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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 25, 2018

Jah'Shawn Johnson

Lubbock, Texas

Q. Jah'Shawn, how good did it feel to finally be able to get back on the field?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: It felt really good, just sitting in the training room all the first three weeks of the season, just kind of rehabbing, getting my shoulder back right to where I needed to be to play. It was kind of overwhelming, but it felt really good. Like I said, the guys were excited to have me out there, and I was excited to run around with them, as well.

Q. What do you feel like you learned about being a leader in those first three games?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Yeah, I actually realized that my voice carries a lot of weight, so that was nice to see. It was kind of a challenge that the coaches had put on me to speak up and be more of a vocal leader, and I took that challenge and ran with it, and the guys listened, and they stayed positive and did what I said.

Q. Coach Dewhurst was talking to you guys on the sideline in the first half about how important it was to get off the field on 3rd down, and in the second half they had to punt the ball away five times in the game, and they weren't able to convert at all in the second half. Can you just speak to the strength of this defense to be able to make those adjustments and to be able to get off the field?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Yeah, we've all played a lot of games, so I mean, we know how to adjust pretty well. We went into halftime and did a lot of things on the board that we can do to correct ourselves. We knew we wanted to take away the inside and make them throw the ball over our heads a little bit, and you see Frye made a good play on the ball later in the game. Those are kind of the things we wanted to do. We knew that if they couldn't throw it around the middle of the field that we had a good chance of defending the deep ball, so that was good on our part.

Q. Everyone was talking about you being such a vocal leader in those first three games that you were out. Now you were able to be that leader but also on the field. How much more do you get to help out this defense on the field as opposed to being on the sideline when it comes to giving them instructions and confidence?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: I think I play with a lot of emotions, so I try to keep everyone up, in good spirits, no matter what happens the play before. I talk, I line everyone up, and I just go after it, play fast and play physical. Like I said, the guys were excited about that, to have me back, and I was excited, as well.

Q. Looking at West Virginia, a little bit of a great offense coming here to the Jones, what improvements do you have to make defensively, not only just to match up with them but just in general?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: We've just got to get the ball out. We stress turnovers every day. We haven't had many so far, but we know if we get off the field on 3rd downs and just keep punching it, stripping at the ball, it'll finally come out, or it'll come out eventually, and just give our offense a chance to win the game at the end.

Q. When did you finally know you were cleared, and what was that feeling like because I know obviously it was a long time waiting for you.
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: I actually practiced during the Houston week, and they were just telling me that I was going to get a chance next week, see how I feel throughout the week, just keep my head down and grind, and I've just got to give a lot of credit to our training staff for what they've done this past three or four weeks, for getting me prepared, and the coaches, as well, just keeping me kind of calm and making sure I know what I'm doing when I get out there.

Q. When did you finally get your first contact and what was that like for you?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: During that Houston week, I practiced with the young guys. On Thursdays they kind of scrimmage once the travel squad goes in to lift weights. So I practiced with them, and I just did the whole scrimmage pretty much and just got my feet wet a little bit.

Q. Do you feel like last weekend's win was kind of a validation for the defense? How would you kind of describe that victory for y'all?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: I mean, we knew we were capable of playing good defense. We had a lot of guys come back, a lot of experience. The first three weeks weren't acceptable for us, so I mean, we knew it was time to step up and do what we had to do to win the game. I mean, that was a great step in the right direction, and we'll just keep going forward from here.

Q. Is there a feeling-out process those first couple plays against OSU or did you just naturally fit back in from the jump?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: It was a good feeling, but I mean, I think everyone that got in there had done a great job before me, before I came and got some playing time. They done a great job the first three weeks. But yeah, like I've been saying, everyone was excited to have me back, and I was excited, too. I didn't miss a beat I felt.

Q. Is there a focus against a high-powered offense like West Virginia that they're going to come out swinging pretty early, to not give them anything early, to get off to a fast start for you guys?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Yeah, we know that they have a great quarterback, a lot of great skill guys coming back from last year. He threw the ball over our head a lot last year, and we're expecting him to do the same this year. He has a strong arm. Like I said, they've got great playmakers on the outside. He's going to give them a chance, we've just got to be there to defend the plays and eliminate the explosives.

Q. Is that one of the main focuses is those deep -- there's obviously a lot of things that offense does, but what's one of the main things you guys want to limit or take away? Is it the deep pass?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Yeah, if we eliminate explosive plays and make them drive the field, great things will happen. I mean, it's hard to stop a high-powered offense like that, but if you can just keep making them snap the ball play after play, we have a better chance than letting them go 60 or 70 on one play.

