Indiana University Athletics
Kevin Johns Quotes August 9th
8/9/2016 5:16:00 PM | Football
How do you make sure that you're tailoring work so individuals can get what they need?
Johns: That's exactly what we're trying to do. We need to make sure that we're getting the right quarterbacks the right plays, the right blocking schemes, whether we need more movement throws for one guy or more screens. Certain guys might be better at run-pass options than others. So for us, that's still what we're trying to do now, to determine who can do what, and they start to accentuate some of those positives that they can do.
Coach Wilson has said what's important for him in the offense isn't big plays, but managing the offense and preventing turnovers and keeping things on schedule. Is that part of these individual assessments, and does that aspect of the game reveal itself?
Johns: It does. I think that's always the number one goal of any quarterback: can you put your team into the end zone? If you do that, you're going to limit turnovers, limit sacks, and keep us out of negative plays. There's an 'it' factor to it, there's some command presence they have to have. Those are all things we're looking for. Our defense is going to be way better this year, so we don't need to put our quarterback in a situation where they have to win the game for us every week. We need them to manage the game, not necessarily go win the game.
What are you seeing from Mitchell Paige?
Johns: I see a driven young man, a kid that's really ready to make his senior year the best year ever. We're really asking him to take a more vocal leadership role than he has in the past. He has it within him, he's a natural leader, and I think he's embraced it.
What have you seen from J-Shun Harris II and his return from the sidelines?
Johns: I think J-Shun is back, I really do. He looks really fast and explosive. For us, we wanted to see him get hit, to see him make live change-of-direction cuts and playing in a competitive environment. Seven-on-seven where nobody is touching you is way different than when you put pads on and actually play the game. I really think he's back, he's doing a lot of good things.
Nick Westbrook was a guy who got some playing time last season, and he's had a good summer. How is he doing at fall camp?
Johns: He's doing well. He's carried from where his summer was, and he actually won an award through our strength staff for having the most gains over the summer on our entire team. He's playing like it now. He's playing in a bigger, more physical role and making plays. He's playing with a lot of confidence, and we expect him to do a lot of big things this year.
How far has Luke Timian come from this point to a year ago?
Johns: Light years. I think he's a lot like Nick Westbrook in that they're both doing really good things. I go back to what I said at the beginning of the year: I don't think we have twos. I think Nick Westbrook and Luke can step up and play as well as the ones can. Right now, J-Shun Harris backs up Mitchell Paige, but if J-Shun ran out in his place I don't think we'd miss a beat. I think we've created some depth there and all of those guys have worked hard and are embracing each other. We're going to try to play as fast as we can and wear people out.
How do those second-tier guys carve out a role for themselves when your top three receivers are all returning?
Johns: It's going to be tough, because there's only one ball. Our goal every single week is to play fast and wear people down. They know we'll go three, four, or five plays and make wholesale changes by bringing brand new guys out there. We're going to continue to do that over and over. The balls, catches, and stats will shake out however they shake out, we're just going to go out and play fast.
What makes Greg Frey such a great coach?
Johns: He sets such a high standard, and he holds his kids to that standard. He demands excellence, he demands physical play and toughness. When he doesn't see that, he fixes it and gets it right. He does a great job with that. He's a great mentor to those kids and does a phenomenal job teaching leadership and life lessons through football. More than anything else, he's going to create physicality and toughness, and if he doesn't get it he'll drill it until he gets it, or they won't play.
How has Richard Lagow progressed with working on his footwork in this week of practice?
Johns: He has come a long way, and still has miles to go, but he has gotten a lot better. He's always been a big, long strider as a taller guy, so we're trying to shorten his strides a bit and compact the motion. He's worked really hard at that.
Is Zander Diamont's arm a little stronger with another year of experience?
Johns: I think so. Really with him, it wasn't so much his arm strength as it is him learning to use his lower half and his legs. He's always had a strong arm, so he's relied on his arm so much. Once he learns how to better use his lower half he can be that much better and stronger.
How does your run game take pressure off of a new and young quarterback?
Johns: There's no doubt about it. Every single year it starts with our run game and those big guys up front, and that's who Coach Wilson is. It doesn't matter who our quarterback is—it was that way last year with Nate Sudfeld—we're going to run the football. Everything else comes off of that. We have some veteran offensive lineman, good running backs, tight ends and receivers. We're not going to ask our quarterback to win the game play after play, we're going to ask him to manage the game. We did the same thing with Nate, really, so we're going to do what we always do. We're going to find a way to run the ball.
