Brent Key Gives Small Insight To His Team's Internal Expectations: 'They're very high'

Key also mentioned the confidence of this team during his press conference today:

"That's great to hear because, you know, confidence is something that it's hard to come by a lot of times. You know, so many individuals are insecure, not confident themselves. And, you know, a lot of that is part of the external factors that are out there in the world. You know, to have a group of guys that does have confidence but not arrogance. You know, I try to portray that as well with the team, because I want them to be confident, right? Look, you know, we got good football players, right? We got good football players that work their butts off. So, you know, they should have confidence, right? If you don't have confidence, I mean, there's, there's, you got zero chance. And all these things we talk about, I mean, they're not, they're not giving us any reason to celebrate. They just give you an opportunity, a chance to be able to put it all together and celebrate it into the year, so I think it's a really good thing."

The Yellow Jackets return a good mixture of veteran talent while also adding in freshmen from one of the best recruiting classes in program history. They supplemented thattalent in the transfer portal with veteran additions in the winter and spring transfer windows as well, and that has fans and analysts alike feeling optimistic that Georgia Tech will be atop-half team in the ACC this season. Can they be something more?

ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy certainly thinks so. In a recent episode of his show "Always College Football", McElroy put every ACC team into tiers. Tier 1 was national championship contenders, tier 2 was CFP contenders, tier 3 was spoilers, tier 4 was bowl-bound, and tier 5 was work to do. Clemson and Miami were the teams that were put in tier 1, while Georgia Tech, Louisville, and SMU were in the second tier.

Are the Yellow Jackets a smart bet to win the conference? That is the argument that CBS Sports analyst Chris Hummer made earlier this offseason:

Georgia Tech (+1,400): "The best approach to the ACC is to sort the contenders into tiers. Clemson is on a rung by itself. Louisville, Miami and SMU are in a group just below the Tigers -- all with +800 odds or better. But I'd argue Georgia Tech also belongs in that group. The Yellowjackets bring back the 26th most production in the FBS (per ESPN's Bill Connelly), just added a historic recruiting class (21st nationally) and have a fifth-year senior QB in Haynes King who just wins games.

Yes, the Yellow Jackets finished just 7-5 last regular season, but four of those six losses came by 12 or fewer points to Syracuse, Louisville and Georgia. They were very close to 9-10 wins.

The schedule sets up well. Of the top four league contenders, Yellow Jackets only drew Clemson -- at home. Their road games (Wake Forest, Duke, NC State, Boston College) are also manageable."

That is a sound argument. Georgia Tech is not without questions, but they have one of the best backfields in the conference, they added speed at the receiver position, the offensive line should still be a strength, offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner is back and the back seven on defense is experienced. If they can replace a couple of starters on the offensive line and have their defense take another step up, this team is certainly good enough to make a run at the ACC.