Paul Johnson Q&A
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson’s fifth season played out hardly as anyone could have predicted, with two overtime losses in the first four games, the midseason firing of defensive coordinator Al Groh, an appearance in the ACC title game after a 2-4 start and a bowl-game win over preseason No. 1 USC.
The Yellow Jackets head into the offseason with the momentum of the bowl win, their first after seven consecutive bowl defeats, and Monday’s news that outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu will return for his senior season. Johnson spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the season past and the offseason to come.
Q: You ran some four-wide stuff out of the shotgun at the Sun Bowl.
A: We’ve done it before. We do it every time we get in the (shotgun) pretty much most of the time.
Q: I imagine you might do more of that?
A: We’re going to look to expand some of that with (quarterbacks) Vad (Lee) and Justin (Thomas).
Q: How is Justin’s arm?
A: I think he’s good, but we’ll see. He’s got a strong arm.
Q: Could you see more of the passing attack that you ran at Hawaii?
A: It’s possible. You’ll play to your personnel a little bit. We’ll expand some of the stuff we’re doing in the “gun” but we’re not going to totally get out of what we do.
Q: How much does beating USC remove some of the bad taste of the season?
A: I was just happy for the seniors and for the guys to win a bowl game. There’s so many misnomers or myths and I guess they’re not really myths until you do it. But we were 2-2 in bowl games at Navy and it’s like the thing about it here is, we had a couple we should have won and we didn’t.
We should have won the Sun Bowl a year ago and we didn’t get it done. So the thing that was good for them, I think, and to me, it was important to finish 7-7. It’s better than the alternative. You finish on a positive and you’ve got that to work off of all offseason and into the spring.
Q: Would you describe it as a relief?
A: It’s probably a relief to some of the players or whatever. You don’t have to hear about (the losing streak) until we lose the next one.
Q: How do you evaluate the season?
A: It wasn’t as good as we would have liked, clearly, but I think we dug ourselves out of a hole. We got into a huge hole when we started 2-4 and we played some good football teams. I don’t know if people realize, we played 10 teams that were bowl eligible. They can talk about strength of schedule all you want but when it’s over is how you decide strength of schedule.
Q: Could the season have turned out differently if you had beaten Virginia Tech in the opener?
A: Who knows? I think maybe. I think had we won that game or had we beaten Miami either one, (it could have). You’d like to think if you win the Miami game, maybe you don’t lose the next one but that would be taking away from Middle Tennessee, who played their butt off. They played hard.
Q: How do you evaluate how the offense played?
A: If you look at stats, I think we averaged 40 points a game in the league. The last three games weren’t as good as you’d like, but we also played three pretty good teams (Georgia, Florida State and USC). I get a kick out of people, they talk about, “Well, when you play really good (teams, you don’t score as much).” Well, why the hell do you think they’re good teams?
You should be more concerned if you play a team that’s giving up 40 points a game and you score 10. When you play a team that’s given up 10 and you score 15 … But we can play better. Certainly we need to. We didn’t finish the way we would have liked.
Q: Is there anything you can put your finger on in those games?
A: We just didn’t finish drives the last part. I think you have to give who you’re playing credit, too. We played against a lot of good players.
Q: B-back David Sims came on strong at the end.
A: I thought he ran hard the last two games, really hard.
Q: It must be encouraging to have him back for next season with two years of experience and maybe healthier.
A: It’s like we said last year. I think we got O.K. production out of the position when you add all the guys together. But we need to have more explosive plays out of that position, bigger plays.
Q: Have you decided if you’ll return coach Dave Walkosky to a special teams-only position (after he took over the defensive line after Groh’s firing)?
A: Right now, the plan is more than likely, he’s going to go back to special teams. That’s what we hired him for. It’s not until we firm everything up. This time of year, I’ve learned through the years, you never know what’s going to happen. You’re one phone call away from losing a guy or two or three guys. You just don’t know.
Q: Is inside linebacker Jabari Hunt-Days as good as he looked against USC?
A: He played really, really well in the bowl game. That’s the best game he’s played. He was physical. He’s got a bright future. He’s got all the tools. He’s big, he can run, he can be physical. I’m excited about him. I’m excited about a lot of the young guys over there. I think we’ve got some good young players.
