Brent Key: Chad Alexander represents ‘who we are as a football team’

It isn’t everyday a former walk-on helps take down a top-10 team in the country. On Saturday, Georgia Tech running back Chad Alexander was pivotal in the Yellow Jackets’ 24-21 upset win over No. 10 Florida State. After the game, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key raved about his sophomore RB.

“He’s really a great example of who we are as a football team,” Key said. “We got a lot of guys that aren’t big enough, maybe fast enough, might have been overlooked at another school and decided to come here. That’s who we are. That’s who these guys are building themselves into.

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“Chad is 185 pounds. Now, he does run 10.3. He can roll now but it wasn’t that that was impressive. He was running between the tackles and pushing the pile. Just the resiliency that he showed and the toughness that he showed, that was his first carry in a football game tonight. He’s getting positive yards, he’s falling forward. Those are the same things we saw in the scrimmages.”

Alexander tallied seven carries for 41 yards in the victory. He was one threat in a dangerous Georgia Tech ground game that FSU struggled to stop. The Yellow Jackets’ running back room finished the game with 190 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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Although Alexander didn’t lead the charge for Georgia Tech, he provided more than anybody could have expected only a year ago. Alexander was a three-star prospect in high school and the No. 2,026 player in the 2023 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

He joined Georgia Tech as a walk-on and did not record a single carry in his debut campaign. Instead, Alexander carved out a role on special teams, notching three tackles and recovering a muffed punt. In short time, Alexander received a scholarship spot on the roster.

On Saturday, he reminded the nation why he deserved it. While viewers at home may have been shocked by Georgia Tech’s triumph, Brent Key never doubted his team. After the game, Key explained his pregame message to Chad Alexander and his fellow Yellow Jackets.

“I told the team this isn’t their first game of the season,” Key said. “Y’all have played against each other twice already. We know who we are. Now it’s time to have the confidence to go out and play. But that’s what he was doing all preseason camp.”