Q. You've covered most of those guys the past few years. What makes a guy like David Sills so difficult to cover and Jennings, as well?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: He's a former quarterback, so I mean, he just has a natural connection with that quarterback. He knows where he needs to sit in zones, and he knows how to get open on man-to-man coverages. He's a big guy. He's physical. He's strong. He blocks well. He runs his routes well. I mean, he just has the total package, so we'll do a great job of covering him, try to stay tight to him and do whatever we can to limit what he does.

Q. The shoulder that you just had operated on, was that the same shoulder --
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: It was the opposite.

Q. The fact that you guys shut them out in the second half, do you attribute that to any adjustments that y'all made at halftime, or did y'all just play a better game in the second half or did y'all just execute your original game plan a little bit better?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Yeah, we had a few adjustments. Like I said, we wanted to take away the inside a lot, force them to throw it over the top. We fit some runs better than we did in the first half, so we limited that a little bit. But yeah, we were a lot tighter to coverage in the second half than we were in the first, and it showed.

Q. How much do you think y'all's effectiveness the second half, and of course I know finishing has been your mantra this off-season, how much of it is also conditioning and the depth that your team has?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: I think we're well-conditioned. That's a credit to Coach Whitt and his staff. We run every Tuesday after practice, and practice is high-tempo every day. We condition pretty much each play. Yeah, I think we're in good shape all around, and it definitely shows later in the game.

Q. Also, of course NFL Films has some funny videos, a lot of funny videos of things that players say when they're mic'd up, and this morning we were asking Preston what it's like to have Jah'Shawn back out there, and he said that they can always hear you. What would we hear if you were mic'd up during a game?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Oh, goodness. It would be all right. It would just be kind of hard to keep it PG sometimes. But it would be a lot of fun.

Q. Is there any other player that you've gone up against that is a good match for you in trash talking?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: I would have to say Baker. I mean, he was a pretty good trash talker I would say. I mean, everyone knows that, but I mean, he backs it up. He's a great player. There's a lot of guys. I mean, it's an intense game, nonstop. Just about everyone. There's a lot of linemen that do a lot of dirty trash talking.

Q. With how many returning guys this West Virginia has at those skill positions, does it look about the same as what you saw last year? Have they made any big adjustments offensively?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Not many. It's just about the same. Their receivers have improved a lot. They run great routes. They catch the ball, and they can make guys miss in space, and they can turn a 5-yard route into an 80-yard touchdown. We've got to do a great job of rallying to the ball and make sure we're wrapping up and getting them down, and just, like I said, keep making them snap the ball.

Q. A lot of times the turnovers come in bunches. Where do you think the defense is right now as far as forcing more of those and just giving your offense more chances and getting their offense off the field?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: I mean, we're right there. There's some balls that are coming out late, guys are bobbling a few of them. They'll come, and it'll be pretty contagious when it comes. They'll just start rolling in. We'll keep doing our turnovers drills on Wednesdays right before practice starts, and we'll just keep punching and stripping at it on Saturdays, as well.

Q. First time beating OSU at home since 2001 when Coach was quarterback, first time beating them at all since 2008. What was the mood in the locker room after you guys won?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Oh, it was very exciting, man. Everyone was in great spirits. We knew it was a long time coming. We wanted to do whatever we had to do to win that game. Hopefully we'll keep it rolling from here, but we've got to put that one past us now. We know we have a big challenge coming up this weekend.

Q. That big challenge this weekend, you've had a couple altercations in pregame. As a captain of the defense, what are you going to do to try to avoid those this year?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: I mean, emotions are very high. I can only say so much. I mean, guys are going to do what they do. I mean, it's just -- you've just got to be able to control it, make sure no one throws any punches or anything like that. I mean, that's just part of competition, and we know it's going to be an intense match-up, and I don't know, so we'll just see how it goes and try to keep everyone under control.

Q. Coach said this wasn't the best game you guys could play. How close was it to what you expect the best game looks like for you and for the defense, and what does that best game look like for you?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: Well, in the first half, we kind of let some runs squeak out here and there. We gave up, I think, two or three 3rd-and-long situations, so we've got to be able to limit that to zero. And just keep playing like -- we've got to play clean, as always. I think we only had, what, two or three penalties maybe, so that was an improvement from the weeks past. But yeah, perfect game would be to shut everyone out. I mean, I don't think we've got there yet. Well, we had one against Lamar, but to do it in conference will be huge for us, so we'll just keep fighting for that.

Q. Preston said y'all emphasize finishing games on the defense. What did you learn about finishing from that game against West Virginia last year?
JAH'SHAWN JOHNSON: We learned a lot, man. We were up, I think, what, 17 maybe, and those guys just kept chomping back in it. They got a lot of playmakers, so that quarterback can throw the ball up and any of them can go get it. We'll just have to try to choke them out when we have a chance and just do our part every play or snap of the game.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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