Aug. 3, 2011
Head Coach Paul Johnson
August 3, 2011
On first day of practice:
I thought it went well for the first day. I thought the enthusiasm and effort was good. They were flying around so I was really encouraged and thought it was a good start.”
On results of morning conditioning test:
“I think for the most part the guys worked hard. You always have three or four guys you have to put a little extra work in with and we’ll start that in the morning at six.”
On looking forward to the first day more when coming off a disappointing season:
“No, I think you always look forward to the first day. It’s like every season starts brand new. We have a new group of guys and its fun to get out there.”
On being able to use the new indoor facility:
“It was great. It’s a great facility and has everything that we need. We actually practiced outside today but we did stretch in there and the kickers went in there. I think we had one period of one on one in there as well but the way its set up now we can go in and out and it’s a huge plus.
Just being able to go inside is a huge plus. Today, it was 25 degrees cooler in there. When we get the inclement weather with thunderstorms and lightning that we know we’ll get this time of year we can go in there and continue to practice without interruption.”
On determining whether to practice inside or outside or scale back at all when the heat is like it is today:
“We weren’t out there long because we had a conditioning test this morning. Practice was really about an hour and 35-40 minutes. We went outside today but you monitor it and know its day one. If you’re in day 12 and it’s really hot then we might do more things inside.”
On the freshmen being excited to get out there:
“Yes I think they were. Their heads are probably spinning a lot right now.”
On Chris Jackson:
“Yes I got to watch him today. I’m encouraged by the way he’s handled himself off the field and we’ll see if that translates into on the field. He’s worked extremely hard and done everything we’ve asked him to do to try and get himself back in a spot where he can contribute to the team.”
On Denzel McCoy:
“He is going to be on a medical scholarship and won’t be able to play. It’s disappointing for Denzel but we have to look out for his well-being and health and it’s just not worth the risk. He’ll help us in the offices as a student assistant but unless something drastically changes his football career is over.
He will still be part of the team. You don’t separate him. He’s such a great kid and has a great attitude. You just tell him there are bigger things than football. He came here to get a degree from Tech and he’s going to hopefully do that. He has his whole life to live, but it’s just not in the cards right now for him to play college football. Our team doctors and training staff does a real thorough physical and they detected it early so he was never put in any danger.”
On the freshmen class:
“I think this class is a good looking class overall. There are some big, lean, athletic looking kids. Like I said when we signed them, we are excited to have them here.”
On whether anyone improved their conditioning:
“I was really impressed with Izaan Cross. He’s dropped a little weight and looked really good running around out there. I told him when he finished that he looked good.”
On whether anyone else stood out:
“It’s hard to pick someone out today. All of the guys were flying around doing well and I was encouraged by what I saw. “
On the kicking game:
“We do kicking every day and started practice today with punt and punt return. We work on it every single day. It’s big this fall as we need to get much better in that area.”
On whether punt and punt return is a normal way to start practice:
“Normally, we start with kicking, but those are the two areas we need to get better in.”
On how long it takes to install the process:
“I don’t know if it ever stops. You put in your base stuff and we’ll play against each other for a couple of weeks and then you go scouts. The whole time defensively, even in shorts and helmets, you’re going against two-back stuff. You’re constantly going and working on stuff the whole time. We don’t spend any time devoting game plan to playing each other.”
On having the entire in a hotel for preseason:
“It’s just hard to get them all together on campus. I think it’s important in camp and we have done that before. Last year, we didn’t do it because we had them all in the same dorm but we couldn’t do that this year. I think it’s important in camp to have them all together.”
