already, I got here in December, I’ve already seen them five to six times, which is awesome, right?
“In addition to that, I think anytime you’re making a move, it’s all about the people. I had an opportunity to work with Buster Faulkner, our offensive coordinator. We were at Arkansas State. Just knowing him as a person, knowing him as a coach, knowing him as a man, a husband, a father, somebody I’ve always gravitated towards, and I’m extremely excited to be back here with him working with him again. Those are some of the pillars that kind of steered me here.
“In addition to that, you have coach Key who’s been able to win a national championship at the University of Alabama. We’ve got coach Faulkner, who won a couple national championships at the other school (Georgia). We have (quarterbacks) coach (Chris) Weinke who’s won one as a player and a Heisman Trophy winner. So then you start to think, ‘Hey, I want to surround myself with really good people.’ And those are some of the factors that made the decision pretty easy for me.”
Receivers coach Josh Crawford, who coached at Western Kentucky last season:
“Well, first and foremost, very excited and very grateful to be here. Place I was at the last few years, you know, we had a really good (meeting) room, we were able to do some really good things. Prior to coming here, I didn’t have a relationship with coach Key. He reached out and we had some conversations, and it was very evident, very quickly, that we were on the same page in a lot of areas. As we had conversations, things moved along. Fortunately for me, it ended up with me being here, and I’m very grateful to coach and very excited to be here.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked Crawford to elaborate on how he felt so aligned with Key during their initial conversations:
“I think any time you talk with a head coach, he’s going to communicate what he’s looking for. And it was just throughout that process, what he was looking for, the coach that he was looking for in this position, there was a lot of alignment philosophically and coaching-wise, as far as standard and the things that we want to see out of this position group. How that’s going to affect not only the offense, but the program. We were very aligned in that aspect. And also what stood out to me just in talking with him, he was somebody that was very big on family, and that is important to me. This is something Coach says all the time: Organizations are about the people. When he went out to put this coaching staff together, I think that’s what he had in mind. So as he’s talking to you, who are you as a person, right? And I think in his mind, it’s like, ‘If I get great people, the coaching part of take care of itself.’
“So to work for a coach that’s family oriented, and it’s obvious once I got here, he stays true to that philosophy, because I’m blessed. I mean, not only on the offensive side of the ball, but there’s great relationships with coaches on the defensive side. I mean, we have a staff that is lockstep, and we all get along. I’m as tight with some of our defensive coaches as I am with our offensive coaches. That’s what I mean by that alignment. Just in terms of what coach was looking for, and not only the type of coach, but the type of person and vice versa. I’m very, very blessed to be under his leadership.”
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