|
Browse by Sport |
|
|
Find us on |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE
October 20, 2010
THE MODERATOR: We welcome Georgia Tech head football coach Paul Johnson. We'll ask for a brief opening statement and then go to questions.
Paul.
COACH JOHNSON: Good morning. It's exciting to be back in conference play this week. We had an out-of-conference game last week. I think we continued to make progress in some areas. Certainly there's a lot of areas we got to get better at.
Going in to play at Death Valley is always a huge challenge. It's a great place to play. They have great fans, huge turnouts. They've got very talented players. Clemson always has a great football team. As you said, historically it's been a hard-fought, tough, close game when we played them. Probably played them more than anybody else in the league since I've been here. The players know each other fairly well. The coaches have played. I think it's a really fierce, tough, good rivalry. I think there's a lot of respect on both sides for each team.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. It seems like even in the wins there's a couple things like fumbles and stuff that would probably irritate you. Are you pleased with the way your team is playing because they're winning or would you still like to see some improvement down the stretch?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think you always want to play better. I think anytime you win, you should be pleased because it's hard to win. We've got an expectation level that we try to meet. Just because you win sometimes doesn't always mean you met that expectation level. We're never going to be happy when we fumble the ball or when we do things that get you beat, even when we win the game.
As I said earlier, there's a lot to work on. But the positive thing is we've played ourselves a little past halfway through the season and we're still in position to control our own destiny. Are we good enough to do that? We'll find out. At least we're there with a shot.
Q. After the loss at Kansas, you questioned some of the effort I believe. Do you feel like that's changed and the team's focus is there now?
COACH JOHNSON: I don't think it's so much physical effort as just getting ready to play and mentally being into it. Take nothing away from Kansas, they played well that day. I don't want to do that.
I felt like we just rolled in there and showed up and felt like if we rolled our helmets out, they were going to bow down and we couldn't lose the game. We found out otherwise. It's as much a mental game as it is physical. That's the situation.
I can't imagine that would even be a thought going into this game with the history and tradition, rivalry, how close the games have been. I think both teams will be ready to play. I'm sure they will.
Q. Can you talk about how tough it is to evaluate high school linemen when you're trying to recruit offensive linemen. Always seems to me the big, strong, powerful guys are going to be dominant in high school no matter what. I'm not sure what coaches look at when they try to figure out if they're getting the kind of guys they want.
COACH JOHNSON: I think it's like a lot of positions: none of it is hard to evaluate unless you're looking at a guy that everybody could pick out of the lineup. I think you have to look for athletic ability, feet, quickness, do they fit your system, what you're looking for, those type of things.
Truthfully, it's not an exact science. You're going to hit some right and there will be some that you are surprised about three or four years later. Some will play a lot better than you thought they might could, and others never reach their potential. It's an inexact science. The NFL has the same problem, they can't do it from college to there. They don't even have to recruit them; they just have to draft them. There's bust on that level, as well.
So you just have to do the best you can in trying to evaluate do they fit your system.
Q. Most people that look at the game, either on the pro or college level, think the quarterback, the wide receivers and runningbacks are the toughest spot. I always thought playing in the offensive line is the hardest thing to do. I think it's tougher for coaches to move around the offensive line if they get injuries. Would you agree with that?
COACH JOHNSON: I think it's a tough place to play. Yeah, I would agree. I think the easiest place to play is in the secondary or wide receiver. The closer you get into the ball, maybe a defensive lineman who is very talented, but a lot of things are happening in there, a lot of things going on. Just the experience factor for a lineman, a lot of difference in an 18-year-old and a 21-year-old physically. So it's a tough place to play, you're right.
Q. Paul, some of the better coaches in the BCS level nowadays, they got their start at non-BCS schools. What do you attribute your success to that training level down there?
COACH JOHNSON: I've said before that coaching is coaching. I don't think it matters what level you're at. When I was in the Southern Conference, I can assure you that coaching there was as good as anywhere else I've been. There were some good teams, good coaches. The same thing when you play wherever.
I think it's like anything else: if you're coaching better players, you're a better coach. Just like if you're teaching smarter students, you're going to do better than if you're teaching guys who aren't.
Overall, coaching is not any different on any level I don't think. BCS level is not any different level than any of those other levels. Just my opinion.
Q. Have you changed philosophically?
COACH JOHNSON: I don't think I have changed. I really don't think I have changed. I think people would laugh. Maybe I've mellowed out a little bit. As you get older, I think maybe you get a better grasp on some of the things that are more important than others.
I don't think from a philosophy standpoint or anything like that it's changed much at all. I think I'm pretty much the same I was as when I was at Georgia Southern.
Q. Coach, how important is it for your team to get off to a fast start when you're playing on the road at a place like Death Valley?
COACH JOHNSON: I think it's always good to get off to a good start, but no matter who you play, and certainly on the road. But the last three times we played Clemson, we've been behind in the fourth quarter. It's not like we jumped way out in front and kind of hung on. I think all three games I've been here, we've been behind in the fourth quarter.
THE MODERATOR: Coach, thanks for being with us today. Good luck this week. We'll talk to you next Wednesday.
COACH JOHNSON: Take care.
End of FastScripts
|
|