8/5/2002 - Football
Transcript Of Paul Johnson's Media Day Press Conference
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PJ: Let me just start out by saying it seems like it was only a couple of weeks ago that we were standing up here talking about spring practice, certainly the summer has flown by. We are excited about getting started, all the players are back, they came in last night, and we got started on our testing and that's going very well. I think for the most part we had a large number of player's work extremely hard this summer. We are really excited about the progress they have made from a testing standpoint. I think we got a good base laid from spring practice, so we are anxious to get back out there tomorrow and see what kind of retention we have from the spring. At least those weeks of spring practice gave us a pretty good basis to set a depth chart and have some idea who to work with in fall camp. Our initial plans for fall camp is to take the first week or week and a half and just work against each other, we aren't going to worry about who we play, we are going to just try and get our stuff in place. We will have a scrimmage on Saturday morning, one's against one's, good against good to see where we are, and then, depending on how camp goes, the following Saturday's scrimmage may still be against each other, and then that will give us two weeks to get ready for the first game against SMU. We are just looking forward to getting started, I think our young men are excited about the opportunity and we realize we do have a great opportunity in front of us. I think that when I talked to the team last night, I think each team has a theme or something that motivates the season, and for our football players and for our staff I think this season is about gaining back some respect. Respect for the Navy Football program. We are excited about that opportunity and looking forward to getting out there on Tuesday and getting started. Having said that, I will just kind of throw the thing open if anybody has any questions we will just go from there, so any questions?
Q. Coach in trying to turn the program around, what is going to be tougher for you, improving the team physically or psychologically?
A. I think they go hand in hand. I think you have to do both. Certainly, we are working, our staff has done a good job of working both facets of that, but I think attitude is a big deal and we talked a lot this spring about intensity and commitment and those kind of things. The thing that has been surprising to me is sometimes you would assume that a college football team would have the intensity and the commitment and I think that's been a learning experience for some of our guys. When we talk commitment, I'm not sure they really understand commitment the way we would like them too. Now, have we made progress, certainly. But, you know the one thing in turning a program around, which they need to understand, is that everybody who plays college football has things to do. They are there in the summer lifting and running and putting a lot of time in, so we don't have any excuses. All we need to do is work as hard as everybody else is, we have that opportunity. I think sometimes, if your not careful, it is easy to fall back on all the reasons why you can't do something. We are just not going to hear that, I don't want to hear that. They've got the opportunity, we just need to take the commitment and do what it takes to get the program back and there is no reason why we can't do that.
Q. One of the new trends in college football is trying to get your entire team involved in summer workouts, staying on campus, obviously a lot of these kids have military obligations during the summer, but how would you rate your team, percentage wise, as far as players regularly in the weight room working out?
A. We had a good number of guys who were here this summer. I think our administration worked very well with us that allowed us to have some guys in the second block of summer school, and the way the thing is broken up here is that it goes in blocks. You may have one block of cruise, one block summer school and one block leave, or whatever, and ideally, in an ideal situation, what we would like to do is get our guys where they had one block of summer school and a block of leave back-to-back and then your going to get seven or eight weeks out of them. Your not going to get the 10 weeks that everybody else gets, but if you get the seven or eight weeks we can make do with that. Our guys did a great job this summer, for the most part. I would say we had 85 or 90 percent of the players spend a good part of their leave time here working and going out at night and throwing skelly and working in the weight room. I think if you really got a chance to look at our guys right now, you can see a difference, I think, in their appearance even from the spring. A lot of guys have leaned up. Coach Brass, Coach Woolfolk and his staff in the weight room have done a really good job in the spring and summer and our guys have worked hard. Now, are we where we need to be? No, probably not, but were gaining on it. So, I don't know if that answered your question, but yeah we would like to have everybody here all summer, but I think we have a plan that will work, we just have to get our guys committed to it.
Q. What will you try to accomplish in these early practices?
A. We are just going to go out and practice and hopefully continue, I thought our guys made progress in the spring learning how to play hard, play with some intensity. We didn't get the whole system in, neither offensively or defensively, in the spring, so we will work on that and just refine it. Try to get as good as we can get. I think the key to winning football games is don't lose them. I know that sounds funny, but to me if you can cut back on mistakes, eliminate the penalties and the missed assignments and all those things, you give yourself a chance to win and that is what we will be focusing on in camp, fundamentals and playing and learning where we are supposed to go and learning to go at the right speed.
Q. Do you have a quarterback entering fall practice?
A. We have about six of them. I think Craig Candeto came out of the spring probably a little bit ahead, but Aaron Polanco had a good spring, he did some fine things. I think it will be important, probably, by the time we hit SMU preparation in a week and a half or so, to know who the starting quarterback is going to be, but it could be a situation where we play more than one guy. I think at times, even though quarterback is an important position and important in this offense, you know if you change the right guard, nobody pays any attention or even notices, but if the quarterback changes everybody ooohhs and aaahs, but we will probably have a couple of guys that play. If one guy doesn't move himself way out ahead of the other guy, we might have a change-up or give guys a chance to play. Craig is probably a little bit ahead coming out of the spring, but not so that I would say he is the bonafide, clear-cut starter.
