Transcript: Brian Johnson on Florida Gators Redzone Offense and Interviewing for South Carolina Job
Florida Gators Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson met with local media on Monday to discuss the Gators redzone offense, interviewing for the South Carolina Gamecocks head coaching position and having a tight end nominated for the Biletnikoff Award.
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Was this your first head coaching interview?
"Yes, it was."
What did you think you learned from Dan Mullen over the years?
"I don’t know if we have enough time to talk about everything that I’ve learned from coach. I’m just really grateful for the opportunity and really grateful for everything I’ve learned from him. I’m really appreciative of how he’s really put people in a position to advance their careers and become a better football coach and develop as a football coach. I can’t say enough about how I appreciate that from him."
Was it good to get those reps?
"Yeah, for sure. Ultimately, I think at the end of the day when you get in this profession and you do a good job, you do a good job, people notice. And you get opportunities. It was good to get those reps, but I’m really looking forward to what we have going on here, it’s always great to be a Gator, and it’s a big challenge this against LSU and, uh, get some great things going."
Did you expect to not get the job? Was it disappointing?
"I think the biggest thing is, obviously, the timing of everything just now with early signing period. I think it’s completely changed when signing day comes up here in a week from Wednesday. I’m just really excited about the opportunities we have here, the chance to coach some great players and be with a great coaching staff. It’s work every day to continue to develop as a coach and to put our team in a position to win the SEC."
Did you ever imagine having a TE named to the Biletnikoff semi-finalists?
"We were just talking about that, actually: I don’t know if that’s ever happened. Kyle’s a great player, he works extremely hard. He’s super productive when he gets out there on the field. We all know what he can do and what he brings to the table, he’s done a great job of putting himself in a position to continue to go out there and perform at a really high level on a consistent basis, and when that happens, people take notice. I’m really proud of him, I’m extremely happy for him."
WHAT HAS ALLOWED PITTS TO BE THE KIND OF WEAPON HE IS?
"Yeah, I think the biggest thing is obviously his talent. He's got a ton of God-given ability and he works really, really hard at it. He practices hard. He takes care of his business. He's very, very mature. He's very focused and goal-oriented and self-motivated. Every great player that I've ever been around, they all share very similar traits. It's stuff that's really intangible. Just what kind of work ethic they have, their commitment to perfecting their craft, their practice habits, things of that nature. He checks the box for all of those."
EARLY SIGNING PERIOD, HOW TOUGH TO JUGGLE WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON?
"Yeah I mean it's just another unique challenge that 2020 presents. For the most part everybody is under the same circumstance, so you've just got to find a way to adjust and adapt. I think we have a great recruiting staff, and know those guys do a great job of helping us be organized with what we need to get organized. I know we're looking forward to it. I know the young men are all looking forward to it. It's kind of just something you've got to adjust and roll with in 2020."
WHAT DID 2018 WIN OVER LSU MEAN FOR THIS PROGRAM, FIRST SIGNATURE WIN?
"Um, I mean I don't; I mean it was a great game, great atmosphere, unbelievable environment. I don't know that I've ever heard a place as loud as when Brad made that interception to kind of seal it, other than maybe Perine's run against Auburn, maybe. It was a great atmosphere in the Swamp. It's a big game. Our guys, Florida-LSU is as big as it gets in college football. Our guys are looking forward to that challenge and looking forward to that opportunity, and our seniors get to play their last game in the Swamp."
Call a play in the box and see it happen differently on the field?
“It happens once in a while. When we called it, we were probably a little deep for that particular call. I think we were probably around 7 or 8. Kyle did a good job about managing the look, and they gave us a really different look than we expected - so once we get tight like that, we expected man coverage and they zoned it off. Kyle did a great job of managing the zone windows, letting it kind of clear and then find him a soft spot to deliver the ball.”
This indicative of the intelligence the guy has since the catch would have been harder for Copeland but easier for Grimes.
“I think for sure. I think it was.. it was a really good job of coverage recognition because you know, in theory, neither one of those guys were wrong. Copeland was in the zone so he kind of settled, Tre got matched so he tried to go across the defender’s face and get it to the next window - it just happened to be the same window based on the play. I think it was really good by both of them to recognize the coverage and settle into the zone.”
