Brent Key honored nationally, four Yellow Jackets pick up ACC awards after win over FSU

Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl announced Monday that Georgia Tech coach Brent Key had been selected as The Dodd Trophy coach of the week. The award honors a coach who led his team to a significant victory during the previous week while also embodying the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.

Key and the Yellow Jackets captured their first victory of the season with a 24-21 win over No. 10 Florida State on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland. The Jackets won the game as time expired thanks to a 44-yard field goal by Aidan Birr. The field goal culminated a 49-yard drive that took 12 plays and the final 6:33 off the game clock.

Key improved to an 5-0 against ranked ACC opponents following Saturday’s win. It also was Tech’s first victory over a top-10 opponent since 2015.

Tech is 12-10 in Key’s 22 games as the coach at his alma mater.

Quartet of Jackets honored

The ACC players of the week were recognized Monday following standout performances in the opening week of the season. The selections are determined by a vote of a select media panel.

Haynes King was named quarterback of the week after he accounted for 200 yards of total offense to lead Tech to its 24-21 victory over No. 10 Florida State. His 200 yards included 146 yards on 11 of 16 passing for a 68.8 completion percentage and 54 yards on 15 rushing attempts.

The second-year Jacket led an efficient offensive effort that saw Tech score on 4 of 7 possessions which included three touchdowns and the game-winning field goal. King made a crucial play by completing a 12-yard pass to Eric Singleton Jr., setting up the game-winning field goal.

Jamal Haynes was named running back of the week after he rushed for a game-high 75 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries. The running back, who averaged 6.8 yards per carry, scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards. He also had two receptions for 16 yards, including a crucial 16-yard pickup on 3rd-and-7 that kept the Jackets’ game-winning drive alive.

Named offensive lineman of the week, center Weston Franklin was the anchor of an offensive line that paved the way for Tech to rush for 190 yards and didn’t surrender a sack Saturday. Franklin and the offensive front helped the Jackets average 5.3 yards against Florida State, including putting together scoring drives of 14, 11 and 12 plays which milked 7:53, 6:22 and 6:33 off the clock, respectively.

Kyle Efford was tabbed linebacker of the week after he recorded a team-high 10 tackles. The anchor of the Tech defense, Efford and the Yellow Jackets limited Florida State to just 291 yards of total offense, 110 fewer than the 401.6 yards per game that the Seminoles averaged in 2023. The defense also surrendered just 98 rushing yards on 31 carries, an average of 3.2 yards per rush, including just 40 yards on 26 carries, an average of 1.5 yards per attempt after the Seminoles’ first possession of the game.

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