Paul Johnson has a “tough, physical team looking to (run and run and run).”
Its the third-different offense VU has faced in three weeks
GT beat BC in Dublin and Mercer at home
GT is well-coached and that’s on Johnson
It’s a clash of cultures
They came out unscathed in terms of their health, a few guys dinged up but “you’re never at 100 percent.”
They’ve not had the chance to beat GT in a while so this is opportunity
Triple-option presents problems. They can lull you to sleep in the run but also pull explosive plays.
They have to control the tempo of the game.
Special teams has to make a difference.
This week is more work and you have to tailor it down. It’s about doing what you do well. The emphasis is on being able to tackle and do your job. Coaches say that every week but it’s more that way this week. It’s about doing what you do well.
Emphasized that they’re multiple. They’re 3-4, 4-3, 3-3-5. “We’ll have to attack from different platforms:…. you have to give them different looks and cant’ stay in one look.
In terms of their tackling through two games, he grades them a B-minus
Talked about needing to have speed in space and he was happy about how they handled that last week.
“We gave up yards but we eliminated explosive plays.”
On him having faced triple-options at Stanford when it played Army: it helped a bit. But Army was quick and GT is bigger. Said Army’s linemen were “more like linebackers.” It’s a challenge.
GT wants to control LOS and stay ahead in the chains.
When you look at what the triple option makes you do, it makes you do your job well but it makes you stay within yourself. “it’s about what you know, not about what you thought. … did I fit my gap?”
On chop blocks: They’ll do what they do. They won’t change calls, they just adjust schemes. It’s understanding how you’ll be attacked and re-structuring your alignments. They’ve done a good job of looking at their schemes… there have been some long nights as coaches. They’ve got to be efficient with the 20-hour limit.
It’s a lot more hours for the coaches on a week like this than normal. They did it during the summer but they have to re-evaluate because in summer, it’s what they looked like last year, whereas things changed through injuries, personnel, etc., between then and now after two games.
“It’s all based on the QB,” and clarified that’s the case on any offense. “he sees it, he deals it, he takes care of the football.” They have to force his hand and make sure he sees different pictures.
Senior QB Justin Thomas “is a good football player.”
This will test their toughness, and whether the training has paid off.
How does this make them better? Every game is about being strong-willed, tough minded, etc. GT “will take us into deep water.”
On limiting Ralph Webb’s touches: he’s not worried. They have to keep feeding him. They did that at Stanford with success. They do have a compliment to him. 40 touches seems to be where he worries.
On WR Kalija Lipscomb: He’s an explosive player. They’ve always talked about using guys on the roster who show special skills. He’s a
On Darrius Sims’s role: “it would be offense, it could be defense… it’s about getting him healthy. He was gimpy. When you have explosive players, that’s key.”
On DT Jay Woods coming back: baby steps on Saturday with 20 or so snaps. He’s intense and he gives them depth. “He got mad (today) because we shorted him a rep and he let us know about that.”
QB Kyle Shurmur: They did some things to get the ball out of his hand early. There were some early miscues. “There was some divine intervention… a spark…” saying that when things started to happen, it wasn’t so much coaching as whatever external factors contributing to his success.
C BARRETT GOUGER
Great win, but they’ve moved on
On GT defense: They’ve got a heck of a defense. They load the box. They play hard and run to the ball and fly around.
Is there pressure on the offense to stay on the field? Yes. They hold onto the ball and take away possessions. They’ve got to take advantage of it. They can’t have 3-and-outs.
Why did the passing game struggle pre-rain delay and get better afterwards: They had to get in a rhythm. They were able to sort some things out during the delay.
What’s the difference in Shurmur when he’s struggling or succeeding? It’s no different. He doesn’t panic. He’s even-keeled.
Ralph Webb hasn’t bought them dinner yet. They’re really proud of him.
Going on the road to GT: It’s a great opportunity. 1st road game. They need to learn to win on the road. It’s a good test.
On grading the OL in film: They did a good job but made some mistakes in the run game. What stood out is they gave up sacks. They’ve got to pick up pressures better.
On blocking for Webb: Ralph’s an excellent FB player but also a good guy, teammate and leader. You want to play harder for a guy like that.
They communicated well and double-teamed well. It’s a unit effort and one mistake affects the rest. They all did well of playing as a unit.
WR/KOR DARRIS SIMS
He wore the red shirt a long time in camp. He had to maintain focus.
He’s not 100 percent but is as ready as he’ll be.
Felt good to be involved in the kick return game again after basically missing the opener.
Mason preaches on players playing roles. “My role is wherever they need me.”
He likes that Ludwig’s game plan puts him where he needs to be.
He hasn’t played much this year and so teams won’t know what to expect with regards to his role.
WR TRENT SHERFIELD
On Sims: He’s good and level-headed. He takes coaching well.
Everyone in the WR room is family. They’re all treated the same, whether freshmen or not.
On receptions going to a lot of targets: It says that they can attack different ways. If teams want to stack the box, they can make plays on the perimeter. That opens up more opportunities.
He feels it’s his responsibility to be the leader on the unit. Sims and Rayford also lead and they’ve been there before him.
