CPJ's learning curve at GT

[Skeptic]

I don't think Paul Johnson came to Tech with any false impressions other than the fact that our former AD was about to bail out on him, we were about to get hit with a bogus NCAA Infractions Violations, and our Academic Administration wasn't as supportive of our Athletic Department as advertised and no one is/was willing to stand up against the Georgia Board of Regents which hates our Athletic program because they are in love with UGA's.

Other than that, I think he was totally prepared. That being said, I think he's taking the cards he was dealt with and done an incredible job.

Okay, tongue firmly in cheek, I get it. What I remember from that 2009 year other than the ACC championship -- I am with Bedford here -- and the incredible mismatch in size and quickness on the Iowa O and D lines is that a former football player gave Thomas the illegal stuff. I hope they have never allowed Booker back on campus, anywhere, for such disloyalty to his former teammates and coach, and it was Radakovich of all people who violated the NCAA rule by talking to Johnson about it. (Thomas did not help things in the program by being so disingenuous when questioned by Johnson; he may not have worn any of the stuff but he certainly took it.) But I can't blame Radakovich for not allowing the NCCA to blindside his coach, and the fact remains it was a tickey tack call with penalties far in excess of any harm caused. Booker, incidentally, wins my award for having the slowest and worst feet of any QB who ever played D1. (The last years before '14 keeps it from qualifying as incredible, but it has been very good overall, though I agree another .500 year in 2014 probably would have cost Johnson his job. Most of the yowling then was done by one board that claimed credit for getting Gailey fired but was ridiculously quiet from mid-season on.)

 

[Eric]

I don't think Paul had to "figure out" recruiting at Tech at all. The best thing that happened to CPJ wasn't Ted Roof, although I think that was a very good move. The best move Coach Johnson made was to hire Coach Andy McCollum and bring him in as recruiting coordinator.

Many people don't realize that the lion's share of recruiting is done by the staff and assistant coaches. Head coaches are allowed exactly one in-home visit with a player. So by the time a head coach comes to a player's house, one or more assistant coaches have often visited the kid many, many times. In-homes, going to his school, coming to watch him play football or in some cases basketball, baseball or track. These coaches build relationships with the head coaches in high schools and then the players and their family.

And bringing in a coach like Andy doesn't mean immediate recruiting success at a school that isn't the state university. These relationships take time to build but that's one thing that Coach McCollum is incredibly good at doing.

I actually talked with some buddies of mine down in Marion County which won the state championship in single A in 2013 and lost in the quarters in 2014. I asked them if they hear anything from GT. They said, "We do now. Used to be, I don't even think they knew where we were on the map. But now, we see their coaches pretty regularly."

Now, one thing that Coach Johnson DID change in his philosophy over that time was the size of the linemen he recruited. At first, he targeted mobile, agile linemen and didn't worry about size. But he soon realized that he needed bigger OL when we saw schools with larger defensive linemen that we were struggling to block.

So true...Couldn't agree more with this post. CAM is a huge piece of our staff...I am surprised we have been able to keep him here for as long as we have...Excellent recruiter. I think people underestimate how good he is on the recruiting trail.

 

[Skeptic]

So true...Couldn't agree more with this post. CAM is a huge piece of our staff...I am surprised we have been able to keep him here for as long as we have...Excellent recruiter. I think people underestimate how good he is on the recruiting trail.

Weren't we saying the same thing about Giff Smith?

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I don't have the time right now and I've said a good bit on this topic in the past. Suffice to say, I think the curve was real and it was rather steep. I think there would be one for any coach. GT is a different animal.

 

[UgaBlows]

I believe that Roof has a lot to do with the team chemistry,team first and never say die attitude that we saw last year.

i agree 100%, Roof has instilled his attitude into the whole team

 

[redmule]

Perhaps Johnson was under no illusions about Tech and recruiting, but the high school players in the state were. They were basically told by media, TV announcers, other coaches, and many Tech fans that this offense could not possibly work at the D1 level. It took Johnson three or four years to convince them otherwise. Several years of high averages in points scored and yds per game may have convinced many. We got a trickle willing to play in Johnson's system at first, and the spigot has been steadily opening till this year's flood. Now Roof is following the same path. Defensive players were told they didn't want to have to practice against the TO every day. Roof seems to have been able to make the argument otherwise. Last November was a major inflection point.

 

[BabyJacket1990]

I want to see recruiting improve each year. I can't say we have *FIGURED* it out just yet. You can not base this off of one year. We have ways to go before we can compete for championships year in and year out but we are headed in the right direction. We need to figure out how to recruits fan as well. I want to see a packed house for every home game. I want to see the student section full 20-30 minutes before kick off. I would like to see the stadium loud as hell when the opposing team has the ball and not just on the third downs. My expectations are a little extreme but I think being undefeated at home every year is the key.

