Johnson's play-calling draws praise

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It was just another play in a scrimmage, but it made an impression.

During the T-Day game this spring, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson asked his offensive players if they wanted to score a touchdown.

The answer was obvious.

Johnson gave them a play ... boom, touchdown.

Nobody remembers the play. They just remember the moment.

While the ACC and the country marveled at what the Yellow Jackets accomplished last season while going 9-4 in Johnson’s first season on The Flats, no one was more impressed with his “freaky” knowledge of his spread-option offense than his players. Now they are ready for the second season, which begins at 1 p.m. Saturday against Jacksonville State at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

“The fact that he calls plays out of the middle of nowhere, just making something up just like that,” B-back Jonathan Dwyer said. “And then they can’t stop it. It’s kind of weird and kind of freaky, but it’s exciting to see.”

Dwyer would know. He benefited from Johnson’s ability to almost instantly recognize what a defense is trying to do, and then find the counter in his mental database. As Johnson says, there’s not too many things he hasn’t seen tried against its offense, but he’s also quick to point out, “physical superiority cancels all theory.”

Nevertheless, his uncanny ability to call the right plays at the right time is reminiscent of Steve Spurrier when he was at Florida, or Tom Osborne at Nebraska. And, as has been noted, he does it without the poster-board sized collection of information that other coaches haul around on the sidelines during games with facts on plays, down, distance, tendencies, etc. All Johnson needs is what’s in that mental database.

“Paul’s a great play-caller,” Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe said. “He’s going to know what you are doing and attack what you are doing. Not many play-callers are on the sideline anymore. He’s got eyes upstairs, but he’s directing in on the field in the moment and without a scratch pad. Very intuitive.

“This thing has caught on. I expect other people to imitate him, but you can’t imitate his experience.”

That experience and confidence feeds the players. A-back Roddy Jones said he can see Johnson drawing up stuff on the sidelines, and they’ll run it and it works.

“Like the Georgia game,” Jones said, “some of the stuff we did that game he just drew it up on the sideline, and we went out and ran it — and ran it down their throats pretty good.”

Ahh, the Georgia game.

Trailing the Bulldogs by 16 at Sanford Stadium and having allowed more passing yards in two quarters than in any previous game, the Jackets went to the locker room at halftime having been outgained 318 yards to 142.

Johnson told his players not to worry, they were going to be fine.

There’s not a football coach anywhere who wouldn’t have said the same thing, but an offense that was in trouble suddenly came to life.

On the first play of the third quarter, Dwyer went 60 yards for a touchdown. The comeback was on. Johnson said later he didn’t think Tech was going to score on the first play. Two more touchdowns in a six-minute span, followed by a field goal, gave Tech a 38-28 lead. The offense produced 286 yards in the second half.

“This is not his first road trip,” Dwyer said. “He knows what he’s doing. I’m just excited to play with him — and about this coming season.”

Quarterbacks and B-backs coach Brian Bohannon has worked with Johnson for the past 12 seasons. It has taken a while, but Bohannon said he can get a feel for where Johnson is going with calls, especially when the team is having success.

“What Coach does a great job with is the timing of what he does,” Bohannon said. “There’s a list of plays, but the timing of when you call them. ... he has a great knack on Saturdays of when to call things. I think a lot of that is just two to three plays ahead sometimes.”

Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack agrees, saying that during scrimmages, when you think you’ve figured out a tendency, Johnson will suddenly change.

“He does amaze me sometimes,” Wommack said. “What he can do, is he can adjust it so fast. He sees everything that’s going on both sides of the ball. It’s a gift, and he’s developed that gift. I’m glad I’m on his side.”