Q: Will wide receivers Anthony Autry and Travin Henry (both rehabilitating knee injuries) and safety Fred Holton (lower-leg surgery) be ready for spring practice?
A: Anthony should be good to go. Travin should be good to go. They (and Holton) should all be good for the spring.
Q: What about safety Isaiah Johnson (lower-body injury suffered in bowl practice)?
A: Not spring. He had major surgery. Hopefully we’ll get him ready for fall.
Q: What was your reaction to the ACC going 4-2 in bowl games?
A: I think that you have some conference pride. You’re also worried more about yourself. I think it’s good anytime the league can win. There’s no question there’s a media frenzy for a couple of the other leagues.
Q: With 15 commitments, are you still trying to add to the recruiting class?
A: We’ve got most of our guys committed. We still may be able to add a guy or two.
Q: What are some areas that you want to dig into and improve?
A: I think we need to strive to be way more consistent defensively than what we’ve been. If you just call a spade a spade, we weren’t very good, or at least consistent. We’ve played (some good) games. You can say the same thing on offense. We weren’t consistent.
Q: After five seasons, is the team in the position you’d want it?
A: You’re always looking for better players to help yourself but I think we’re in position from a depth-wise (perspective) and that kind of thing, numbers-wise. We’ve got to create a few more or find or help develop a few more marquee guys.
I’ve said from the start that I think there’s no question 1 through 85, the roster is far better than when I got here. If you (look at) 1 through 7 or 8, I don’t know. So that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to improve that 1 through 8 because I know 1 through 85 is better.
Q: Is that simply a matter of recruiting?
A: I think some of it’s (being) young. Did anybody know Bay-Bay (Demaryius) Thomas was going to be that good? I mean, clearly not. He redshirted his freshman year, didn’t he? Or Michael Johnson. Vance Walker. Those guys weren’t highly recruited guys. People can rewrite history all they want, but they just weren’t. They came in and they worked their tail off and they became great players. Who’s to say that some of the younger guys aren’t going to do that?
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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104 comments Add your comment
Freddie Blassie
January 8th, 2013
11:44 am
@ Bham jacket
I really do think Tech, at the end of the season and after beating So Cal in the Sun Bowl could have beaten Notre Dame last night. I do not think Tech could have beaten them in Sept, Oct or November, but I think they could have won. I do not think Notre Dame is very good. You are a pencil neck.
5150 UOAD
January 8th, 2013
11:52 am
You have to Love the paranoia of Dwag fans.
AltamahaDawg
January 8th, 2013
11:41 am
I’ll tell you what is not fair.
After the gators let them down, the tech trolls have found comfort in being Bama fans now…..and THEN some of you go and ruin that by stating complementary things about Georgia.
I mean, come on. Do you know how hard it is to find a home team at another man’s school.
GT Lee
January 8th, 2013
12:00 pm
CPJ needs to start hugging recruits and sing Happy Birthday to them (sarcasm)
gt4ever
January 8th, 2013
12:01 pm
@Blassie
I don’t think ND belongs in the same league as Alabama, but to say GT could hang with a team like ND is rather absurd. But then there are still people who think CPJ has a great offensive mind.. I will tell you this, CPJ would be a great High school coach!
5150 UOAD
January 8th, 2013
12:08 pm
How many JOBS has Paul Johnson been FIRED from?
What about the other TECH coaches from the resent past?
Gailey
Friedgen(OC but wanted as TECH HC)
O’Leary
Lewis
Curry
Rogers
Ross
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
12:17 pm
@ gt4ever…….USC hung with ND in November, and that was with Wittek, NOT Barclay. Since Tech beat USC so easily, who’s to say Tech could not have hung with, or even beat ND? I know you don’t like Johnson, and that’s your prerogative, but I also totally disagree with you The fact is ND was not a very good team. UGA would probably have beat them as badly as Bama did.
yeller bug
January 8th, 2013
12:25 pm
With Kelly gone, the DC hire is critical!!! Some have been pushing Lance Thompson—would you leave a potential dynasty at AL to come to GT? I’d ride the wave a while–AL will probably win again next year looking at their talent. Others mention Giff Smith–who is available I think—-and would be both a good recruiter and DC—we need both so we have two hires to make and one needs to be an ace.
