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Bobby Johnson Press Conference 09-26-06 9/26/2006 Opening statement by Bobby Johnson: We are trying to prepare for Temple and see if we can keep some good things going with our football team and hopefully get another win. What are the challenges with a game like this? Everyone knows that Temple ahs been struggling, so what are some of the challenges that a game against a team like Temple presents? Bobby Johnson: I don’t think we will be overconfident for anybody. We have been through the things that Temple is going through. They are playing a lot of freshmen. We’ve done that. Our guys, back when we were doing that, felt like we could beat anybody. And I’m sure Temple is going to come in here and think they have a great opportunity to get a win and they are going to play that way. So we have got to be prepared, we have got to work hard this week in practice and prepare just as hard as we did against Michigan. We did a good job of that last week. We got ready for Tennessee State. We had very good practices and that is going to be a key for us this week. Is this an opportunity for you to put two good weeks together and to put together some positive results? Bobby Johnson: It is an opportunity. We had a good win last week and I would hope that our guys will see it as an opportunity to keep things going in a positive route and work hard to do that. Bt just thinking about it and saying it is not going to do it. We have to work at it. What kind of similarities do you see between what Temple is going through right now and what you had to go through in order to build the Vanderbilt program? Bobby Johnson: Coach Golden I know is going to do a good job there. He has gotten off to a fast start in recruiting. He brought a talented group in there last year in just a little bit of time and he has been able to use a lot of those players this year. We tried to do the same thing — get as many as you can in here and start building and play. But you don’t do that thinking that you are not going to win for a few years. They want to win now. And that is the way we feel about it. We had a lot of close games that first year and had the chance to upset a few people and we just didn’t get it done. It will be in their mind to win, no doubt about it. I know you have said in the past that this team has come back well after losses. But did you notice a different spirit about this team on Sunday after a win? Bobby Johnson: Oh, yeah. Winning is what it is all about. That is why you work. That is why you practice. That is why you work hard in the off-season. They enjoyed it Saturday and they enjoyed it Sunday. But by the time we got to practice we were talking about Temple and what we had to do to in that game and we got back to work. But I think everybody will be feeling a little bit better today when we go out to prepare for Temple. Winning does that for you. It builds your confidence and just makes everything better. When you play a long succession of games, and when you play in a tough conference like the SEC, how nice is it to be able to have a string of games against teams like Temple and Tennessee State to get away from conference play and get your confidence back? Bobby Johnson: It is nice if you win them. That is the only way it is nice, We don’t take a different approach from an SEC game or an out of conference game. We go by the exact same schedule, we work just as hard, coaches game plan just as hard as they do for games against Alabama or Arkansas or Michigan and it paid off for us last week I felt like. We treat them all the same and we don’t think this is a reprieve. This is an opportunity and we are going to go hard and get ready for it again this week. Are you seeing things now from Chris Nickson that you didn’t see against Michigan, and what specifically would those things be? Bobby Johnson: I think it is just experience and leading the football team and making the right calls and the right reads. Chris can do better. He did some things Saturday that he can do better. We expect him to improve this week. It is a lot of little things that everybody can improve on, not just Chris. I think we had a fumbled snap one time, we probably should have pitched the ball earlier on the first option we ran down on the goal line. Chris is the first one to tell you that he can do better and he will. I am positive that he will do better. It seems like you guys, other than maybe on the offensive line, are about as healthy as you have been since you have been here. Is that just a fluke or are you better conditioned or what would you attribute that to? Bobby Johnson: I wouldn’t attribute it to any one thing. We probably are bigger and stronger but sometimes that doesn’t prevent you from getting an injury. We are having good fortune right now, which hopefully will continue. Marcus Buggs the past couple of weeks has really stepped it up for you guys. Is there anything different going on with him? Bobby Johnson: Just what we expected. He had a great spring and a great preseason. Marcus likes to play football and it shows. He goes full speed all the time and he knows exactly what to do. He studies the game plan and when you have a guy doing that who has some natural ability, you are going to have a good player. I’d like to have a bunch just like him and we do. Jon Goff is like that Curtis Gatewood is like that. Curtis had a good game. Reshard Langford is like that. We’ve got a bunch of them Were very pleased that he ahs stepped up and taken the kind of role that he has in our defense He has made some big plays for us and I think that we will continue to do that. The defensive line seems to be really coming along and in particular Curtis Gatewood had probably the best game of his career. Can you talk about what’s going on there? Bobby Johnson: I think Curtis has matured a great deal He has gained weight and gotten bigger and stronger. He had a year last year of experience and I think Coach Logo has done a great job of bringing him along, along with Coach Fowler who works with our defensive ends a lot. So I think it is just a natural progression. We knew Curtis has a lot of talent and ability and now he is using it the right way and making some big plays for us. Ray Brown and Theo Horrocks have just been as steady as they can be in there and again I attribute that to Coach Logo’s work with them We felt they could be good players. Our backup players are doing a good job of going in there and spelling them and keeping them fresh. And that’s a big part of it, too, I think Steven Stone and Broderick Stewart are doing a great job along with Gabe Hall. They have been going in and spelling those inside guys. You have improved your net punt average this year over last year. What’s the difference there? Bobby Johnson: Two things: we have had much better hang time on the punts. They have been extremely high and fairly deep and sometimes they have been terrific punts. The other is our concentration on coverage, especially with our gunners. I think we have improved that 100 percent. Guys are making plays over there. D.J. Moore has stepped in and accepted that challenge and I think that fired up a lot of guys who had been doing that. And our gunners have been very productive. How important for your team has the emphasis on special teams been and maybe putting someone in charge of that unit? Bobby Johnson: It is just the emphasis, I think. Warren has done a good job of letting everybody know every day that we are working on special teams and trying to get better He also has done a good job of lobbying for more practice time and better personnel on each team. Probably the fact that we are not red-shirting as many guys this year, we have a few more players available. That is a factor in our better play there. I think all those things combined, and the fact that we are getting some consistent play, has helped us a great deal. Is there anything about Temple that jumps out at you as a strength? Bobby Johnson: They have got some young players. Early on in the season I was impressed with Tim Brown the running back. I think both quarterbacks are very talented. Obviously they have been playing some tough teams and they have struggled. But they make some good plays. They have our attention, there is no doubt about it. We can see on the film that they are doing some good things scheme-wise and that their caching staff is doing a very good job. They have an experienced coaching staff. We are going to have to work hard to get ready to beat them. |
