PAUL JOHNSON GEORGIA TECH COACH JOHNSON: Good morning. I tell you, we're excited that the season is only a day away. Getting ready to play, it seemed like camp lasted forever this year for some reason. Cautiously optimistic going into it. I think we return a good nucleus of players defensively, anxious to see how they're going to play. We have some new skill guys on offense, some young guys. But we think they're pretty athletic and we're looking forward to watching them play tomorrow night.
Q. You just mentioned in your opening statement you have some of those young skill guys you're looking forward to seeing. Who are some of those guys you're expecting to step up going forward in 2015?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think that's why you play the game, to see. We're going to play at least one true freshman at wide receiver in Brad Stewart. He's had a really good camp. I think he's got really good ball skills. We're anxious to see what he can do. At A-Back, Taquon Marshall is a true freshman that's going to play. Possibly Mikell Lands-Davis as well at that position. Qua Searcy is a redshirt freshman that's going to play a bunch there. At B-Back, Marcus Marshall, a young man from up there in Raleigh is going to play. A lot of young guys are going to get snaps at the skill positions.
Q. When you look at putting all three true freshmen in at these skill positions, what did you see about them that put them in a place to say, despite being a true freshman, they can help us the most in these positions? What stood out to you?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think they're good athletes to start with. Just by necessity. We lost a lot of guys in the skill positions. I'm trying to think off the top of my head. None of those guys are going to start, but they're all going to play. They're going to get some snaps. I don't think we have to necessarily rely on them to try them out there as a starter, but they're all going to get meaningful snaps. How much they play will determine how much they get moving forward.
Q. I know coaches don't always like to buy in to the recruiting ranking. You're among a handful of teams in the pre-season AP top 25 who have built a team without a lot of highly ranked recruiting classes. I wanted to know, what do you credit that success to, finding the right guys, the guys that have developed to build this team?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think it's a couple of things. I think, one, I wouldn't pay much attention to recruiting rankings. And two, I think we have a system that we can plug guys in. It's a team-type deal. I mean, it would be interesting to go back and look at the pre-season top 25. I bet you'd find 85% of the same teams there every year. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those same teams have the top recruiting classes every year according to the experts. It's kind of self-fulfilling. When a team like a TCU breaks through or one of those teams like us that ends up in the top 10, it kind of destroys that matrix. But it's a pretty safe bet that at least 10 to 15 of those teams are going to be in the top 10 every year.
Q. Is there anything unique that you do in the evaluation process to make sure you are getting the right guys?
COACH JOHNSON: We just try to find good players. I mean, I think if you look, we try to find guys that fit our system. But I can give you a million things on recruiting rankings. But look at all the graduate players that are transferring and starting at all the programs that have consistently ranked in the top 10 in recruiting. I mean, it's not an exact science. Nobody can measure how hard guys are going to work. I just think it's ludicrous to have somebody be the number 51 offensive guard in the country. I think it's a joke. I can't tell you who the sixth offensive guard is in Atlanta, much less the whole country.
Q. You lose some players. How have the 'newer skill position players' looked in camp?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think at wide receiver, Micheal Summers has played a lot for us. He'll be one starter. Ricky Jeune had a great spring practice and a good fall camp. He's a guy we're hopeful will have a good season. Brad Stewart, the freshman, those three probably separated themselves a little bit from the pack at receiver. A-Back Broderick Snoddy returned. He was playing well before he got injured last year. Isiah Willis is a guy that has been in the program for a long time, earned a scholarship. He'll get the other start. But we're really excited about Qua Searcy, a redshirt freshman. Very talented. Clinton Lynch is another redshirt freshman that's going to play. Then we have two true freshmen in TaQuon Marshall and Mikell Lands-Davis who we think are good players. I feel good about the position from a depth standpoint. Until you see those redshirt freshmen and freshmen play, there will probably be a learning curve. I think athletically we're probably as good or better than we were last year.
Q. I wanted to ask you about, you were mentioning some of the young skill players you have. Is it easier for a redshirt freshman to perform well at a skill position than, say, a lineman? You have most of your offensive linemen back, strength on the defensive front. Are those positions harder for young players to make an impact?
COACH JOHNSON: I think as a general rule it is, just because of the maturity factor, the strength factor, that kind of thing. If you're a really good athlete skill-wise, you're in space a little more. While it's still important to have the strength
levels and that, you may be able to get by with it a little easier than, say, an offensive lineman or defensive lineman in there playing with 22-year-olds trying to kind of hang on.
Q. Can you talk about your veteran offensive line and how confident you are in that unit.
COACH JOHNSON: Well, they've played a lot. So we'll see. I think each team's different. We lost probably the bell cow a year ago in Shaq Mason, who is with the Patriots. I think Freddie Burden has had a good camp at center. For us on offense, it's kind of like baseball. We kind of try to look up the middle. We have Freddie back, got our quarterback back. The starter at B-Back will be a fourth-year guy or transfer guy from Stanford who's played a lot. There's a lot of experience right there up the middle. Shaq left, Shamire Devine will play right guard. He's probably as talented as anybody we've had here. 6'6", 360, got good feet. How will he play? What's his stamina? All the other guys are the same from a year ago. Certainly more experience in that group than what we have at some of the other positions.
Q. Last year you came out of nowhere and finished strong. Are you comfortable starting the season with the expectations of top 20, favorite in the Coastal Division? Is that a good position to be in?
