Transcript: Florida Gators Brian Johnson on the East's Best Offense, Creating Game Plans and Franks
Florida Gators Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson met with local media on Monday. He recapped the game plan used to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs, how he prepares for defenses with one of the country's best offense's at his disposal and what it will be like to face former Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks on Saturday night.
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NEEDED TO WIN 1-ON-1 JUMP BALLS LAST WEEK, HOW PLEASED WITH SOME OF THE CATCHES VS. UGA?
"Yeah, they did a great job. We talked about it all week. We had to make contested catches to go out there and perform, because you're going to get match coverage and you're going to have to make plays against really good players. We were able to do that and score some points."
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO TRY TO GET BETTER EVERY WEEK DOWN THE STRETCH?
"Yeah I think that's obviously extremely important. We talk about it all the time, just playing at a high level on a consistent basis and consistency of performance, going out there and executing and doing what you're supposed to do every single snap. So obviously you never want to peak in the middle of the season, so the goal is to be playing your best ball and continue to build throughout the course of the season and execute at a really high level on a consistent basis."
WHAT ARE YOU SEEING FROM FELEIPE THIS YEAR?
"Yeah, he's having a great year. Really proud of him. Feleipe is like family to me. I love him to death so really excited for him. I know he's probably excited to get back here and get the chance to play in the Swamp, so he's done a great job all year long. He's had those guys playing some really good football."
LAST WEEK HE THREW A BOMB EFFORTLESSLY
"Yeah, I mean I've seen that in person plenty of times. His ability to throw that deep ball that he threw to the left corner last, I think that was last week I saw in the highlights, so yeah, he's extremely talented. Great player, great person and has a great family. I'm excited that he has an opportunity to go out there and showcase what he can do each and every week."
Guessing if Toney can out throw you now, Feleipe can too?
“For sure. I won’t even try to compete with those guys. They can have that.”
Do you keep in contact with Feleipe
“For sure. We have a great relationship. I still talk to him quite often. The reason you get into coaching is really about the relationships. Regardless if he’s here or not he’s someone we spent a lot of time with. He’s family to me. We keep in constant contact. I’m really proud of what he’s been able to accomplish this year. I’m looking forward to seeing him in person this weekend.”
On Arkansas defense
“Well, I mean, each game takes on its own personality. The thing (Arkansas) does a great job of doing is they play with great vision on the quarterback. They see the ball in front of them and they break and they tackle well. We have to do a good job of creating situations where we get our playmakers in space and just be really consistent in our execution. They’ve had some games where they’ve gotten multiple turnovers. We’ve gotta do a great job protecting the football and be ready to take what the defense gives us. If they stay over top you’ve gotta be ready to check the ball down and drive it. We may have to go on some longer drives but you just gotta play the game the right way. Trust your reads and trust your execution.”
Catch up with Feleipe before the game or wait until its over?
“I’ll see him, I’m sure I’ll see him out there warming up if he’s out there pregame. We talk almost every week, probably every other week. I’ve been keeping tabs on him. I’m glad to see he’s doing really, really well.”
Insight into second-half slowdowns? How avoid?
“I think the biggest thing is we weren’t on second and third down, particularly third down. Obviously, which is why we had to punt or kick a field goal. You know, we had some opportunities. We just have to be better. A couple things: we got obviously make some more plays, but we also have to be more aggressive, as well. You go back and forth because you absolutely want to play complimentary football, our defense was doing a great job of stopping those guys. So we get into a situation like that and that second half ball security really becomes a premium. We got to do a great job taking care of it. Obviously, we would have liked to have scored. A couple times I think we had some opportunities. We just have to do a better job being aggressive and making some plays.”
RB receiving? What do for all players to produce?
“I think that’s the beauty of our system and our offense of how we try to find ways to create matchups that are advantages for us. We were able to do that last week. This week’s a different game. The ball might go somewhere else this week. It’s really, really important that all five skill players contribute to the success of the offense. I think it makes it really hard on defenses to focus in on just one guy or try to take a certain thing away when you have the ability that whoever touches the ball has a chance to make a big play.”
Progression of Malik Davis? What expected?
“Yean, I mean we expect all our players to be super productive. Obviously he had some injuries early in his career that he’s done a fantastic job battling back and getting himself to a place where he’s really explosive and doing a great job understanding the game. I think Coach Knox does a fantastic job of getting those guys ready to play, them understanding what they’re sending. And they do a fantastic job of making plays when the job comes their way. It’s a very, very unselfish group. All three guys go in there and do their job and are happy when anybody makes a play. That’s what you want in your team, really, really proud to be a part of that.”
Different plays out of the same set? Do you know which one will work each game?
“You have a good idea throughout the week as you implement your game plan in terms of OK, where are your matchups, how do you want to attack the defense. As the game goes along, you want to try to find different ways to exploit that matchup and be ready to adjust when they adjust. It’s definitely a back and forth, and we were able to get that done. Each game takes on its own personality, just the style of defense that they played just happened that way where we created some matchups and the tailback was able to win some one on ones.”
Wheel route always open?
“Always.”
O-line depth?
“Yeah, props to the offensive line. Coach Hevesy does a great job of developing, getting those guys ready to play. I was excited for them to get an opportunity and I’m sure they’re just as excited to get in and showcase what they can do. That’s a part of the game, but it’s nice when we have guys that can come in and step up and perform at a high level when their number’s called.”
Long-term depth? Ethan White contributing?
“Yeah, for sure. Obviously, experience is life’s best teacher. The more you play, the better you get. It was good to get those guys in and they all have really, really bright futures here at Florida. It was good for them to go in there and kind of get a taste of what real SEC football is.”
Route combo you love?
“I think you kind of go back … obviously we made some plays on the tailback coming out of the backfield. I think it’s just everyone having a great understanding of the defensive leverage and how the ball should come. For example, the play that stands out the most if not even the wheel route. It’s probably the touchdown to Pitts, when he threw the go route right off the right hash. Based on how that defender was playing him, he was obviously kind of playing for a back shoulder and he was kind of trailing Pitts, thinking we would just back shoulder up high to him, and Kyle saw it and threw it over the top and he was able to make the play. I kind of go back to saying it’s part art, part science. The biggest thing is when you’re playing man coverage, throw it where they ain’t. Throw it away from the defense, give our guy a chance to make the play and we were able to do that.”
Kyle Pitts questionable, Gamble and Zip benefit from more attention in practice this week? Confidence level in them?
“I’m extremely confident in those guys. They came in and played really well and made plays. Kemore got the touchdown, Zip had a huge play on a corner route early in the game, when we had to make an explosive play to get us down in the redzone, so there’s no doubt in my mind that those guys will be ready to play. Coach Brewster is one of the best tight end coaches in all of America, and those guys practice really hard and they showed when they got out on the field they were able to make some plays.”
Justin Shorter development?
“Justin does a great job, he’s extremely physical. He’s caught two touchdown passes the last couple weeks, he practices really, really hard .He’s an excellent contributor on special teams as well. He’s a big, powerful, strong, fast guy that can really make plays, so it’s been a pleasure to have him here and watch him continue to grow and develop.”
Most weapons you’ve had on a team?
“We have a couple good players, so great players make good coaches, so I never lose sight of that. I think it’s just a fantastic group of guys to be around that love football and a really, really good coaching staff that loves developing football players, and everything’s kind of in sync right now. The challenge is to, like we say, remain consistent and continue to have great habits at practice and have that translate to the game.”
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