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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 19, 2018

Paul Johnson

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson. Coach, if you could please give us an opening statement, then we'll take questions.

PAUL JOHNSON: Good morning. Certainly we got a huge challenge in front of us this week. Clemson is a very good football team. They're very talented. They do a good job in all facets. Certainly we're going to have to play better to have a chance this week.

Having said that, we're looking forward to hosting them and hopefully we can turn it around, get ourselves going in the right direction.

Q. Could you tell us a little bit about Nate Woody, your defensive coordinator, what he brings to the table for you? How does he differ philosophically? How much of a challenge is it preparing for two quarterbacks?
PAUL JOHNSON: Well, I think first of all, it's a completely different scheme than what we've been doing. We're a 3-4 defense. In the past we've been even front. I think he would like to be aggressive, but not to say Ted wasn't aggressive either. I think he'd like to be aggressive.

We're in the infant stages of putting the stuff in. I'm sure he can't do everything he would like to do yet. But we're excited about him being here. He has a really good track record at other places he's coached.

As far as preparing for two quarterbacks, you really prepare for the system, then you start to look at the individuals. Both those guys are very talented in their own right. They both can run and throw. They're not a whole lot different actually as far as preparation. They're not going to vary much from their system when they play either quarterback.

Q. At this point in the season, do you have benchmarks or things that you're looking to learn about the team? How has your team met some of those maybe questions you had going into the year?
PAUL JOHNSON: The first couple games have been frustrating. The second game we played a good South Florida team on the road. Special teams and defense we weren't very good. The last game, the first half, we didn't bother to show up offensively. We were horrendous. We dug ourselves such a hole. We won the second half 19-3. We dug such a hole, we couldn't get out of it.

That's been an issue. We knew going into the season we had a really tough schedule. We haven't done enough to win the games. We've got to do better. Got to coach better and got to play better.

Q. Anything about the identity of this team that is different than you expected? Does that happen often in your career where you expect one thing and kind of get something else as the season unfolds?
PAUL JOHNSON: Every team is different. There's still a lot of football left. There's nine games left. I think what happens sometimes is everybody either gets too excited or too down about the first two or three games. It's a long year. Every team is different. Each team will continue to develop their identity.

Q. I know you were talking about some of the things to work on and whatnot. You said some people look at these first few games, go into that, don't see the whole season left. What are some of the positives you're looking to build upon from what you've seen from your team this season early on?
PAUL JOHNSON: I think our effort has been good. I thought we played much better defensively in the last game, especially in the second half. The kicking game was better as far as the kickoffs, that kind of thing, a week ago. We continue to struggle place kicking, in some areas. We really ran an ill-advised fake punt that we didn't particularly execute very well.

All those things you got to improve on. The major thing for us is we've historically been a really good third down team. We're not playing very well on third down on either side of the ball. We've got to quit turning the ball over. We're not good enough to turn the ball over. We seem to have done that in every game this year.

Q. You mentioned Nate Woody. What can you say about the institution of his defense, how that transitions, how is that coming along, what you want to move this team forward?
PAUL JOHNSON: Well, I think it's a learning process. Hopefully the more you play, the better you're going to get. You have to make some strides. I think our kids enjoy playing in it. You just hope to get better as you go along.

Certainly this week will be a huge challenge. Clemson has a lot of great skill players.

Q. This week the ACC and the CFP are celebrating Extra Yard for Teachers. Could you just give us an idea what role teachers played in your life.
PAUL JOHNSON: I think just to kind of sum it up in a thing, teachers are probably the most important people we have in society. They spend a lot of time, more time, than anybody except maybe the parents with young people. I think they help to form their goals and aspirations, their character, all those things.

I have the utmost respect for teachers.

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