Not getting points when Florida was in Tenn. territory. What was your takeaway?
“It was awful. It’s just not great football to get the ball three times on the plus side of the field and come out of it with zero points. I mean it’s just not a recipe for success. We definitely have to do a good job, taking advantage of opportunities. That's something we stress a lot and it was really disappointing to get that type of field position and to come out with zero points. We missed a field goal; we had to punt; and Kyle pinned us deep on that third time - just a little bit of sloppiness on those drives and lack of execution. We got to find a way to be better in those situations and really blow up the game when we have the opportunity to do that.”
Improve finishing drives, or just an off day?
“We definitely need to improve on it. I think it was just a combination of things, maybe we got a little bit too greedy trying to get it all at once and taking back-to-back shots that were incomplete. Drop a ball, miss a block, get a penalty … just things that kill normal drives throughout the course of the game, but it just becomes magnified when you’re in scoring position and you do those things to hurt yourself. So we have to be much cleaner at that and put our team in a better position to go execute at a high level when we get field position.”
Kyle Heisman moment with pooch?
“Yeah, that was … scary.”
Now that won the East, how keep team from looking ahead to Bama?
“I think the biggest thing is guys are self motivated. This is Florida-LSU. This is a big football game. They have a ton of great players, guys that played against and they know each other and want to go perform at a high level. So it’s not … if you have a problem getting up for this game, that’s a you problem. We got to continue to have a great week of practice, trust the details and focus on getting better each and every week and performing better in each and every aspect of the game.”
How run a wishbone, since Dan said he might trot it out?
“I saw that … we got some stuff. We’re going to dust off the ol’ option playbook, we got the ability to kind of get into some of that stuff. I wouldn’t be shocked, keep some people on their toes. We have a chance to do some stuff. We’ll see what we come out in, I guess.”
Do you view run game production as execution issue?
“Yeah, we didn’t execute very cleanly in the run game, but we didn’t really try to run. Some people would argue we probably tried to run it too much, you know. It’s a fine line. It’s a balancing act. I’m pretty sure if we really tried to scheme up a bunch of stuff in the run game we could manage to be OK.”
Did Trevon Grimes campaign for wildcat vs Vandy?
“Some politicking going on for that one. It was interesting because I was wondering who was get it based on who’s in the game, if it was Tre or Shorter or the running backs. We had to rock, paper, scissor that thing or something to see who was going to get it. Nah, I’m just teasing. But it’s just something that we came up with. Those guys are big-bodied players and just a way to get the ball in their hands and given them an opportunity to go down there and see if they could punch it in.”
Almost worked?
“It almost did. He reached the ball out.”
What are you going to remember about this senior class?
“That’s a great question. I think obviously up to this point this is the group that we probably spent the most time with. I just really think about just have they really bought into what we’re doing as a staff and as a program and obviously these guys, a lot of them, didn’t sign to play with us and they had some different circumstances that they had to go through in their career. But a great group of guys, particularly in my group. I can’t say enough about Kyle Trask. He’s been everything you could ask for that you want to coach in terms of, obviously, his performance and just who he is as a person, how he prepares, the standard that he sets for himself, how hard he practices, how hard he works, how he takes cares of his business. It’s been really rewarding to watch him go out and have a ton of success as a senior.”
Entire class was ready for a change? You’ve seen that before?
“Not really. Everywhere I’ve been the program had kind of been built so to speak. It wasn’t a new transition. It’s very, very unique to see those guys continue to grow and develop and put all the hard work and effort in to put themselves in position to go win the SEC.”
Will you FaceTime Feleipe Franks on senior night?
“Yeah, we’ll see, if he’s down for it. You know I love Feleipe. That’s my guy. Really proud of everything he’s accomplished this year. It was tough to see him hurt last week and not get a chance to play. But I thought he’s done a great job this year and he’s somebody I’m always really, really proud of. In my mind, he’s always a Gator, so I wish him the best. I have to do it from the booth because I’ll probably be up in the booth by them. See if I can FaceTime him.”
Are you part of the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches?
“I am not.”
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