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closeATLANTA — In his first season at Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson accomplished something his immediate predecessor failed to do in six years: beat rival Georgia.
Earlier this month, the head coach completed another feat that had not been replicated by the three coaches before him when he went to Florida State and beat the Seminoles for the first time since the Yellow Jackets began playing at Doak Campbell Stadium in 1993.
And just last week, he realized yet another major achievement when his emotional team shut down the No. 4 Virginia Tech Hokies at an electric Bobby Dodd Stadium. It was the first time the Yellow Jackets had beaten a top-five ranked opponent at home in nine coaching administrations.
Just call Johnson the streak stopper.
“He’s just that type of person. He’s got such a winner’s attitude, and when you see that and his presence, you want to be part of that,” Georgia Tech linebacker Sedric Griffin said. “It really pulls you in, that winner’s attitude of his. I guess it just rubs off on all of us.”
A head coach who has revived Yellow Jackets fans hopes for success far and wide, Johnson has his program fully focused on charting a new course in its long history.
It is a history that has been filled with mostly good, some bad and a lot of in between. Johnson is hoping to make success synonymous with Georgia Tech.
This afternoon, the 52-year-old head coach will try to put an end to another of Georgia Tech’s losing streaks when he leads the No. 11 Yellow Jackets (6-1, 4-1 ACC) onto the field at Virginia’s Scott Stadium.
A hexing venue, the stadium is the site of eight straight Georgia Tech losses. The Yellow Jackets’ last win there came Nov. 3, 1990, when Virginia was ranked No. 1 nationally. Following that win and four others, Georgia Tech went on to claim a share of its fourth national title.
“Some of the guys on the team now weren’t born yet when Georgia Tech last got a win at Virginia,” said Griffin, who was two months shy of his own third birthday when the victory took place. “You just get sick of hearing ‘19 years since we won up there.’”
ERK PERSONIFIED
Johnson has made sure that statistic has gotten on his players’ nerves.
While some coaches might try to hide that type of information from their team and not allow the players to have any perspective on it, Johnson wants his team to know exactly what it is facing.
“He doesn’t shy away from the stuff that people talk about in terms of streaks,” A-back Roddy Jones said. “A lot of people might try to ignore it and act like it’s not there, but Coach kind of embraces it.”
Johnson has made sure to address the Yellow Jackets’ past eight trips as a way of reinforcing the serious nature of the game and why his team should feel some semblance of pride for wanting to win it.
Besides, he has said, this is a new group at Georgia Tech. Those previous years have nothing to do with the potential his team is waiting to unlock.
Asked just last week about the meaning of Saturday’s win over Virginia Tech — the first since the Yellow Jackets had gone 0-17-1 against top-five ranked opponents at home after beating then-No. 1 Alabama in 1962 — Johnson held firm in distancing himself from the past.
“No, we weren’t (0-17-1),” Johnson said of the current program. “I told the team (last Saturday) there were some things that mattered about the game and some things that didn’t: Where they (the Hokies) were ranked, the 0-17 and who thought you were going to win, none of that mattered because you don’t get any points for that. What mattered is who was going to block and tackle the best and who was going to take care of the ball and play the hardest.”
To defensive line coach Giff Smith, that type of talk sounds familiar.
“It’s not as much of what he says,” Smith said, “it’s his presence and his confidence. There’s an air about him that you feed on as a player and even as an assistant coach that you believe you’re going to win. He just has that unique ability to lead people. And whatever it is, whenever you walk on that field, you honestly believe you have the upper hand.”
Witnessing Johnson’s knack for energizing the Yellow Jackets before each big-game situation they encounter, Smith said his current head coach reminds him of his old college coach; the venerable Erk Russell.
A four-time national champion and inductee in the Sports Halls of Fame in Georgia and Alabama — his home state — Russell led Georgia Southern from 1981-1989.
As a freshman at Georgia Southern in 1986, Smith played under Russell and observed firsthand the Eagles’ fiery offensive coordinator that year — Johnson.
Although that would be Johnson’s final season at Georgia Southern, as he went on to become the offensive coordinator at Hawaii, he and Smith renewed acquaintances in 1991 when Smith was a graduate assistant at Arkansas, and in 1997 when Smith became the secondary at Georgia Southern in Johnson’s first head-coaching gig.
“Well, with Coach Russell, everybody used to always ask, ‘Well what does he say? What does he say?’ And it really was never what he said; you just never wanted to let him down,” Smith said. “He always found a way to put people in positions to be successful. Whatever you were good at, he could find a way to put you in that situation, and you never wanted to let him down.
“I think it’s the same thing (with Johnson). He presents it to the players that, ‘If we’ll do this or that, we’re going to win.’ So you know there’s accountability right there, and he expects for you to be accountable and to be right there. I don’t think our players or assistant coaches ever want to be in a position where we feel like we let him down. Because, we know with him, he’s going to put you in the best position to win the football game.”
GOING TO THE END
Things were looking bleak for Georgia Tech’s defense.
Already having allowed 400 first-half yards to Florida State, the Yellow Jackets needed some inspiration. They needed motivation to come out of the locker room and do better.
It needed a goal.
So Georgia Tech’s defenders made one. For the first time in recent memory, they outlined a plain, simple goal they could all understand.
“One stop,” Griffin said, “and we’ll win the game.”
In the first half against Florida State three weeks ago, Griffin and his defensive teammates had a tough time preventing the Seminoles from converting on third downs and finding their way into the end zone. Fortunately for them, the Yellow Jackets’ offense was just as prolific, scoring just as quickly.
But then, in the third quarter, it finally happened.
For the first time all game, the defense held. It stopped the Seminoles on third down and forced an incomplete pass. A missed field goal later, and the Yellow Jackets’ slim lead was preserved.
The next drive, after another Seminoles drive stalled on third down, the Yellow Jackets continued to hold onto a tight lead en route to a 49-44 victory.
“We were so torn as a defense,” Griffin said.
Despite the victory, the defense had still allowed 539 yards of total offense, a fact that continues to bug Yellow Jackets defenders.
“We know we’re playing for this man, Coach Johnson, and we know he’ll go to the end with us, so we’re going to go to the end with him. So we had to get a stop,” Griffin said. “We’re a goal-oriented team. We even set a goal at halftime.
“Somebody like that, you just want to win for them.”
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