After starting at right guard for two seasons for Georgia Tech, Ryan Johnson has been busy preparing for Tech’s upcoming pro day and a shot at the NFL.
But while his attention is focused on the future, Johnson has made time to check up on his former team, in particular right tackle Jordan Williams, the teammate he had played alongside for two seasons.
The two both arrived in 2020, Johnson as a grad transfer from Tennessee and Williams as a freshman from Gainesville High. Beyond playing side by side on the right side of the line, the two grew tight, Williams soaking up the wisdom shared by Johnson. And when Johnson stopped by the team’s spring-practice workout on Saturday, he saw that the baton had been passed.
“It’s really cool seeing him take over as the leader and how much he’s improved, how much the guys respect him, how much he’s grown and really taken control, taken the bull by the horns, so to speak,” Johnson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.
For two seasons, Williams had the benefit of having linemen like Johnson, Devin Cochran and Mikey Minihan, among others, to follow and learn from. As Williams goes into his third season at Tech, the eyes are now on him.
“It’s different, for sure, when most of the attention is on you now and you’re not really used to it,” Williams said. “You’re just used to going out there and playing. But I am trying to get a hang of this leader thing.”
Williams is the lone returning full-time starting offensive lineman for the Jackets, now in their first full week of spring practice. His 17 career starts are the most within the position group and he is easily the most accomplished lineman that offensive-line coach Brent Key has recruited to Tech out of high school. His leadership and productivity will be counted on a line that is mostly young and inexperienced.
“He’s starting to reach that potential that we’ve always talked about,” Key said. “And now it’s not really potential. It’s turning it into a product on the field and that’s why I’ve been really happy with him.”
Williams was a starter from the start of the 2020 season even as he had a lot to learn about the college game. Johnson, who had played 36 games for the Volunteers before coming to Tech as a grad transfer, proved a godsend as a teammate and mentor. Whether they were at the lunch table, in the position meeting room or about to line up for the next play, Williams could turn to Johnson for help with the Jackets’ scheme, a technique or anything else.
“If that's over a text message, over a call, hot tub, it didn't matter where we were. If we wanted to talk ball, we would talk ball."
The partnership was based on far more than sharing a position group and the right side of the line.
“We got along very well,” Johnson said. “I love people who work hard, and Jordan busts his butt every day. So that’s a very easy person to get along with, in my opinion.”
Williams’ play improved in 2021 as he gained familiarity with the scheme and adjusted to the speed of the college game. Even in Tech’s season-ending loss to eventual national champion Georgia, for instance, while the Jackets’ offense often flailed, Williams was consistent in carrying out his assignments and keeping his man off of quarterback Jordan Yates.
“Coming in as a freshman, the game goes faster, the game’s more complex and it hits you like drinking out of a firehose instead of out of a spigot,” Johnson said. “To me, that was the biggest improvement, is everything seemed to slow down for him. He was able to take it all in, understand what was going on rather than just his little world.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Williams built on that progress with work in the team’s offseason strength and conditioning program, Key said. Listed at 333 pounds, the 6-foot-6 Williams is down to 305 pounds, Key said.
“He’s leaned himself up, he’s strong,” Key said. “I’m expecting a really good year out of him.”
Said Williams, “It was really me losing a little weight, like dropping body fat, putting it back on with muscle, getting faster, more explosive in the offseason. Just whatever (strength and conditioning coach Lewis Caralla) says, I do it 100%, give it everything and it’s paying off.”
Williams said he has been energized by the new offensive scheme being taught by new offensive coordinator Chip Long, who has replaced Dave Patenaude.
“Coach Long’s a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more tempo,” Williams said. “That’s pretty much the only change. Coach Key’s still preaching the same stuff. It’s more in detail. We’ve got a little bit more stuff we can do, but that’s about it.”
To players like offensive tackles Wing Green and Jakiah Leftwich, Williams will try to be the leader that Johnson was to him.
“I would have to give it to ‘Hoss’ – Ryan Johnson – just for teaching me basically how to coach up other people and telling ‘em how to step with the right foot,” Williams said. “It just links up with what coach Key is telling me. If I know it on the spot, I can help translate it to the other tackles instantly.”
Johnson is eager to see his protégé's role in it, saying he has “unbelievable potential” because of his intelligence, work ethic, size and athletic ability.
“God gives people different gifts,” Johnson said. “To Jordan, he gave him athletic ability and he gave him a hard work ethic. And Jordan doesn’t take any of that for granted. He works hard and to me, that’s what makes a player. You take advantage of the potential that you have. I look forward to seeing Jordan having a very great, very long career. Where that takes him, I don’t know. What I can tell you is he’s got the potential to go a very long way.”
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