Navy's Paul Johnson to GA Tech

kkep48 · 12-07-2007, 11:12 AM

AJC is reporting a deal has been reached.

Tech, Johnson agree to deal | ajc.com

VolfanMike · 12-07-2007, 11:13 AM

I am interested in seeing how Johnson will recruit at a big school....The RB's, OL, DL etc will come...But, getting a QB who wants to run a option is hard to do....Option QB's dont make it in the pro's so he is going to have to find a kid who doesnt care about making it to the next level....He may change his offense to, never can tell....

tango · 12-07-2007, 11:18 AM

Is Johnson really an option-only coach... or is it just what he thought would work best given what he had to work with at Navy?

Just curious, because I don't really know.

VolfanMike · 12-07-2007, 11:22 AM

He coached at Georgia Southern before he went to Navy...I am pretty sure that he is a trip-option type coach, cant really remember him to much there...I think it was 97-01, I know he won AA NC's in 99-00...No doubt that he coach....Just got to find the qb that is willing to do it, like Eric Crouch from Nebraska....

tango · 12-07-2007, 11:25 AM

hrmm.. well, that's interesting. thanks!

VolfanMike · 12-07-2007, 11:27 AM

no problem.

Vercingetorix · 12-07-2007, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VolfanMike

I am interested in seeing how Johnson will recruit at a big school....The RB's, OL, DL etc will come...But, getting a QB who wants to run a option is hard to do....Option QB's dont make it in the pro's so he is going to have to find a kid who doesnt care about making it to the next level....He may change his offense to, never can tell....

He shouldn't have any trouble getting QBs that can run his system. Kids don't go play QB at Georgia Tech because they expect to go pro anyway. And it's a great place to walk out of with a degree.

I think I've read where Johnson has claimed that his system is flexible enough to do more than just run run run out of it, but that he hasn't had any real playmakers to do anything else. It'll be interesting to see if he opens it up a little bit more once he has better talent.

(He has not signed the contract yet, so it's still not a done deal.)

TennNC · 12-07-2007, 12:36 PM

I'm a Navy fan, so that would be Navy's loss and Tech's gain. I think Johnson has made Navy not only the class of the academies but a solid bowl team year-in and year-out.

**GAVol** · 12-07-2007, 12:39 PM

I guarantee you that Mark Richt is not happy that he'll have to defend the Flexbone every single year. That offense is going to create some headaches.

**Lexvol** · 12-07-2007, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAVol

I guarantee you that Mark Richt is not happy that he'll have to defend the Flexbone every single year. That offense is going to create some headaches.

QFT. Georgia struggled with Southern's offense a few years ago. I hope Johnson is adaptable, and that he finds ways to make the offense work for him at Tech.

**GAVol** · 12-07-2007, 12:50 PM

I'm not even sure he has to adapt anything to make the offense work. He was rolling up pretty outrageous numbers even back in his days at Hawaii.

**Lexvol** · 12-07-2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAVol

I'm not even sure he has to adapt anything to make the offense work. He was rolling up pretty outrageous numbers even back in his days at Hawaii.

We have had this discussion before. At Tech there will be games that will require him to lean more heavily on the pass to win ballgames. That has never been a strength of his offense.

Between that and keeping a healthy stable of running backs he will have his hands full. I have followed him since his days at Southern, and for Tech, I think this is a reasonable hire.

**GAVol** · 12-07-2007, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lexvol

We have had this discussion before. At Tech there will be games that will require him to lean more heavily on the pass to win ballgames. That has never been a strength of his offense.

You're probably right about that. I would expect Johnson's offense to take on the look of a more run heavy version of Virginia Tech except with the QB up under center most of the time.

One thing's for sure. Their current QB should look into becoming a Punter. He's not even slightly a fit for Johnson's system.

**milohimself** · 12-08-2007, 11:57 PM

I think Johnson will be a great fit at GTech.

Normally I'd be of the opinion that he would have a tough time to get up and running, but the conference is absolutely up for grabs right now. There's a reason Wake Forest has been succeeding lately:

FSU - Not coming back to prominence any time soon
Miami - See above
VaTech - Frank Beamer's offense is worthless without loads of all-star talent
BC - Seemingly incapable of over-achieving
Clemson - Choke artists down the stretch
North Carolina - I don't see Butch Davis getting any closer to putting his team in the forefront

An innovative offense and a deep pool of local talent is just the thing to jump out and grab hold of a conference.

the.one.the.only · 12-09-2007, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAVol

You're probably right about that. I would expect Johnson's offense to take on the look of a more run heavy version of Virginia Tech except with the QB up under center most of the time.

One thing's for sure. Their current QB should look into becoming a Punter. He's not even slightly a fit for Johnson's system.

actually, they have the perfect qb for his system. Josh Nesbitt. Josh Nesbitt - College Football