As to Mark Richt—great coach and even better human being—he makes it less fun to hate UGA. As for the money/millionaire comment—-there is nothing wrong with money or having lots of it—it is the love of money that causes problems. Man cannot serve both God and mammon—mammon meaning money or more specifically materialism—not some small furry animal in South America.
gt4ever
January 8th, 2013
12:29 pm
@Super
“Not very good teams” don’t go undefeated in D1 College football… ND’s schedule was obviously easier, but as has been blogged previous. ND manhandled the two teams we have in common. I will also say that because USC’s backup QB played so bad in the Sun Bowl, was the reason we won against a “terrible” USC team.. I mean come on, USC’s QB was throwing to everybody but his own team… The defense did well against the run, because they really didn’t have to worry about the forward pass… OH well the count down is on until the dismissal of our current HC…
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
12:54 pm
@ gt4ever…..I remind you again, that that same backup QB played against ND and kept them in the game. Why was he suddenly so bad against Tech? That same “terrible” USC team only lost to ND by 9 points, hardly a blowout.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
12:59 pm
Also, gt4ever……how did the USC QB’s play effect the play of Tech’s offense. The Trojan defense pretty much contained the outside game, but they had no answer for Sims and Laskey up the middle, coupled with both Vad’s and TW’s occasional passes. That defense gave up 21 points to Tech and 22 to ND….pretty comparable, I’d say. Now don’t get me wrong; I am NOT saying that Tech would have beat ND, but I do think the team that played FSU and USC could have hung with them, to use your words.
82Dawg
January 8th, 2013
1:00 pm
@super….maybe he thought all he had to do was walk out on the field against Tech and he would win. Just like UGA did against UCF a few years ago. Just proves that anyone can be beat…
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
1:10 pm
@ 82Dawg…..possible. He sure stunk it up; no doubt about that. But regardless, when USC’s defense looked like they might have stopped Tech’s offense, Johnson just pulled another play out of his bag and kept moving the ball down the field. Not that it’s saying a helluva lot in this particular case, but Johnson was definitely the best coach on the field that day.
SoCal_GT_Fan
January 8th, 2013
1:21 pm
gt4ever: That USC team still is stocked with 5-star, 4-star players from roster 1 through 85. According to people like you, USC should not have had a hard time beating a “high school offense” with “FCS talent level”. But they did. But truth be told, this USC is a finesse team that relies on their pass offense and that wind was a big factor in the game. Even so, the limited touches that the USC play makers had, the defense did a good job of limiting the yac of those play makers.
I do agree with you that I highly doubt that we would have beaten ND if we played them this year. Another team that is brimming with 4-star and 5-star players. They beat USC in Los Angeles with the weather a non-factor. So, ND had to deal with a more potent offense than what GT had to deal with and another thing; USC was more motivated to play in the ND game. Why wouldn’t they? ND is their arch rival (sorry UCLA) and what would have made their season a little more bearable would have been to derail ND’s run at the national championship.
DawginLex
January 8th, 2013
1:49 pm
supersize and 5150
My kid got into med school
Thought you guys would want to know
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
1:52 pm
@ Lex……congrats. Where?
DawginLex
January 8th, 2013
1:57 pm
Pikeville College, Pikeville KY She is studying to be a DO. She could have gone to UK and went MD but she likes the DO route better.
Still expensive………………….
5150 UOAD
January 8th, 2013
1:59 pm
DO? not sure what that is.
great for her and you.
DawginLex
January 8th, 2013
2:01 pm
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
These folks typically treat stroke and spinal cord and brain injury patients. That is her interest.
DawginLex
January 8th, 2013
2:07 pm
http://www.upike.edu/college-of-osteopathic-medicine
Actually pretty highly ranked
5150 UOAD
January 8th, 2013
2:20 pm
DiLex so she can Fix You and all of us Bloggers with our Brains? LOL
Tokyo jacket
January 8th, 2013
2:24 pm
“Why the hell do you think they’re good teams?” Classic CPJ and a good point.
