Football practice won't begin until July 30 at Georgia Tech, but the Yellow Jackets and new coach Paul Johnson and his staff have been busy.

All 19 incoming freshman are in summer school, and most - or all - players are working out regularly under the supervision of the strength and conditioning staff although they can only practice on the field on their own.

With four commitments last weekend, Tech is recruiting in-state as aggressively as in years. Seven of the nine players who have already committed are from Georgia.

Johnson talked about in-state recruiting and other issues in a Q & A with Tech beat writer Matt Winkeljohn.

Q: Is the talent pool deeper in Georgia this year, or do you have separate reasons to recruit so hard in-state?

A: I think that it's important that we cover our bases in-state. If it's close, then I want to take the in-state kids. If we've got outstanding players somewhere else that fit a need then I don't have a problem going there, but I'm not going to fly over these guys to get somebody who's the same.

If you want to develop rivalries, and get some pride, the kids who are around and know about it will probably have a lot more to do about it. There are a lot of good kids in Georgia, and if we can get guys that can make it academically ... we should. I think it's a deep class.

Q: Seems like good business sense, too.

A: Tech's not a big school. We don't have half the students that the University of Georgia has, and Tech alumni tend to migrate all across the country. Somebody told me if you took every Tech alum within a 200-mile radius they couldn't fill the stadium so we need a fan base from wherever. The best way to do that is if you take local kids that people know and their families follow.

Q: Some Tech fans like to suggest that Tech and Georgia recruit different players in the state? True or false?

A: Not really. Maybe at some positions. We didn't recruit either of the quarterbacks they recruited; they didn't recruit ours. Well, that's not true. They're recruiting a couple of the same guys but for different positions. Some of the line guys [who have committed to Tech] they recruited, and we recruited [some of the line guys who have committed to Georgia].

A lot of it comes into evaluation; beauty comes in the eye of the beholder. We're recruiting for what our needs, and they're recruiting for their needs, but certainly there is some crossover.

Q: How may players do you intend to sign next February?

A: I think it's going to be 22 or 23. It depends on a few things, but I doubt we will get to 25.

Q: Will the injured players who missed spring practice, like linebacker Shane Bowen and offensive linemen Cord Howard and A.J. Smith, be ready for summer practice? Anybody going to be out?

A: They should all be back. [Running back/punt returner] Tyler Evans has had shoulder surgery, and will not play this fall. He'll be out this season.

Q: Some players have left in recent months because of academic issues, personal reasons, and even a decision to give up football just because it no longer was exciting, yet many perceive there to be a high attrition rate attributable to your new offense. Most of the departing players were on that side of the ball. Fair perception or not?

A: The only people I can think of who actually left for football reasons are [tight end] Colin Peek [who transferred to Alabama], and the quarterback who graduated [Taylor Bennett, who will play at Louisiana Tech].

His decision had something to do with the system, but also with the fact that the younger guys were going to beat him out. I think he knows that Josh [Nesbitt] fits this better than he does.

Q: Josh suffered with a groin injury during much of spring practice. Will he begin the summer No. 1, or does that go to walk-on Bryce Dykes, who had a nice spring?

A: Clearly, Josh is the guy that we tried to push in that direction, but he's going to have to win the job. I'm not going to hand it to him.

Q: How can he help himself now?

A: Just being around this summer, and putting in an effort. He's in summer school, and all those quarterbacks need to be in here watching tape. They're working this summer. They have to do it by themselves [on the field, because of NCAA rules]. They know the plays. They can go out and set up a seven-on-seven, and they can watch tape. If they come watch tape, we can watch tape with them.

Q: Is he putting in the work?

A: I've seen him some, but I'm in and out so I'm sure I don't see him all the time. We've still got a large part of the summer left. I've seen guys in there, not only Josh. All those guys need to be in here watching tape, not just Josh.

Q: Where do you have depth issues?

A: We're still at a point where I'm not sure where the depth is. There's a huge falloff because we're still at a scholarship shortage. We're going to play this fall with 74 scholarships [the NCAA maximum is 85]. It's a really young team.

The one area where we've got some experienced veteran players is the defensive line, and if you could pick one area to do that it would be a good one. If we can get everybody back out there healthy on the offensive line, we'll have some experience there. Not a great deal, but some.

We're going to have some freshmen play, or be on the depth chart, but I don't know who. By sheer numbers, we're going to have to.

Q: Are you chomping at the bit to play, or biding time and enjoying your move to Atlanta?

A: I think you're always chomping, but ... I take a day or a half day here or there, play some golf. We'll get away to [his native] North Carolina for four or five days for the 4th of July.

Q: How're you hitting 'em?

A: Right now, I'm awful. The nature of the business is that most of the time when you get to play it's in scrambles and things of that nature that don't do a lot for your game. I'd say I'm a nine [handicap] right now.

Q: If you could chose any three to fill out a foursome, who would you tab?

A: Tiger Woods would be one. Probably Jack Nicklaus. Maybe John Daly. That would be fun.