Georgia Tech’s Johnson thinks team can surprise a lot of people
Paul Johnson sort of expects his Georgia Tech team to be a middle-of-the-pack pick when the ACC Coastal Division predictions are released on Monday. The Yellow Jackets have never been the sexy pick and he doesn’t expect this year to be much different.
“We’ve only been picked to win the thing one time and we finished last,” Johnson said Thursday during the annual ACC Media Days event. “You guys don’t have a very good track record.”
But Johnson, who is starting his eighth season and is now the dean of ACC coaches, believes his guys could surprise a lot of people.
“We’ll see,” he said. “We still have to play the games, but I think they have a chance to be better than people think.”
Johnson has had the advantage of observing everything from the inside. He’s seen the response from the players following last year’s disastrous 3-9 season. He believes the tide can turn the other way.
“Chemistry, the way they’ve worked … I think they’re hungry,” he said. “Last year was an enigma for us. In 20 years as a head coach, that was my second losing season, so I’m not used to it either. So it hasn’t been real comfortable around me. I think our guys were embarrassed.”
Johnson talked a lot a year ago about quickly forgetting the bad results and not letting them linger. It was a message the players took to heart.
“It really didn’t take long,” senior defensive tackle Pat Gamble said. “As soon as the season was over, we were ready to forget it and move on.”
Last year’s misery was a team effort. The Yellow Jackets were a middle-of-the-pack team on offense and defense. And the running game that has the team’s trademark since Johnson arrived, dropped all the way to No. 8 in the nation at 256.2 yards per game — 85.8 yards less per game than in 2014.
“Offensively, we kind of hurt ourselves a lot … turnovers, missed assignments,” Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas said. “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.”
It won’t be easy to turn things around. The conference has gotten tougher over the last few years, with Clemson emerging as a national power a year ago. The influx of a group of high-caliber new coaches — Mark Richt at Miami, Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia and Justin Fuente at Virginia Tech — has raised the bar even higher.
“I was joking with someone, you walk in the room and you look around and see who’s your wins,” Johnson said. “And I’m looking back at me. I don’t see anybody that I’m, ‘Oooh, OK, we’re going to beat them.’ They’re all tough games. I’ve got a lot of respect for all the coaches. There are some really good coaches in our league.”
The fun starts for Georgia Tech with a Sept. 3 game against Boston College in Ireland. While the fans may see the game as a pleasure trip, Johnson is taking a businesslike approach.
“You would probably rather not have a conference game right out of the chute,” he said. I think it’s good to play an opponent, a tough opponent. I don’t mind do that at all. Just the logistics of traveling outside the country for a first game, a conference opener, makes you a little nervous.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech’s Johnson thinks team can surprise a lot of people."