I like that he differentiated 1-8 and 1-85. I think he’s right about 1-85 though. A lot more depth now.
cewbee
January 8th, 2013
2:31 pm
dawginlex – have you been to Pikeville? It is (really) the home of the Hatfields and McCoys. Also blue people. I kid you not.
cewbee
January 8th, 2013
2:33 pm
Also really isolated – 2.5 hours from nearest airport. Good luck and godspeed….
old dog
January 8th, 2013
2:57 pm
Truce for this one minute, please. How could anyone who has watched, admired, or played football have possibly conceived that Notre Dame was a #1 team, much less (see Corso and pals) think they could win. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SEC ATTITUDE. Forget the SEC or any conference. N.D was not good enough to play for the N.C…..period! Shows how screwed up things can get. UGA, S.Carolina, A and M, LSU, Oregon and (no joke) probably y’all could have beaten this team. They are not a top fifteen team at all, and the idea that the press anointed them is an embarassment. Not just that they got blown out….that can happen to anyone one game. But ‘Bama would beat them 100 out of 100 times. And the LB Heisman candidate is a great kid, but he could not START for an SEC team except (possibly) Kentucky. Strange how the press wants to have the golden boys back on top, and then we all see they were not worthy. They were slow, overmatched, overpowered, and this team was ranked #1 coming into this game? Again, this ain’t SEC talk….this is for all the teams out there that got rooked.
Back to reality. Y’all will see a much better year next year…amazing what a littleconfidence can do. Grab a D recruit or two, and make it happen.
DawginLex
January 8th, 2013
3:02 pm
cewbee
The way I see it, it is a good place to spend a lot of time studying…………………
crackbaby
January 8th, 2013
3:33 pm
My .02
ND deserved to be in the NC game. They weren’t ready but they earned the right by beating all twelve D-1 teams they faced. ND never had weeks off like Tech, UGA, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State or Florida. They were completely outclassed last night but they earned the right to be there. (and I don’t root for ND).
CPJ is spot on with his assessment of 1-8 vs. 1-85. Unfortunately, 70+% of plays are made by Players 1-8. Significant improvement is needed in this area.
2013 should be conclusive in evaluating CPJ’s long term suitability at Tech. Win the ACC and he’s in. Win 10 games and he’s probably around for a long time (especially if the Dawgs are one of those W’s). Win 6 or 7 games with that schedule and he must follow Chan Gailey’s path away, away, away down south in Dixie…
Dacusville Bill
January 8th, 2013
3:34 pm
Wish Tech would fire Pitiful Paul and Cotton was a Monkey
Nate
January 8th, 2013
3:34 pm
Old Dog is right on, I was pulling for Alabama versus Oregon but that didn’t happen.
juvenal
January 8th, 2013
3:45 pm
crummy punt call obviously very demoralizing………..
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
3:47 pm
@ Nate……be careful….it’s “old dog” with small letters, not “Old Dog” with caps. old dog is a cool, knowledgeable blogger. Old Dog is an idiot. That being said, however, I think old dog was right also.
10per
January 8th, 2013
4:31 pm
I know I say it all the time, but the position I miss a play maker at is B-Back. I was really hoping Sims would be able to produce the whole season like he did the last two games. I like his style and attitude. Too bad injuries slowed him down.
old dog
January 8th, 2013
4:36 pm
Thanks, Supersize……………
old dog
January 8th, 2013
4:41 pm
p.s.,
Crackbaby, My question was (is) how in the world did N.D. get a #1 ranking? Again, forget loyalties and conferences……they are not a top fifteen team. they cannot match up or compete against the top teams….period. A loss does not mean you are not a better team. Does anyone out there not think A and M would have dismantled N.D.???? or Oregon, or ________ (fill in the blank.) Its not that things cannot be difficult to sort out, but a football person at any level could (and can) see that this team was not N.C. material. How folks got fooled is beyond me!!
Pitbull
January 8th, 2013
4:52 pm
Its a Georgia Tech article on an interview with Tech coach Paul Johnson, yet you Tech girls just can’t resist talking about UGA and Mark Richt. You girls are priceless.
