Paul Johnson: ‘We Are a Better Football Team Than We Were a Year Ago.”

Jimmy Shapiro — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:45:53 +0000

A year ago when Georgia Tech announced they had hired Paul Johnson to be their new football coach, none would have envisioned such early success. With 16 starters set to return, many have tabbed them as the team to beat in the ACC’s Coastal division. The Yellow Jackets will have 16 returning starters from last year’s 9-4 season and another year of the triple option flexbone offense under their belts. So, needless to say, Georgia Tech will not sneak up on any teams this season. Paul Johnson joined WCNN in Atlanta to talk about the expectations around campus, the affect nationally televised games have on recruiting, their brutal start to the season, what year two will bring for his beloved offense, and what the number one challenge his defense will face heading into the season.

On the expectations compared to this season as opposed to last season:

“Well I think we laid a good foundation and certainly our expectations haven’t changed a great deal. We had high expectations a year ago but we are looking forward to the season. We have a lot of players coming back and got a really tough schedule early on but we are looking forward to it.”

On playing nationally televised Thursday night games:

“I think that people talk about the Saturday games on major networks but you are not going to get nearly the exposure as you do on ESPN on Thursday nights where you are the only team playing. We were fortunate last year we had a great experience last year against Miami here at home on Thursday night. We are looking forward to the first one here against Clemson… The place ought to be rocking and it’s got to be a great atmosphere.”

On playing 3 conference foes in the first four games of the season:

“Well I don’t know that I particularly like it but nobody asked me. It is what it is. You got to play everybody eventually. We just got to get ready to play. We can either put ourselves squarely in the mix right away or take ourselves out of the conference race fairly early.”

On how much of the learning curve has been accomplished during the off-season:

“I said during the spring that we are a lot better football team than we were a year ago no question about and we have added a little bit to the offense but the thing that we have been able to do is get in a lot of wrinkles and a lot of the nuances that you can do against certain things. I think just having our guys understand a little bit better they can play faster. Hopefully we can be more efficient and we should be a good football team on offense.”

On what the number one challenge his defense will face heading into the season:

“Everybody would say up front that the defensive line is the one area that is inexperienced but my take on defense in general is that you have to be able to stop the run. At times we played well on defense a year ago, I think especially early on in the season and late in they year we got some guys injured and we didn’t play as well as we needed to play. So I think some of our defense will play with a chip on their shoulder and will come out with something to prove.”

Listen to Paul Johnson on 680 the Fan in Atlanta

NCAA College Football Signing Day Round-Up: ACC Coaches Edition

Michael Bean — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:53:24 +0000

Let’s continue our whirlwind tour of the developments of College Football’s arms race for recruits – better known as National Signing Day. SRI.com will continue to post interviews with coaches and players from around the country all week, so check back and hear from your school’s coaches and soon-to-be stars as they become available.

2008 Final ACC Standings (click to enlarge):

INTERVIEWS:

North Carolina head coach Butch Davis (WFNZ)

Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe (WFNZ)

Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden (WFNZ)

North Carolina State head coach Tom O’Brien (WFNZ)

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinny (WFNZ)

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer (WFNZ)

Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson (680 The Fan)

Miami Hurricanes head coach Randy Shannon (WQAM)

***Special thanks to the good guys at The Primetime with Packman Show in Charlotte

**************************

SRI NCAAFB National Signing Day Posts:

Former NFL Coaches Edition

Non-BCS Conference School Coaches

Colorado Buffaloes coach Dan Hawkins + memories of a meltdown

Sports Radio Interviews » Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Paul Johnson: ‘We Are a Better Football Team Than We Were a Year Ago.”

NCAA College Football Signing Day Round-Up: ACC Coaches Edition