Georgia Tech enters the 2016 season following two diametrically opposing seasons, the 11-3 joyride in 2014 and the 3-9 catastrophe last season. As the Yellow Jackets gathered Wednesday night for a team meeting at their hotel, a day before they took the practice field for the first time Thursday, coach Paul Johnson tried to put the past in its place.
“Neither one matters,” Johnson said Thursday following the team’s first practice, revisiting the message he gave to the team the night before. “It doesn’t matter. Every year’s a new start and a fresh start, and you’ve got to develop your own identity.”
Following the poorest season at Tech since 1994, Johnson wants the team to be spurred by 2015, but not to let it be defining. While the Jackets were picked to finish sixth in the ACC Coastal Division in a preseason media poll, Johnson reminded players that they stand at even ground.
“There’s very few things in life that you get a clean slate on, that you get to just start over,” he said. “And you don’t have any wins, any losses, there’s no fumbles. If you’re a (defensive back), no one’s caught one over your head, you haven’t missed any tackles. It’s always refreshing to get a fresh start.”
To that end, Johnson challenged the team to begin creating the sort of habits and identity that will lead to success. He told players that he wanted them to use the first two weeks of camp — before the team begins to dial in for the opener against Boston College — to set a tone for the season.
“Hard work, blue collar, high energy, attention to detail,” he said. “All those things. Worry about yourself. I could care less about who we’re playing or what we’re playing or whatever.”
Johnson’s hope is that players can take over from there to carry out the charge. That responsibility could fall to seniors such as quarterback Justin Thomas, defensive tackle Patrick Gamble, center Freddie Burden and linebacker P.J. Davis, among others.
“It’s either a player-driven team or a coach-driven team,” he said. “And the better teams I’ve been around are player-driven, where they have high expectations and they want to succeed and hold each other accountable.”
Johnson has been encouraged by the work ethic and chemistry that he saw from the team in the spring. He recognized that the praise and hullaballoo that players experienced after winning the Orange Bowl in 2014 didn’t help. The eye-opening 2015 season could be more profitable. He noted the lessons of the season taught to freshmen such as B-back Marcus Marshall, wide receiver Brad Stewart and safety A.J. Gray, all of whom played significantly in their first season in college.
“I would fully suspect that Marcus Marshall, after having an offseason and a year of playing, he knows what he’s walking into far better now than he did a year ago,” Johnson said.
Johnson sounded almost incredulous at the numbers that the team has at quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line, among other places. None of the 105 players practicing in Friday’s afternoon humidity were in red jerseys as players who were being held out of practice because of injury. Johnson said it was the first time in a long time that was the case.
“We’ve got more guys that have played,” he said. “Now, can we transition that to performance on the field?”
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