Notes: Paul Johnson not rushing to find assistant

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has a fuller plate than usual. On top of filling in for Brian Bohannon, the former quarterbacks and B-backs coach who was named Kennesaw State’s first coach, Johnson also has to find Bohannon’s replacement.

Asked Wednesday after Tech’s second practice if he’ll wait until after spring practice ends to hire a new assistant, Johnson replied, “I don’t know. I guess it depends on how tired I get in practice.”

Johnson said he hadn’t talked with anyone about the opening and acknowledged that with many teams in the midst of spring practice, it’s not an ideal time to hire and educate a new coach.

“So if we get it done in the next week or two, that’ll be cool,” he said. “If we don’t do it till after spring, I’m all right with that.”

Johnson wouldn’t specify that the new assistant would coach quarterbacks and B-backs, as Bohannon did.

“It could be anything,” he said. “When you have an opening, you can move and mix and match.”

He was equally reticent on addressing the possible candidacy of A-backs coach Lamar Owens, who played quarterback for Johnson at Navy.

“There’s a lot of guys that you’d consider,” he said.

Slow progress: New defensive line coach Mike Pelton's assessment of the first two days of spring practice was about what you would expect for a new coach teaching a different style of play inside of a new scheme.

“It’s been interesting,” he said. “We’ve got some work to do.”

Pelton did credit the group for hard work and willingness to learn. After three seasons in the 3-4, Tech has reverted to the 4-3 with new coordinator Ted Roof. Among the candidates are Shawn Green and Adam Gotsis at nose tackle, Euclid Cummings, Pat Gamble and Francis Kallon at defensive tackle and Jeremiah Attaochu, Emmanuel Dieke, Anthony Williams, Chaz Cheeks, Nick Menocal and Chris Crenshaw at end.

“We’re basically just trying to figure out where guys are going,” Pelton said. “We’ve moved some pieces around and see how it works out.”

One of the main lessons Pelton is trying to impart is a more aggressive approach off the snap, rather than the read-and-react tactics used in the 3-4 of former coordinator Al Groh.

Said Pelton, “It’s a little bit of an adjustment, but I think they’ll all enjoy it a little bit more once they get in pads and they understand and they start seeing the benefits of it.”

Spring break: Quarterback Vad Lee raved about the time he spent over spring break training with quarterback tutor George Whitfield along with Clemson quarterbacks Tajh Boyd and Chad Kelly, among others. He took home a few mechanical takeaways.

“Some things I’m working on is just stepping into my throws, getting my front elbow out of the way so the ball can come stronger and harder, and not always just using my arm,” he said. He has gotten away with it in the past, but “now I’m trying to settle down and use my fundamentals and mechanics so it can become easier and can become much better.”

Wide receiver Darren Waller opted to stay home over spring break and shuttled between his home in Cobb County and campus to continue his workouts. Last year, he said, he went to the beach and saw his conditioning lapse.