 

[InsideLB]

I agree Andy Mac was a great hire. I also really like the Brian Cook and Walkowski / Coach Ry hires. Maybe a coincidence but our OL got better with a return to a dedicated OT coach in Ry.

I was skeptical of Lamar Owens and Joe Speed but Owens IMO has really improved as an A backs Coach and recruiter. Speed & the DBs seem to be making progress under Roof.

Limiting staff turnover is key for consistency so hopefully We keep this group together!

 

[Skeptic]

i agree 100%, Roof has instilled his attitude into the whole team

I gather Roof is doing well though I am not quite ready for the koolaid. GT got some turnovers and made key stops for sure. But opponents gouged us for big yards, late TDs and lots of points, kind of lost in our offensive explosions. Johnson apparently still has to push Roof to increase the pressure and take a few chances blitzing. The best performance seemed to be against Clemson, but against a dispirited, confidence-shaken QB. I'll take it for sure because one has to get breaks as well as give them -- no pun intended. I hope it is gangbusters next fall because the offense should be, and with both that schedule suddenly looks a lot less imposing.

 

[GlennW]

One thing I like about Paul Johnson is that he plays to win rather than plays not to lose, and I think that's something we need when you play as an "underdog" and with supposed lesser athletes. This was one of the problems, I believe, Chan Gailey made as our Head Football Coach; he played it safe, trying to rely on a defense to keep games close, hoping for turnovers and big plays so his offense MIGHT get close wins.

PJ is aggressive with his offense to put pressure on opposing defenses, and he wants the same with his defense, and I think this is the reason why he has gone through two Defensive Coordinators since he became Head Football Coach, including firing one after we won the ACC Championship, and one in mid-season. He knows part of OUR competititive advantage is HIS style of offense, which pressures opposing offenses into pressing, and that if our defense can continue that pressure on the offense, great things can happen. We saw it this past season, and I believe it will continue with Ted Roof's style of defense.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Every year, recruiting will be challenging. The best thing that can happen to help this is positive news on the field (wins) and positive press from the ESPN, etc. It is EASY to negative recruit against us, and it always will be. I don't think it is about a learning curve, but I do think CPJ probably had to learn the hard way how vicious the negative recruiting would be against GT. I think you have to get out front of the negs by communicating to the recruit the truth about Tech vs. what they will hear. That way, you can put the most positive framework on how GT is different, but different in a way that will positively impact the student athlete's life much more than they understand.

 

[Eric]

Weren't we saying the same thing about Giff Smith?

Giff got a lot more credit.

 

[UgaBlows]

I gather Roof is doing well though I am not quite ready for the koolaid. GT got some turnovers and made key stops for sure. But opponents gouged us for big yards, late TDs and lots of points, kind of lost in our offensive explosions. Johnson apparently still has to push Roof to increase the pressure and take a few chances blitzing. The best performance seemed to be against Clemson, but against a dispirited, confidence-shaken QB. I'll take it for sure because one has to get breaks as well as give them -- no pun intended. I hope it is gangbusters next fall because the offense should be, and with both that schedule suddenly looks a lot less imposing.

I hear what your saying and agree to a point but the actual quality of the defense isn't exactly what i am talking about (but i strongly believe that the stats will improve as Ted gets his guys in here and builds quality depth). To me there's a percievable different attitude to the team now, more hardnosed, chip on the shoulder, never quit feel that was missing at times before Roof got here imo.

 

[Skeptic]

I hear what your saying and agree to a point but the actual quality of the defense isn't exactly what i am talking about (but i strongly believe that the stats will improve as Ted gets his guys in here and builds quality depth). To me there's a percievable different attitude to the team now, more hardnosed, chip on the shoulder, never quit feel that was missing at times before Roof got here imo.

That I can pretty much agree with. I do see, or think I see, more of the in-your-face displays of an offensive guy after a big play by the defense. Don't particularly like it but it is always short-lasting and done with. Has to be some passion there.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I think that what is impressive is that CPJ was able to win big games right away and had such success in his first two years. That is fairly atypical for a new coach bringing in entirely new offensive and defensive schemes. The fact that the next few years the team treaded water in wins/losses makes sense as a normal transition; only it came after unusually impressive early success.

Then this last year's success was built on the back of CPJ's second full recruiting class as the senior appreciation threads I have so far been able to create would indicate: http://4te.ch/seniors2014

So imo I don't really see the justification for complaining over the state of recruiting in the early years of CPJ's tenure. You can say the 2008/9 classes did not have as much success on the field as we would have liked, but those were the first 1.5 classes in terms of recruiting time and effort for CPJ and his coaches. So I don't see why that is so surprising.

He did fine. Wins/losses almost got him fired and if he ever does get fired it most likely will be over wins/losses, not over amorphous chicken/egg issues of recruiting "success."

