Johnson has made believers out of Tech faithful

The sky was blue, the scoreboard read Georgia Tech 38, Mississippi State 7 and Jim Sanders heard the same thing again and again from fellow Tech fans.

“Everyone was saying, ‘We’ve got to make sure we keep this guy,’ ” said Sanders, an Atlanta marketing manager who has had season tickets from the time he graduated in 1988. “You never heard that in the two regimes before.”

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Johnny Crawford/jcrawford@ajc.com

Fans are drawn to Tech coach Paul Johnson’s intensity and disciplined approach.

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Something appears to be changing for the old gold and white faithful. In just four games, new coach Paul Johnson — the “this guy” to whom the fans referred — has a growing legion of believers.

The impact is difficult to quantify; there are still plenty of tickets available for Saturday’s game against Duke, and the athletics department’s fund-raising arm isn’t taking the rest of the year off.

But fans and those involved with the team notice a distinct change in energy and attitude compared to years’ past.

Said Clynton Davis, an assistant general manager at Fox Sports Grill in Atlantic Station, where Johnson’s radio show has drawn more than 100 people for the past three shows, “They believe in him.”

Some of the excitement stems from simply having a new coach, a 3-1 record and the disaffection that Tech fans harbored for predecessor Chan Gailey.

But Johnson seems to be connecting with Jackets supporters in a more visceral way.

Johnson, Sanders said, “has struck a chord with what Tech is all about.”

Naturally, Tech athletics director Dan Radakovich, who hired Johnson, agrees. When Radakovich fired Gailey last November, he spoke of the need for a fan base that was “sufficiently energized and excited about where we’re going.”

Said Radakovich last week, “There’s just a positive vibe about Georgia Tech football.”

Fans are drawn to Johnson’s intensity and disciplined approach.

“Everybody I know, they’re excited, fired up,” said Jody Ledford, an alumnus and season-ticket holder from Thomasville.

A noticeable ticket sale increase may not happen until later this season. Attendance for Saturday’s Duke game might be in the same 46,000 range that it has been for Duke’s past two visits. The Sept. 20 game against Mississippi State drew 48,402, about 7,000 shy of capacity.

But the Florida State game (Nov. 1) is almost sold out. (Tech drew close to capacity for two games last year, Georgia and Clemson.) In the last week, the athletics department has sold about 1,000 tickets for the homecoming game against Virginia on Oct. 25.

Alumni chapters outside of Atlanta report that attendance for viewing parties has increased significantly from last season. Tech Internet message boards are unfailingly glowing in their praise of Johnson.

He has already aided Tech’s fund-raising through dozens of meetings with donors. Though it’s too early to compare this year’s donations previous years’.

“He is as good as it gets,” said Jack Thompson, Tech’s associate athletics director for development. “People really, really like Paul a lot.”

At Johnson’s weekly radio show, attendance has more than doubled from last year, said Davis.

“You can hear a pin drop when he speaks,” Davis said. “When he’s not speaking, it’s all clutter and people are talking what he’s talking about. There’s definitely a buzz, some electricity about it.”

Said defensive tackle Vance Walker, “I’ve talked to a lot of [students] and they really are excited. The atmosphere is a lot different than what it used to be.”

Johnson accepts that one of his roles is to create enthusiasm in the fan base.

“I think that’s part of being a coach,” he said. “There’s a lot of ways to do it. I think the best way to do that is to be productive on the field. That’s the bottom line.”

Fans see Johnson as successful, confident, a straight shooter and, not least of all, willing to embrace the rivalry with Georgia.

Shortly after his hiring, Johnson drew a roar of approval when he was introduced at halftime of a Tech basketball game and said, “The one thing I have learned in the (first) seven days is, ‘To Hell With Georgia.’ “

It was a departure from Gailey, who was perceived to not place enough emphasis on beating the rival Bulldogs.

Said Sanders, “For him to say that that night meant that he got it.”

In Johnson, some Tech alumni see one of their own. In espousing discipline, precision and an unwillingness to tolerate mistakes, Johnson’s football values correspond with those that Tech students and alumni have summoned academically.

“It takes hard work, dedication, commitment (to graduate),” said Jim Billhimer, an alumnus who has held season tickets since his graduation in 1985 and organizes game viewings in Columbus. “That’s the same thing he’s putting on the football field. There’s a lot of correlation there.”

Of course, if the Jackets lay an egg against Duke, or if they continue to lose to Georgia, things may change. And perhaps the true measure of excitement will be when Tech consistently sells out Bobby Dodd Stadium. Maybe the difference is that fans believe that time is coming.

“This feels so completely different,” Sanders. “This is what it’s supposed to feel like.”