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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL KICKOFF

July 21, 2016

Charlotte, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: Paul Johnson will come up and have an opening statement, then we'll have questions for our student-athletes.

COACH JOHNSON: Good morning. Let me start out by saying how excited we are to be here today. I think we officially report to camp two weeks from yesterday. As the wait of the college football world works now, I'm not sure reporting date is what it used to be. Our guys have been around for most of the summer.

I think we had an outstanding spring off-season. Our guys have worked really hard. We can't wait to get started this fall. Certainly last year didn't end the way we would have liked for it to or the way we thought it would be. We have a little added incentive this year to bounce back to where we're accustomed to being.

I was talking to the players. We finished our eighth season at Georgia Tech as a coaching staff. In eight years we finished first or second in the coastal division. We had the opportunity to play in a three ACC championship games and a couple Orange Bowls. That's the standard we're looking to get back to.

We have a good returning nucleus. We lost a lot of players last year due to injury which forced us to play a lot of freshmen. The good news is those guys are back and they'll be sophomores and they have some playing experience.

Looking forward to going to Dublin, the first game, September 3rd, against Boston College, getting the conference season started, and moving on from there.

With that I guess we'll bring up Justin Thomas.

THE MODERATOR: We will bring up Justin Thomas.

Q. Justin, how comfortable are you in the offense now with Paul since you've had him for three years? Is it second nature now?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, it's been second nature for about three years now. The more you do it, the easier it gets. The more the guys know it around you, it also gets even easier.

Looking forward to it.

Q. What happens when you put the ball in Marcus' hands?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Last year, he's elusive, he can make anybody I think miss, outrun anybody in the league.

I think this year he'll have a lot more experience, when to hit the hole, where to hit the hole. I think he'll be a lot better.

Q. When you look at the adversity of last season, what are the biggest things you took away from some of those tough moments offensively?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Offensively, we kind of hurt ourself a lot, you know, turnovers, missed assignments. This year we need to make sure we take care of those things, make sure everybody knows what's going on, just trying to stay ahead of the game.

Q. When you go to Ireland, it's all business. You're traveling there to try to win a football game. Educationally, culturally, what do you hope to learn by the international experience?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Definitely it will be a different experience. I've never been anywhere out of the country, so it will be different, just seeing how people live, how they do things over there.

But our main goal is to go there to win. Everything outside of that, it will be great to see and great to do, but without winning, it won't be the same.

Q. Justin, what do you remember about last year's visit to Clemson? One of the toughest offensive games the program has had in a while.
JUSTIN THOMAS: I know we started off struggling. That was on my behalf, making crazy mistakes. That's just something we have to correct this year, don't hurt ourselves.

Got to go in, take care of the ball, do what we need to do.

Q. Talk a little bit about the difference in kind of your approach going into your last season. What is your leadership approach going into this season?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I mean, leadership standpoint hasn't really changed. Just making sure I get the guys out there doing what they need to do extra, just trying to get on the same page with them.

Going into this season, I would say kind of last season I was a little too relaxed, so just going into this season a little more amped up.

Q. A lot of defensive starters coming back this year. How important will it be for you guys on offense for them to get the ball back to you, making the stops on third down, et cetera?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I just think as a whole, it's important for us to stay on the field, get our long drives like we usually do, and for the defense to get them off the field.

I think it's all intertwined. We all got to be one unit and stay together in that aspect.

THE MODERATOR: Justin, thank you. We'll swap you out with Patrick Gamble. Questions for Patrick, please.

Q. Patrick, you've played several positions from the defensive line. How do you think the experience in multiple spots makes you a better football player?
PATRICK GAMBLE: Well, I think it helps me out because I'm versatile. I know what to do on every spot on the defensive line. When you know your job, most of the time you help the defense out and make plays.

Q. Pat, you've played inside and outside. Do you see yourself continuing to do both those things this coming season?
PATRICK GAMBLE: Well, that's for the coaches to decide. My job is to be ready whenever my number is called. Know that my job is to execute at the highest level.

Q. Leadership-wise, how are you looking to take on a better role that you are a senior and you lost some of those past seniors?
PATRICK GAMBLE: Well, I plan on leading by example. Every time I step on the field, make sure I do my job, get to the ball, keep my motor running all game long, motivate the younger guys. When the lights come on, it's kind of hard. You get kind of shook. Just motivate them to know we all here as a team. We lose and win as a team.

