Tag: Birmingham

“Brent always, No. 1, he always worked extremely hard. That’s probably one thing that sticks out to me as much as anything,” Wood told the AJC. “He worked in the offseason, in the weight room, the running program. Everything he did he got better and better. And he worked real hard in the classroom. He was a very good student, and that’s the most important thing there. He was a good teammate. I think that’s how the other guys there viewed him, and that’s the ultimate to me.”

Key became a pretty good offensive lineman, despite weighing only 225 pounds as a senior. His work in the classroom and on the field earned him a scholarship offer to play for Tech.

He left Alabama for Atlanta in 1996.

“I still can see it my head. I was up in his room packing, and he was up there with several of his friends because they were so all excited for him,” Donna recalled. “I was kind of sad, and he was like, ‘Oh, it’s no big deal. I’m just going over there for school. I’ll be back all the time.’ He wasn’t.”

Key’s work ethic didn’t waver in Atlanta. Between practices, games and studies, Key needed to make extra money, so he worked pressure-washing decks and windows during his underclassmen years, then at a concert venue as part of the security team as an upperclassmen.

Nineteen years after Key played his last down at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Key returned to Tech to be his alma mater’s offensive line coach. In 2022 he was named the program’s interim coach eight games into that season before being handed the full-time title in November of that year.

Now Key has a chance to lead the Jackets to eight wins in a season for the first time since 2016. An eighth victory could come in the same city in which Key witnessed his first college football game in person alongside Martin: the 1985 All-American Bowl between Tech and Michigan State at Legion Field.

“This means the world to me, the family and friends that will be around,” Key admitted earlier this month. “Birmingham is college football. Always has been. To play in a bowl game here is pretty special.”

As for Wood, he said will attend the game Friday. Tech offensive lineman Jordan Williams and defensive lineman Jordan van den Berg said the veteran coach told the team about the importance of hard work and effort leading into the matchup with Vanderbilt, qualities Wood recognized early on from a young Key.

Donna, however, won’t be able to make the game, as she’s recovering from a pair of surgeries. But she’ll have some family friends over to watch it on TV and to help her cheer for her son, one of Birmingham’s sons.