March 9, 2007
#89 James Johnson – WR
On goals to achieve during spring practice:
“Obviously I want to work hard to get better. I want to be a leader the best that I can to the other receivers. Overall, just get better.”
On being the number one receiver going into practice:
“People have always been telling me that if either Calvin (Johnson) or I left, the other has to step up. Now it is my turn, I have a great coach in coach Geis, who tells me what to do in order to lead the guys. I also go to learn from watching Calvin, when he started early, what kind of leader he progressed into. I just want to carry it over into this year.”
On next season:
“I just want to continue to score points and do whatever I can to help the team score some points. We didn’t have a bad season but we definitely want to improve on especially the last three games. We just want to stay consistent on offense and win some games.”
On one thing he wants to improve on for next season:
“I want to improve on route running, being able to run every route that they call and run it exactly the way it supposed to be run. Just being in the right place at the right time and being able to read the defense better. I also want to improve my endurance so that I can run the entire game. If I get those areas improved, I think I will do pretty well.”
On the most memorable game of last season:
“They were all memorable but if I have to pick one I guess the N.C. State game. That game was cold, Calvin and I each scored two touchdowns, the offense and defense both did well. If was just a good win on the road.”
On the offense as a whole:
“I think we have a really great offense and we didn’t lose as many guys as most teams lose so we still have a lot of experience. We just have to be consistent, set the tempo early in games. That is what our new coach (John Bond) is trying to emphasize. He is making us getting out of the huddle in practice quickly and making us run everywhere. He is really emphasizing on jumping on the defense early so they know this is how it is going to be the entire game.”
On the new offensive coordinator John Bond:
“I love him, he is a good humble guy. He is a very good knowledge about the game. He keeps it simple for the quarterbacks and receivers.”
On West Virginia game and what is taken from that:
“Pretty much what we can take from that is we were there. It let us know that if we play well, we can play with anybody. It was fortunate that we had a chance to play them and let us know anything is possible, you can play any team at any team and you just have to be ready.
On Taylor Bennett:
“It has been going great; it is sort of like second nature. We have been in each others minds since we were recruited. They kind of roomed us together, we are great friends. On the field he knows what I am thinking and I know what he is thinking. We would love to get better together and I think the chemistry will work out great come next season.”
On underclassman that have stepped up so far:
“I have mentioned him many times but Greg Smith is definitely someone who is going to help out. He was out there last season helping us out. He scored two big touchdowns against Duke near the end of last year. He has tremendous talent and great work ethic so I think he will do great things across the field from me.