Q. Looking at the defense, kind of what you took away from last season, what have you seen through the spring from not just yourself, but the unit as a whole moving forward?
PATRICK GAMBLE: I think we know more of what we got to do on the field, know what situations we're being put in, know how we got to play, critique our game in that situation.

Q. You were part of the Florida State game where you made a deflection that led to a return for a touchdown. Do you stress to guys every little play matters in a game and they need to play 100% for every play?
PATRICK GAMBLE: Yes, I do, because you never know what happens, you never know how the game will turn out. You never know if you'll be the guy that makes that play. You have to be ready and on point in every situation in the game.

Q. Can you talk about the lessons you've learned from football and how you're going to carry that on through the rest of your life.
PATRICK GAMBLE: I really just learned how to get through adversity. In football, there's times where you're going to be down and out, there's times where it's going to be hard. You have to learn how to be strong, push through those times. Basically just getting through adversity.

Q. Can you give us a rundown of how the summer has gone with the workouts?
PATRICK GAMBLE: Summer is going good. Wake up every morning, workout, run as a team. The guys are getting pumped about the season, going to Ireland, hoping that we bring the trophy back and win the football game, but also getting a good experience.

Really just getting excited about the whole season because we got a lot to prove. We know we can improve on last season.

THE MODERATOR: Patrick and Justin, thank you very much.

We'll bring Coach Johnson to the podium for questions.

Q. We're used to seeing Georgia Tech among the leaders in third down conversions, and number one with fewest punts. This year you were down near the bottom in third down conversions. North Carolina actually punted less than Georgia Tech. What is it going to take to have Georgia Tech making third downs and not punting?
COACH JOHNSON: I think we have to get back to the level of play that we've become accustomed to over the last few years. We weren't near as good offensively a year ago as we had been. We weren't good enough in other areas to carry the team.

Offensively we've kind of been in a spot for most of the last eight years that we could kind of push through and control the ball, stay on the field, do those things.

I think there's a lot of reasons why nobody wants to hear the labor pains, they just want to see the baby. We've just got to do better.

Third down conversions historically have been good for us. The key to that is staying out of third-and-long. If you do that, you're going to have a high conversion rate. It's a big part of winning football games, both on offense and defense.

Q. You made it through the spring health-wise. A couple question marks about a couple offensive linemen. What is the current status with those guys, Whitley and Griffin?
COACH JOHNSON: Chris Griffin is working out hard this summer. We fully expect he's going to be in camp. He'll report next week. We'll go from there. We're anticipating that Chris is going to be able to play.

Q. You play Mark Richt, Miami, this year. Is it going to be different that he's no longer with UGA this time around? Will that add any familiarity with him?
COACH JOHNSON: No, I think we're excited to have Mark in the league. Certainly he brings a lot of tradition, whatever. We've struggled with Miami the past few years without Mark. Unless he's going to throw it or carry it... I'm more worried about their quarterback than I am him.

Certainly he brings some credibility to their program and to the conference.

Q. Take a look at the chemistry between Justin Thomas and the runningbacks you've had through the spring so far, what can you say about team chemistry offensively.
COACH JOHNSON: I think each year it's a work in progress. It starts probably in the off-season, then spring, then summer conditioning, fall camp. It's an ongoing deal.

Last year what people didn't realize, and two years ago we were really good on offense, I mean, really good. We lost two wide receivers to the NFL. We lost our top four slot backs. We lost our two runningbacks. We had seven injuries to the A backs in spring and fall camp. We lost our top two B backs coming in.

Justin was surrounded by guys who had never played. So the chemistry was not going to be that good. I looked on the field last year at Miami, the score was 7-7. We were in the start of the second quarter. We had the ball on their four yardline. I have nine freshmen playing offense. When that happens, it's tough to be successful in our league, on this level in general.

I think Justin will be a little more comfortable this year having some guys who have played. We're still going to be young in the skill positions. But fortunately those guys all played a year ago, so it's not going to be like they're totally starting brand-new.

I think that will make him a better player.

Q. This is an unusual season. You're going to play seven teams this year with staffs you haven't faced or new coaches. How does that change your approach going into this year?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, it's always difficult I think anytime you do that. We have played with Boston College, we played against their offensive coordinator who comes from Virginia Tech. The defensive coordinator was at Virginia for a couple years. So we do have some familiarity with those games. The next two we're completely blind, but we'll have some film to look at.

