Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Paul Johnson Show #1 Recap

Here is a link to the audio of the Paul Johnson show from MOTG - link here. Here were my takeaways from the show:

  • There are a set of blue jerseys, ok already. Also Paul Johnson made his position on the subject clear. First, he didn't have anything to do with the choice. Second, the players like the uni's, so just get behind what the kids want to wear. Third, he thinks it's more important how the kids play than what they wear. Got it?
  • QB play has been better in the fall. Guys are getting more comfortable in the offense.
  • O-Line, can't sugarcoat it, we don't have a lot of guys who've played a lot. That's why there's been a lot of shuffling.
  • Practice needs to be harder than the game, but that's not necessarily how it was before he got here. Uhhmmm, what are you trying to say coach?
  • On mental toughness - There's a difference in being hurt and being injured. Being mentally tough is about pushing through when it doesn't feel good. We need to know who has that toughness.
  • Jaybo Shaw will play, probably even in game 1.
  • On Kyle Jackson: he has played very well and will probably start
  • On freshman LB's: They look great, but he really wants to redshirt them to save a year of eligibility. They'll be better in year 5 than year 1.
  • On Marcus Wright: talented, but inexperience and he's not sure what they are going to do yet, he's good, but he's a freshman, 17 yrs old. He still might play, there just are no upperclassman at skill positions.
  • Embry Peeples will play for sure - battling for a starting spot. In a game we'll play 4-5 AB's. If we had to play tonight, he'd get some snaps
  • Jon Lockhart playing well at AB. PJ never saw him as a DB, even though Charles Kelly recruited him for it.
  • Scout team work is situational work to prepare the kids. He might ask the scout team to let a kick get blocked, ask a guy not to go on the field to see if the backup is watching, have the return team score a TD to force a quick extra point play,
  • PJ overheard players say it was the toughest camp they had been through, but PJ didn't think it was all that physical.
The usual straight-up, no-nonsense answers, although there wasn't a ton of insight or new information. A good start to the season, except for the fact that 790thezone didn't decide to broadcast the show until about 15 minutes after it started. Way to go flagship station!