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I think that what is impressive is that CPJ was able to win big games right away and had such success in his first two years. That is fairly atypical for a new coach bringing in entirely new offensive and defensive schemes. The fact that the next few years the team treaded water in wins/losses makes sense as a normal transition; only it came after unusually impressive early success.

Then this last year's success was built on the back of CPJ's second full recruiting class as the senior appreciation threads I have so far been able to create would indicate: http://4te.ch/seniors2014

So imo I don't really see the justification for complaining over the state of recruiting in the early years of CPJ's tenure. You can say the 2008/9 classes did not have as much success on the field as we would have liked, but those were the first 1.5 classes in terms of recruiting time and effort for CPJ and his coaches. So I don't see why that is so surprising.

He did fine. Wins/losses almost got him fired and if he ever does get fired it most likely will be over wins/losses, not over amorphous chicken/egg issues of recruiting "success."

Agree. We would not have had the success in last year's Orange Bowl if not for some of those "early years" of recruiting.

 

[Architorture23]

I think RamblinRed said it about like I have felt for awhile.

We all know that CPJ is extremely confident in himself and his scheme. I think he may have thought his scheme could overcome the talent deficit he would face, hands down. I suppose, in a way, it did, as we still scored a lot of points even in those down years. But against a certain kind of opponent, we would falter. Having a lot of talent on the roster when he arrived might have even bolstered that confidence. He was often at a talent disadvantage at Navy, but the outside expectations to win were not as high. He has done a good job the last two years at focusing on recruiting better on the OL and I think he had to change the prototype OL he was looking for.

I also thin it might have been sobering for him to have the negative recruiting against his system and for him to find out that it might be a hard sell for kids bent on the NFL. The guys playing at Navy, especially, and Georgia Southern, somewhat, oftentimes do not have that as their ultimate goal. That is more personal to him than selling the academic rigors of GT.

He also had to change his tune about special teams. We were, at times, abysmal at ST's and he hired a dedicated ST coach. The recruiting has really helped this area, too, as we are a much deeper team, athletically, than we were in 2010.

One of my favorite things about Paul Johnson is that understands and relishes coaching the type of young men that choose to go to Georgia Tech. That is important to me.

 

[PBR549]

I definitely think there have been some growing pains but coach persevered and hopefully we've turned a corner I haven't witnessed at Tech. The addition of TR has been big both on the field and in the living room. I admit I'm always the optimist (I wanted to give CCG another year) but I would be very surprised if 2014 doesn't start the best streak of multiple years of success in my lifetime. I've been a fan since the early 70s.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

He has done a good job the last two years at focusing on recruiting better on the OL and I think he had to change the prototype OL he was looking for.

I see no evidence of this. Recruiting in general has gotten better for all the reasons already noted on this site such as more staff and assistant coaches who can close the deal and more stability in the program overall. But if you compare the first ten offensive linemen he recruited to all the linemen he has recruited since then there is not much difference in "type." I honestly think the idea of him liking extra small linemen is an urban myth.

 

[Boomergump]

This is a really good thread, although I challenge some of the notions published therein. The narrative that I am talking about goes like this: GT is a different place. CPJ didn't know what he was getting into. He has made adjustments to recruiting and the Hill etc. He now has it figured out. We just had a good season. This was our best recruiting class. As a result the program has turned a corner, yada yada yada.

There is little doubt in my mind that CPJ has learned some over recent years, just as we all do in our careers. I do believe GT presents special challenges that other schools don't. On top of that, I am excited about this years class because of what I have seen on the highlight film. However, with all that said, I have a bit of a different view on the passing scene. First and foremost, I believe that the landscape of college football is constantly changing and I don't think for a minute that we have turned some kind of mythical corner as a program. We might be in a stronger position right now, but the need to continue to evolve will always be there. Believing we have turned a corner is the first step to sliding backwards, if you ask me. I want to believe this class is great, but let's be real, until a couple years from now, we really won't know what we've got. The numbers are certainly bigger, but that was driven by attrition in the program more than anything. If you want to feel good about the class, forget about the ranking. Think of it this way, we got on the guys earlier and got them committed earlier and we hung on to them. That tells me the PROCESS was a little more effective. The end product is currently still unknown. That process I speak of, although better this year, won't be good enough in years to come.

As always, the fight to stay near the top will require adaptation, ingenuity, hard work, flexibility, and hunger. It will not be easy to stay where we are. Falling back to the pack is a very real scenario if the first sentence in this paragraph is not adhered to, and may still happen anyway. I like CPJ because he has shown me he has those qualities. In fact, he has always had them. He didn't just grow them two years ago after a couple of mediocre seasons. Even coach doesn't know what things he will be doing in order to compete a couple years from now between the white lines, on the recruiting trail, or in the office. That is what makes it fun.