Q. Air Force has had a lock on the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy for it seems like forever, why do you think that is and what is it going to take to break that string.
A. I don't know if there's a reason for it. I know they have had some continuity in the coaching staff and they have had a tradition and they have won some games, but it's a new day and as far as I'm concerned and our staff is concerned, we are 0-0 against Air Force. They haven't beaten us yet. If they win the thing four years in a row from today, ask me then and I will give you an answer, but right now I don't know why they would have any better chance then we would of winning the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy. I think certainly once you get it, it is easier to hold on to it, because then someone has to beat both teams, and I think that has happened for them a little bit in the past. But they have done a nice job, I think you have to give Coach DeBerry and the Air Force Academy credit. They deserve it, they've done a nice job, but again, it's a new day. We aren't afraid of them, I can tell you that.
Q. Coming out of the spring is their any particular positions that is a major question mark heading into the fall?
A. I don't know if there is any set position that is any different then the others. Certainly, we need depth everywhere. We are going to start and work a whole lot more on our kicking game in fall camp then we did in the spring, so we will see there. I'm not sure we got a real good feel for where we are there. I know we have an outstanding punter returning, but as far as place kickers go, we worked a little bit there but not as much as we will, we will go pretty heavy on special teams in fall camp. It's just like anything else, I don't know if one position is more talent laden then others, or more bare then others. The guys that are always hard to find are corners, cover guys and defensive linemen. Those guys are usually hard to find no matter where you are.
Q. Paul do you anticipate moving guys to different positions early in fall camp?
A. There is a chance we could move some guys around, but it's just a question, you know I think you have to be careful with younger guys, sometimes you have a younger guy who might be a sophomore or freshman at a position and you feel like you have a lot of depth at that position, but you look at the depth and their all seniors, so if you move that guy over to another position for depth, then you come back next year and your fighting the same problem so what we want to do is try and get the 22 best players on the field. Once we get out there and establish, for instance we look at fullback as a position I think we have some depth, if it looks like one of those guys might be able to help us at another position we might be able to move them, but right now, we looked at the board this morning, and you look at our offensive and defensive line, pretty much they are set with what we got, I really don't see that happening, maybe it could happen at one position, but not a lot. I think for the most part we have guys where they belong.
Q. On special teams, do you have the philosophy of playing your best players on special teams?
A. Yes, I think the most important team we have, and I will tell our team, is the punt team. That is the fastest way I know to lose a football game. We will put our 11 best players on the punt team. When we set the depth that was something we talked about doing and we talked as a coaching staff, and I think everybody agrees, that if a guy needs a break he can come out a rest on offense or defense, he's not going to rest on the punt team. Special teams are going to be a big part. We don't look to play guys on special teams that don't play somewhere else. I want our best players out there because it's at least a third of the game, maybe more. I don't know if there is a play in football where there is as much yardage that changes hands then the punt. Not very many.
Q. Some guys got banged up in the spring, Lenter Thomas was one, will anybody miss practice starting tomorrow?
A. I don't think so. We have a couple of guys that will be limited. Jaskowiak, an offensive lineman, had his appendices out a couple of weeks ago; he's going to be limited to start with. David Walsh had some shoulder surgery in the offseason, he's going to be limited to start with. Lenter might not be 100 percent, but he's out there, he's cleared to practice. I can't think of anybody else whose going to be missing when we start camp tomorrow.
Q. Carthan's recovered?
A. Eddie Carthan is fine; he should be ready to go.
Q. Coach last year after 9/11 it seems like more attention was paid to the three Academies and their football teams, I was wondering if you think that will continue this year and what kind of affect that will have with the team.
A. We have talked a lot, I think the football team has a great deal to do with the Brigade and the Academy, I don't think you can separate the two. Certainly our goal is to get everybody together, everybody in the same direction, and be a part of each other. The Brigade a part of the program and our program is certainly the Brigade. I think our guys understand that. It's a special deal for them to represent the Brigade on the playing field. I think if we can go out and work hard and have some success and take care of business and do what we are supposed to, I think that the Brigade will view them as a special group representing them on the playing field. When you get to that point, I think that's where you kind of need to be. I think that there's respect from both sides. When you go out there, when you put on that Navy Football uniform, you are representing a lot of folks. You're not just playing for yourself. Hopefully it helps to motivate you when you understand that.
Anybody else? OK, if not, let me just close by saying we are excited about the upcoming season, we are looking forward to it. I've never been a guy that gets up and promises we are going to win this many or that many games, or do any of those things, but I can tell you that we are going to work hard, we take seriously the opportunity to represent the Academy on the football field, and I know the young men on our football team are looking forward to going out and proving that they can compete with the teams on our schedule. I hope to see everybody at practice. I think the one thing that you will enjoy, Scott and I talked about the new format, is that everybody is welcome to practice, if you want to talk to somebody just tell Scott and at the end of practice he will come up when we gather as a team, I will ask him who he needs, he will call it out, and we will come over, so you will have a little more access to the guys rather then maybe whoever we bring once a week. Having said that, I look forward to seeing you all out there and ready to get going.
