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Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Paul Johnson’s summer: setting a template
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credibility King here …
Sat a spell this morning with Paul Johnson. Much of our discussion will run in a Q & A that should be online soon (longer version online than in tomorrow’s paper). More if it will be in a Sunday notebook.
Plenty of material about recruiting in-state that I think Tech fans will embrace.
The only player he could say who will be knocked out by injury this summer (and all season) was Tyler Evans. He suffered a shoulder/collarbone injury in the spring that has required surgery.
We talked some about walk-ons. He really wants to ramp up Tech’s walk-on program, and said walk-ons were very, very good to him at Georgia Southern.
That relates, somewhat, to the idea of redshirting. Ideally, he said, you’d get to where you could redshirt all freshmen, but then again you’re going to have some who are so talented that they have to play as true freshmen, in part because there’s a chance they’re only going to be on campus three years.
Adrian Peterson once redshirted, and Johnson said of the former GSU running back, “I guarantee you he was better as a fifth-year senior than he would have been as a freshman.”
Well, if you put it that way, I can hardly disagree.
This fall, though, not as much redshirting to happen as Johnson would one day like. Why? Simple. Numbers. He said Tech will play with 74 scholarships this fall, and 54 or 55 will be freshmen and sophomores. There’s simply a shortage of bodies in the upper classes because of attrition, injuries, transfers, [EDIT ADD HERE ON BEHALF OF QUAILDAWG], NCAA infractions, etc.
More to come on Sunday, including some detail on in-state recruiting strategies.
Matt
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