COACH JOHNSON: Doesn't matter. I don't think I pay any attention to it. We've been in the championship game three of the seven years we've been here. I think we've won the fourth most games of anybody in our league since we've been here. Maybe we didn't come out of nowhere. Maybe people weren't paying attention.
Q. You just mentioned in your opening statement you have some of those young skill guys you're looking forward to seeing. Who are some of those guys you're expecting to step up going forward in 2015?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think that's why you play the game, to see. We're going to play at least one true freshman at wide receiver in Brad Stewart. He's had a really good camp. I think he's got really good ball skills. We're anxious to see what he can do. At A-Back, Taquon Marshall is a true freshman that's going to play. Possibly Mikell Lands-Davis as well at that position. Qua Searcy is a redshirt freshman that's going to play a bunch there. At B-Back, Marcus Marshall, a young man from up there in Raleigh is going to play. A lot of young guys are going to get snaps at the skill positions.
Q. When you look at putting all three true freshmen in at these skill positions, what did you see about them that put them in a place to say, despite being a true freshman, they can help us the most in these positions? What stood out to you?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think they're good athletes to start with. Just by necessity. We lost a lot of guys in the skill positions. I'm trying to think off the top of my head. None of those guys are going to start, but they're all going to play. They're going to get some snaps. I don't think we have to necessarily rely on them to try them out there as a starter, but they're all going to get meaningful snaps. How much they play will determine how much they get moving forward.
Q. I know coaches don't always like to buy in to the recruiting ranking. You're among a handful of teams in the pre-season AP top 25 who have built a team without a lot of highly ranked recruiting classes. I wanted to know, what do you credit that success to, finding the right guys, the guys that have developed to build this team?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think it's a couple of things. I think, one, I wouldn't pay much attention to recruiting rankings. And two, I think we have a system that we can plug guys in. It's a team-type deal. I mean, it would be interesting to go back and look at the pre-season top 25. I bet you'd find 85% of the same teams there every year. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those same teams have the top recruiting classes every year according to the experts. It's kind of self-fulfilling. When a team like a TCU breaks through or one of those teams like us that ends up in the top 10, it kind of destroys that matrix. But it's a pretty safe bet that at least 10 to 15 of those teams are going to be in the top 10 every year.
Q. Is there anything unique that you do in the evaluation process to make sure you are getting the right guys?
COACH JOHNSON: We just try to find good players. I mean, I think if you look, we try to find guys that fit our system. But I can give you a million things on recruiting rankings. But look at all the graduate players that are transferring and starting at all the programs that have consistently ranked in the top 10 in recruiting. I mean, it's not an exact science. Nobody can measure how hard guys are going to work. I just think it's ludicrous to have somebody be the number 51 offensive guard in the country. I think it's a joke. I can't tell you who the sixth offensive guard is in Atlanta, much less the whole country.
Q. You lose some players. How have the 'newer skill position players' looked in camp?
COACH JOHNSON: Well, I think at wide receiver, Micheal Summers has played a lot for us. He'll be one starter. Ricky Jeune had a great spring practice and a good fall camp. He's a guy we're hopeful will have a good season. Brad Stewart, the freshman, those three probably separated themselves a little bit from the pack at receiver. A-Back Broderick Snoddy returned. He was playing well before he got injured last year. Isiah Willis is a guy that has been in the program for a long time, earned a scholarship. He'll get the other start. But we're really excited about Qua Searcy, a redshirt freshman. Very talented. Clinton Lynch is another redshirt freshman that's going to play. Then we have two true freshmen in TaQuon Marshall and Mikell Lands-Davis who we think are good players. I feel good about the position from a depth standpoint. Until you see those redshirt freshmen and freshmen play, there will probably be a learning curve. I think athletically we're probably as good or better than we were last year.
Q. I wanted to ask you about, you were mentioning some of the young skill players you have. Is it easier for a redshirt freshman to perform well at a skill position than, say, a lineman? You have most of your offensive linemen back, strength on the defensive front. Are those positions harder for young players to make an impact?
COACH JOHNSON: I think as a general rule it is, just because of the maturity factor, the strength factor, that kind of thing. If you're a really good athlete skill-wise, you're in space a little more. While it's still important to have the strength
levels and that, you may be able to get by with it a little easier than, say, an offensive lineman or defensive lineman in there playing with 22-year-olds trying to kind of hang on.
Q. Can you talk about your veteran offensive line and how confident you are in that unit.
COACH JOHNSON: Well, they've played a lot. So we'll see. I think each team's different. We lost probably the bell cow a year ago in Shaq Mason, who is with the Patriots. I think Freddie Burden has had a good camp at center. For us on offense, it's kind of like baseball. We kind of try to look up the middle. We have Freddie back, got our quarterback back. The starter at B-Back will be a fourth-year guy or transfer guy from Stanford who's played a lot. There's a lot of experience right there up the middle. Shaq left, Shamire Devine will play right guard. He's probably as talented as anybody we've had here. 6'6", 360, got good feet. How will he play? What's his stamina? All the other guys are the same from a year ago. Certainly more experience in that group than what we have at some of the other positions.
Q. Last year you came out of nowhere and finished strong. Are you comfortable starting the season with the expectations of top 20, favorite in the Coastal Division? Is that a good position to be in?
COACH JOHNSON: Doesn't matter. I don't think I pay any attention to it. We've been in the championship game three of the seven years we've been here. I think we've won the fourth most games of anybody in our league since we've been here. Maybe we didn't come out of nowhere. Maybe people weren't paying attention.
