Bobby Johnson’s Monday Press Conference

11/8/2004

Bobby Johnson’s Monday Press Conference

Coach Johnson addressed the media Monday to preview Vanderbilt’s matchup at Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 13.

Coach Johnson’s opening statement?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

          “As usual it’s our day off, we had a pretty good practice yesterday. Obviously Jay (Cutler) could not practice yesterday and we will not know a lot about his status until tomorrow. The rest of the guys are kind of beat up and disappointed we didn’t sustain our first half effort against <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Florida in the second half. We came back and had a pretty good practice. It was a little shorter than we normally go, but at this time of the year with all the bumps and the bruises, we wanted to get the soreness out of the body and give them some time in their dorm rooms to study.”

Talk about (quarterback) Steven Bright’s performance versus Florida?

“We were very pleased with Steven’s performance and output. I think that’s a pretty good weapon to have.  He can do the things we want in our offense – he can run the option or throw the pass. Steven will be the first to tell you he made some mistakes in his reads, but that is an experience thing. Steven will get better and better as a player as he gets more experience. I was extremely pleased with his poise and how he ran the football team. We are in pretty good shape as far as the backup quarterback position is concerned.”

What about your team’s lack of scoring in the fourth quarter?

“Late in the game, sometimes is a matter putting up more touchdowns instead of putting up a field goal. Some of the (field goal) attempts have been blocked late in the game, which I can’t understand because we kicked them fairly well the rest of the time. Execution, or lack thereof, could be a factor. It changes your outlook on how you look at the game.”

What changed in your defense from the first to second half?:

“I think Florida held onto the ball a little better. We didn’t change our defense or our call structure. We did not get conservative. We made the same calls we did in the first half and it’s just a matter of executing. In the first half, they moved the ball and we stopped them a couple times with turnovers.”

There appears to be a continuing problem concerning open-field tackling?

“You can teach it and we need to get better at it. It’s a matter of technique. It doesn’t guarantee you are going to make the tackle. You have to have athletic ability when compared to the guy you are trying to tackle. You have to have your weight distributed right, your head up, stay on your feet, not leave your feet; those things give you a better chance. I’ve said it a lot of times, but it’s confidence when you get in that situation.”

Your offense ran a lot of the option on Saturday.

“We run the option a lot of different ways, so it’s hard for a lot of schools to prepare to all of them. Some teams decide to let us run every once in a while and not worry about it too much. Steven did a good job.  He has the big body, 6-4 and 230 pounds. He just bounced off of a couple of Florida guys who were wondering why they couldn’t tackle him. Sometimes the option wasn’t there, but we made the yardage because Steven broke the tackle.”

Coach, talk for a minute about the impressive play of (linebacker) Moses Osemwegie.

          “Moses makes a lot of tackles. If you look at the film and look at guys who play hard and try their very best, and do what they are coached to do, you are looking at Moses. We would like to have a lot more players like Moses. He is in the right spot most of the time. I can’t say enough about him. Moses is not one to brag; he’s just a football player. He also makes the big plays. He recovered the fumble for the touchdown on Saturday.”

Talk about the Kentucky quarterbacks.

“Shane Boyd is a big athlete. They ran a good bit of option in several games. When he’s on his game passing, he’s tough. Andre Woodson came in against Georgia and did an excellent job. He ran their two-minute drill very well and also stayed in the pocket and made some good plays.”

How is your kicker (Patrick Johnson) doing?

“He’s still our kicker. I don’t think the block was his fault. The first one, a 45-yarder against the wind, was close. That’s a tough kick to make.”

How about Cheron Thompson’s play in the secondary”

 “Cheron played most of last year with a torn ACL, then got it fixed late in the year.  He has come back this year and worked extremely hard. He has been our number one nickelback in the past four or five games and has played very well. Cheron is one of those guys who tries real hard to get his job done and makes some big plays for us. It’s good to have a guy with some experience come in and give us good play at that position. I would expect him to continue to do well.”