I agree. But part of the reason our defense was weak was the negative recruiting regarding the offense. And as much as I hate to admit it because I like Johnson, it worked. The negative recruiting drumbeat by every team in the southeast absolutely worked and Johnson instead of trying to fight against it just became more entrenched. I kinda, sorta loved it because of the old school take it or leave it attitude, but I’m not a 16-18 year old high school male. And they clearly didn’t buy it which is why our classes were ranked lowly and our depth was not good. With every passing year it (whether true or not) the perception of GT football was all about Johnson and not about GT. Collins has completely turned that over as its all about the 404, Waffle House, GT, etc, etc.
I actually asked a guy at work who is a typical fan of football (not a super fan of any particular team) what he thought of GT going into this year. He had no clue what our coaches name was but he brought up the Waffle House stuff and the barrage of marketing of GT. He said he’s pulling for GT just because of the hype even though he doesn’t know the coach or any players name. That‘s classic marketing success.