I'm going to throw this out there, and I want to stress that I don't know whether it has anything to do with our troubles or not, but while OC at UCF, Brent Key's offense finished 127th out of 127 teams and the team went 0-12 largely because of a lot of infighting and morale problems. This is from an article by the Orlando Sentinel which touched on that experience:
From winless and in the abyss of his career to undefeated and at the summit of college football. Brent Key’s supersonic career path during the last year has taken him from perhaps the worst t…
www.orlandosentinel.com
"Key was promoted to offensive coordinator before the season and choreographed an offense that ranked dead-last – 127th out of 127 teams – in the country. Injuries ransacked the team.
Players quit on the coaches while the
coaches fought among themselves. O'Leary battled with the administration about when he would announce his retirement and angrily stepped down in the middle of the season.
"It was a time of self-reflection and analyzing things that were really good and the things that had gone bad," Key said of that tumultuous time after he was let go by UCF. "Anytime you go through a season like we had, you go through personal challenges. It's not a time to be down, wallow in self-pity or say, 'Woe is me.' It's a time where you ask yourself, 'What can I do to make myself a better man, a better husband, a better father figure, a better coach?'"
Kenneth Kirby came here as an experienced senior starter at Norfolk State and has hardly seen the field. Here is his bio from the Tech website:
2016-20 (Norfolk State): Graduate transfer … Started all 34 games over three seasons at Norfolk State … Started all 12 games at left tackle as a junior in 2019 and was named
first-team all-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference after grading out at 96% for the season … Surrendered just two half-sacks and led the team in knockdowns while playing a team-high-tying 884 snaps in 2019 … Led an offensive line that helped Norfolk State set a school-Division I record with 28.9 points per game and rank third in the MEAC in rushing in ’19 … Started all 11 games as a sophomore in 2017, en route to third-team all-MEAC recognition … Started all 11 games at left tackle as a freshman in 2016 … Redshirted in 2018 and missed the 2020 season due to NCAA Division I FCS postponing its fall season
Is there some dissension the OL? Is Brent Key playing favorites? I just wonder. It's hard to imagine that Kirby isn't able to get on the field with our offensive line as bad as it is. He doesn't seem to have an injury - he's played very sparingly, albeit not at all against Pitt. I have no idea what is going on, but it would explain a lot.