Its the third-different offense VU has faced in three weeks
GT beat BC in Dublin and Mercer at home
GT is well-coached and that’s on Johnson
It’s a clash of cultures
They came out unscathed in terms of their health, a few guys dinged up but “you’re never at 100 percent.”
They’ve not had the chance to beat GT in a while so this is opportunity
Triple-option presents problems. They can lull you to sleep in the run but also pull explosive plays.
They have to control the tempo of the game.
Special teams has to make a difference.
This week is more work and you have to tailor it down. It’s about doing what you do well. The emphasis is on being able to tackle and do your job. Coaches say that every week but it’s more that way this week. It’s about doing what you do well.
Emphasized that they’re multiple. They’re 3-4, 4-3, 3-3-5. “We’ll have to attack from different platforms:…. you have to give them different looks and cant’ stay in one look.
In terms of their tackling through two games, he grades them a B-minus
Talked about needing to have speed in space and he was happy about how they handled that last week.
“We gave up yards but we eliminated explosive plays.”
On him having faced triple-options at Stanford when it played Army: it helped a bit. But Army was quick and GT is bigger. Said Army’s linemen were “more like linebackers.” It’s a challenge.
GT wants to control LOS and stay ahead in the chains.
When you look at what the triple option makes you do, it makes you do your job well but it makes you stay within yourself. “it’s about what you know, not about what you thought. … did I fit my gap?”
On chop blocks: They’ll do what they do. They won’t change calls, they just adjust schemes. It’s understanding how you’ll be attacked and re-structuring your alignments. They’ve done a good job of looking at their schemes… there have been some long nights as coaches. They’ve got to be efficient with the 20-hour limit.
It’s a lot more hours for the coaches on a week like this than normal. They did it during the summer but they have to re-evaluate because in summer, it’s what they looked like last year, whereas things changed through injuries, personnel, etc., between then and now after two games.
“It’s all based on the QB,” and clarified that’s the case on any offense. “he sees it, he deals it, he takes care of the football.” They have to force his hand and make sure he sees different pictures.
Senior QB Justin Thomas “is a good football player.”
This will test their toughness, and whether the training has paid off.
How does this make them better? Every game is about being strong-willed, tough minded, etc. GT “will take us into deep water.”
On limiting Ralph Webb’s touches: he’s not worried. They have to keep feeding him. They did that at Stanford with success. They do have a compliment to him. 40 touches seems to be where he worries.
On WR Kalija Lipscomb: He’s an explosive player. They’ve always talked about using guys on the roster who show special skills. He’s a
On Darrius Sims’s role: “it would be offense, it could be defense… it’s about getting him healthy. He was gimpy. When you have explosive players, that’s key.”
On DT Jay Woods coming back: baby steps on Saturday with 20 or so snaps. He’s intense and he gives them depth. “He got mad (today) because we shorted him a rep and he let us know about that.”
QB Kyle Shurmur: They did some things to get the ball out of his hand early. There were some early miscues. “There was some divine intervention… a spark…” saying that when things started to happen, it wasn’t so much coaching as whatever external factors contributing to his success.
C BARRETT GOUGER
Great win, but they’ve moved on
On GT defense: They’ve got a heck of a defense. They load the box. They play hard and run to the ball and fly around.
Is there pressure on the offense to stay on the field? Yes. They hold onto the ball and take away possessions. They’ve got to take advantage of it. They can’t have 3-and-outs.
Why did the passing game struggle pre-rain delay and get better afterwards: They had to get in a rhythm. They were able to sort some things out during the delay.
What’s the difference in Shurmur when he’s struggling or succeeding? It’s no different. He doesn’t panic. He’s even-keeled.
Ralph Webb hasn’t bought them dinner yet. They’re really proud of him.
Going on the road to GT: It’s a great opportunity. 1st road game. They need to learn to win on the road. It’s a good test.
On grading the OL in film: They did a good job but made some mistakes in the run game. What stood out is they gave up sacks. They’ve got to pick up pressures better.
On blocking for Webb: Ralph’s an excellent FB player but also a good guy, teammate and leader. You want to play harder for a guy like that.
They communicated well and double-teamed well. It’s a unit effort and one mistake affects the rest. They all did well of playing as a unit.
WR/KOR DARRIS SIMS
He wore the red shirt a long time in camp. He had to maintain focus.
He’s not 100 percent but is as ready as he’ll be.
Felt good to be involved in the kick return game again after basically missing the opener.
Mason preaches on players playing roles. “My role is wherever they need me.”
He likes that Ludwig’s game plan puts him where he needs to be.
He hasn’t played much this year and so teams won’t know what to expect with regards to his role.
WR TRENT SHERFIELD
On Sims: He’s good and level-headed. He takes coaching well.
Everyone in the WR room is family. They’re all treated the same, whether freshmen or not.
On receptions going to a lot of targets: It says that they can attack different ways. If teams want to stack the box, they can make plays on the perimeter. That opens up more opportunities.
He feels it’s his responsibility to be the leader on the unit. Sims and Rayford also lead and they’ve been there before him.
