Behind the Buzz: Inside Georgia Tech’s Undefeated Run

(ATLANTA, Ga.) – Clinched with an overtime win over Wake Forest two weeks ago and a 15 point victory over Virginia Tech this past weekend, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket football team currently sits undefeated at 6-0, and nationally ranked in consecutive weeks for the first time in 10 years. Simit Shah, longtime Georgia Tech sports writer, graduate of the Class of 1999, and current executive associate athletic director for administration, sat down with The Click to share what makes this season so special.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

Simit Shah, Executive Associate AD / Administration at Georgia Tech, and graduate of the Class of 1999 [Credit: Simit Shah]

I think “momentum” is a great word. It feels like everybody is excited … A lot of people I’ve found that even aren’t Georgia Tech fans really like our team. We’re at Wake Forest this past weekend and talking to people … Whether it’s some of their fans or their staff that are working there, or the person in the elevator, everybody kind of said, “Man, we really like your team.” … That’s a very special part of what’s happening here is that we’ve gotten a lot of attention outside of what we would consider the Georgia Tech orbit.

What do you and others in this building and on the team make of a personality and leader like quarterback Haynes King?

Haynes is a tremendous representative [for] Tech, no doubt about it. And the qualities he has: being a smart player, being very tough, being very calm under pressure, being great at interviews. We got a lot of compliments on the interview he did during GameDay. So I think he envelops everything we want a Georgia Tech student-athlete to be…Across the board, all the people he interacts with — he really has earned their respect and admiration, and…he’s on the national stage a lot for what he does on the field. We see all the things he does off the field too.

Speaking of off the field, is he still sleeping under the stadium?

That’s a great story … Generally, during fall football camp — it’s before school starts — the guys are just here a lot between meetings and working out and practice. And so Haynes, also just being a really smart guy, he probably just saw an efficiency of, “Hey, if I just sleep here in the building. That just saves me some time every morning. You got everything here.” But it also shows how dedicated he is to his craft.

Coach Brent Key’s had a tremendous run already as coach. I saw you were in the locker room while he was speaking to the team after the Clemson win. What was that like? 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Simit Shah (@gtsim)

You know, Brent and I’ve known each other since we were in school together…[Georgia Tech football’s] been trending upwards, but you need to have some of those signature moments to really feel like you’ve arrived…For Brent, he carries that burden with him as not only the coach, but as an alum, and having so much pride in the school…So being in the locker room and hearing the pride and the raw emotion of the whole moment — that’s one of those moments I’ll remember … everybody’s happy for him, but I think Brent would tell you that he’s happy for Georgia Tech. 

What are your hopes for the rest of the season? 

I think it’s cliché to say one game at a time and stuff, but … it’s hard not to think about the big picture of just the opportunity that lays ahead of you … As a department, you always want to be ready for that. You want to plan for whatever the highest level of success you can reach … You have to be prepared for it, prepared to take advantage of the different opportunities that will come, because more and more people want a part of you.