Johns: That's exactly what we're trying to do. We need to make sure that we're getting the right quarterbacks the right plays, the right blocking schemes, whether we need more movement throws for one guy or more screens. Certain guys might be better at run-pass options than others. So for us, that's still what we're trying to do now, to determine who can do what, and they start to accentuate some of those positives that they can do.
Coach Wilson has said what's important for him in the offense isn't big plays, but managing the offense and preventing turnovers and keeping things on schedule. Is that part of these individual assessments, and does that aspect of the game reveal itself?
Johns: It does. I think that's always the number one goal of any quarterback: can you put your team into the end zone? If you do that, you're going to limit turnovers, limit sacks, and keep us out of negative plays. There's an 'it' factor to it, there's some command presence they have to have. Those are all things we're looking for. Our defense is going to be way better this year, so we don't need to put our quarterback in a situation where they have to win the game for us every week. We need them to manage the game, not necessarily go win the game.
What are you seeing from Mitchell Paige?
Johns: I see a driven young man, a kid that's really ready to make his senior year the best year ever. We're really asking him to take a more vocal leadership role than he has in the past. He has it within him, he's a natural leader, and I think he's embraced it.
What have you seen from J-Shun Harris II and his return from the sidelines?
Johns: I think J-Shun is back, I really do. He looks really fast and explosive. For us, we wanted to see him get hit, to see him make live change-of-direction cuts and playing in a competitive environment. Seven-on-seven where nobody is touching you is way different than when you put pads on and actually play the game. I really think he's back, he's doing a lot of good things.
Nick Westbrook was a guy who got some playing time last season, and he's had a good summer. How is he doing at fall camp?
Johns: He's doing well. He's carried from where his summer was, and he actually won an award through our strength staff for having the most gains over the summer on our entire team. He's playing like it now. He's playing in a bigger, more physical role and making plays. He's playing with a lot of confidence, and we expect him to do a lot of big things this year.
How far has Luke Timian come from this point to a year ago?
Johns: Light years. I think he's a lot like Nick Westbrook in that they're both doing really good things. I go back to what I said at the beginning of the year: I don't think we have twos. I think Nick Westbrook and Luke can step up and play as well as the ones can. Right now, J-Shun Harris backs up Mitchell Paige, but if J-Shun ran out in his place I don't think we'd miss a beat. I think we've created some depth there and all of those guys have worked hard and are embracing each other. We're going to try to play as fast as we can and wear people out.
How do those second-tier guys carve out a role for themselves when your top three receivers are all returning?
Johns: It's going to be tough, because there's only one ball. Our goal every single week is to play fast and wear people down. They know we'll go three, four, or five plays and make wholesale changes by bringing brand new guys out there. We're going to continue to do that over and over. The balls, catches, and stats will shake out however they shake out, we're just going to go out and play fast.
What makes Greg Frey such a great coach?
Johns: He sets such a high standard, and he holds his kids to that standard. He demands excellence, he demands physical play and toughness. When he doesn't see that, he fixes it and gets it right. He does a great job with that. He's a great mentor to those kids and does a phenomenal job teaching leadership and life lessons through football. More than anything else, he's going to create physicality and toughness, and if he doesn't get it he'll drill it until he gets it, or they won't play.
How has Richard Lagow progressed with working on his footwork in this week of practice?
Johns: He has come a long way, and still has miles to go, but he has gotten a lot better. He's always been a big, long strider as a taller guy, so we're trying to shorten his strides a bit and compact the motion. He's worked really hard at that.
Is Zander Diamont's arm a little stronger with another year of experience?
Johns: I think so. Really with him, it wasn't so much his arm strength as it is him learning to use his lower half and his legs. He's always had a strong arm, so he's relied on his arm so much. Once he learns how to better use his lower half he can be that much better and stronger.
How does your run game take pressure off of a new and young quarterback?
Johns: There's no doubt about it. Every single year it starts with our run game and those big guys up front, and that's who Coach Wilson is. It doesn't matter who our quarterback is—it was that way last year with Nate Sudfeld—we're going to run the football. Everything else comes off of that. We have some veteran offensive lineman, good running backs, tight ends and receivers. We're not going to ask our quarterback to win the game play after play, we're going to ask him to manage the game. We did the same thing with Nate, really, so we're going to do what we always do. We're going to find a way to run the ball.
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