If you loved Tech as much as you hate UGA then Tech would probably be successful. But you just can’t help yourselves.
Repeat after me: El Paso is the new Boise. El Paso is the new Boise.
Now its your turn. Go on say it. You know it so say it. Hahahahaha
Techmate
January 8th, 2013
4:55 pm
Bottom feeders – all you dawg fans. Time to go back to the trailer park. Nite, kids.
GT Lee
January 8th, 2013
4:59 pm
Pitbull, go ahead and say it………Fool from the Cesspool…..Fool from the Cesspool……Fool from the Cesspool…….it’s your turn, go ahead. you know it, so say it……..hahahahahahahahaha
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
5:07 pm
@ Pitbull….if you check back through the posts, you will see that most of the comments posted today were in defense of Richt after some fool questioned his Christianity because he is rich. I hate UGA, and I don’t really care for Richt, but slander like that is unforgivable, no matter who the object of it is. You are the one being the silly girl here.
where have you gone bobby ross
January 8th, 2013
5:28 pm
it seems the only time that CPJ talks about defense in a sentence, is when he gets defensive about someone asking about the quality of his talent, or lack there of………………….
Pitbull
January 8th, 2013
5:30 pm
I just think it is important to point out that while Tech fans love to hate on Mark Richt…
Georgia fans love Paul Johnson and hope he NEVER leaves Tech.
I wonder why that is.
YouBet
January 8th, 2013
5:49 pm
Sounds like “Big Jim” is a leg humper!!!
Supersize that order, mutt
January 8th, 2013
5:51 pm
@ Pitbull…..you’re not very bright, are you? A mind is such a terrible thing to waste. But so typical of the mutt trolls on here. Pretty sad.
YouBet
January 8th, 2013
5:53 pm
@Pitbull
Go ahead and say it…Give me an order of scattered, covered, smothered…..you know you want to say it…so repeat after me what you say everyday….Give me an order of scattered, covered, smothered!
Tokyo jacket
January 8th, 2013
6:21 pm
@4th and long, he does that already a couple times a summer.
William Casey
January 8th, 2013
6:40 pm
I’m no Notre Dame fan, just the opposite. Getting to watch the GT-ND game in 1980 (3-3 tie with #1 ranked Irish) in person is one of my fondest memories. However, Notre Dame earned their way into the National Championship Game this year by defeating 12 legitmate FBS teams. You can say what you want about ND’s schedule but there were no Elons, Presbyterians or Florida Western Beauticians Colleges on their schedule. All their wins were legitimate. The fact that Alabama is much better than them does not change this reality.
Buzz 2011
January 8th, 2013
7:10 pm
@superdawg…..Thise leghumpers are super too aren’t they?
What a bunch of losers and whiners, 2nd tier SEC. When do
you play Bama again>.
superDawg
January 8th, 2013
7:45 pm
buzz 2011 It will be right after we beat the snot out of tek again in 2013.
superDawg
January 8th, 2013
7:47 pm
Ken why was there not a ? about the defensive head coach?
5150 UOAD
January 8th, 2013
7:57 pm
what ? superdWag…………..He hasn’t hired one yet so what more do you need to know?
superDawg
January 8th, 2013
8:03 pm
How mank tekies will be going to NFL?
If do right, no can defense
January 8th, 2013
8:57 pm
Projected lineup for 2013 (will update this as spring practice rolls on):
Offense:
QB – Lee, Thomas, Days/Byerly
FB – Sims, Laskey, Snoddy
RB – Godhigh, Zenon, Days
RB – Bostic, Andrews, Custis
WR – Autry, Waller, Henry
WR – Ramos, Moore, Summers
OT – O’ Reilly, Kidney
OG – Mason, Joe/Jackson
C – Finch, Alford
OG – Bailey, Chamberlain
OT – Beno, Braun
Defense:
DE – Dieke, Cummings
NT – Green, Gotsis
DE – Gamble, Kallon
OLB – Watts, Marcordes
ILB – Nealy, Hankins/Drummond
ILB – Hunt-Days, Menocal
OLB – Attaochu, Harrell
CB – Thomas, White
S – Johnson, Noble
S – Holton, Golden
CB – Young, Cleveland