The uniqueness of what we do, on offense especially, through the years, we've done it for a long time, we get ourselves ready. We're not worried about what the other team plays. We're dialed in. Doesn't make a difference whether they're a three-man or eight-man front. It makes a difference whether they have really good players.

It will be a little bit difficult. It's kind of the profession. I was sitting in the room this morning before we took the photo. I'm looking around, there's nobody there that was there when I came into the league. I guess Coach Cutcliffe, David and I, came in at the same time. Other than that, everybody's new. I guess it's kind of the profession.

Q. On the defensive side of the ball, you had two freshmen that got some good reps last year. What do you expect from them this year?
COACH JOHNSON: We had to play a lot of freshmen everywhere, especially over there. I thought that Brant Mitchell ended up being our starting inside linebacker. I expect he's going to really grow.

A.J. Gray probably had as good a spring as anybody on our football team. He was surviving last year on pure athleticism out there because he wasn't sure what he was doing as a true freshman playing safety. I think he's got the opportunity to be one of the all-time great players at Georgia Tech. If he can build off his spring, he had a tremendous spring, I think you'll be excited to watch him play this fall.

So we've probably got more depth than we've ever had, especially on defense. I feel like we've got probably eight guys we can play on the defensive line. We're going to be new in the secondary a little bit. But A.J. comes in at one safety that's played, and the other safety, they're competing right now, probably be Corey Griffin if we played today.

We got a couple of corners that transferred in, sat out last year. Overall I expect to be much better on defense than we were a year ago. Certainly hopeful.

Q. Aside from trying to get that first win of the season, what do you hope the Ireland experience will be for the Georgia Tech family?
COACH JOHNSON: I think Justin mentioned the fact that when we were setting up our young men for passports, I think we've got 80 guys out of the 110 or so that will travel that have never been out of the country. It's going to be an experience for them to do that.

But the bottom line is, it's a conference game, conference opener. We're going over there with a mindset to try to win the football game. That's number one.

Right now we plan to leave on Wednesday night after practice. We'll get in there Thursday morning. Maybe we'll get to tour a little bit on Friday, let them see some things. Then we're right back after the game because we play the next Saturday.

It's going to be a really quick trip.

Q. Looking ahead to the Clemson matchup, Clemson hasn't won in Atlanta since 2003. What do you think has made it so difficult for Clemson to win on the road there? Is that something that gives your team additional confidence heading into that matchup?
COACH JOHNSON: We've had some pretty good football games. Both schools have had some good teams. With the exception of last year's game at Clemson, every game has been hard-fought, right down to the end.

I think it's a Thursday night game. Both teams are coming off playing on Saturday, which you'd rather not do in a big game like that.

Our guys get excited about playing Clemson. I think we've played them nine times since we've been there. We're 5-4. We're back and forth. You know they're going to be very talented. Certainly their quarterback is one of the top players in the country.

I think sometimes what people don't realize is how athletic and good they are on defense. It will be a defense. Coach Swinney has done a good job building that program up. Hopefully we can keep that streak going in Atlanta. We'll see.

Q. You mentioned Deshaun Watson. As you look at the offensive returning players, 90% of the top play-makers in the league are back. I don't remember seeing this much offensive talent in the league returning. What is it like to be a defensive coordinator in the league this year?
COACH JOHNSON: I think top to bottom, the league has gotten better almost every year since I came into the league eight years ago. There are some tremendous, tremendous athletes. I'm excited to have our quarterback back. I think he's a gifted play-maker. I think last year was kind of not indicative of the type of player that he is.

But there are some really good players. I mean, I think Deshaun at Clemson, James Conner coming back from Pitt who was an outstanding player before his illness. You can go through almost every school. Everybody has a guy or two that can be a dynamic play-maker.

It will be an interesting season, I think. I wouldn't want to try to predict the order of finish in this league.

Q. What are your feelings or thoughts on opening up with a game like Boston College on the road, the big starting games in college football?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think we've kind of gone both ways where we've opened up with an FCS opponent. You would probably rather not have a conference game right out of the chute. I think it's good to play an opponent, a tough opponent. I don't mind doing that at all. Just the logistics of traveling outside the country for a first game, a conference opener, makes you a little nervous.

But our guys are excited about going and excited about having a chance to play in Ireland. I've decided I'm going to be excited with them. We're going to go over there and do the best we can to represent Georgia Tech and the ACC and hopefully come back with a win.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you.

COACH JOHNSON: Thank you.

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