Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, entering his sixth season as Tech’s coach and his 16th as a collegiate head coach, talked with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the coming season:

Q: What do you expect from the B-back position?

A: People talked about the production there, and we haven't had the type of single (player) production that (Jonathan Dwyer) or Anthony Allen had because they played a lot more. That position last year, David Sims was hurt for most of the year, but when you add those guys together — David, Zach Laskey, and those guys — they got about 1,300 (to) 1,400 yards. It's been about the same. Jon Dwyer was a great athlete, (as was) Anthony Allen. They're both in the NFL. Is David good enough to do that? I don't know. We'll see. I think we've got some good players there. I'm not worried about that position.

Q: What do ACC newcomers Pittsburgh and Syracuse need to know about the ACC?

A: I'm sure that their league was good, too, but week in and week out, I don't care who you play, when you line up, there really are no easy games now. It's a really good league. The strong point of the league since I've been here has been the balance. I don't know if we've had a marquee team at the top, but there's been a tremendous amount of balance in the league. If you're not ready to play, you'll get your tail beat real quickly.

Q: What do you foresee for the team’s use of the pistol formation?

A: There's a lot of teams that run it. We've really run some (shotgun) stuff. I wouldn't say that we've been much into the pistol. I guess you could call it that; there's variations of everything. We've had it a part of our offense a year ago. We may look at it, tweak a little bit, but we're going to do what we do. We won't be drastically changed from what we do.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Atlanta Dream players react after losing 87-85 in the first-round playoff game against the Indiana Fever at Gateway Center Arena on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Atlanta.  (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com