Visitors stir up Jackets

Published 12:07 am Wednesday, May 21, 2008

On Tuesday, Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson was in Whitfield County to let area fans and alumni know they should share his enthusiasm for the new direction of the program.

“I’m excited to be at Georgia Tech,” said Johnson, who joined the Yellow Jackets in December after six successful seasons at Navy. “I’m going to try my best to put out a good product and put us in a chance to win every game.”

Johnson joined men’s basketball coach Paul Hewitt, women’s basketball coach MaChelle Joseph, athletic director Dan Radakovich and broadcaster Wes Durham at The Farm in Rocky Face as part of Tech’s Spring Coaches Caravan, a tour that includes five stops around the state.

Although Johnson wants to win right away, he also realizes he’s dealing with a young team, as recently demonstrated at Tech’s spring game, where the offense struggled to adapt to Johnson’s spread offense.

But he warns fans shouldn’t read too deeply into that.

“Anytime you put one side of your team up against the other, you’re not going to be completely happy,” Johnson said. “It is what it is. Half our offensive line was out and the D-line, which did good, presented a bit of a mismatch. (Quarterback Josh) Nesbitt, (running back Jonathan) Dwyer and (running back) Roddy Jones were freshmen last season.”

Nesbitt will replace quarterback Taylor Bennett, who transferred to Louisiana Tech, and Dwyer and Jones will share the workload carried by Tashard Choice, who graduated and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. Though the team Johnson inherits is young, he believes they best fit his system.

“I don’t care what type of offense you have, if you have three freshman, there’s going to be an adjustment,” Johnson said. “Learning a new offense compounds that. But we have the guys we need.”

Hewitt said last year’s season, in which the Jackets failed to make the NCAA tournament, wasn’t a disappointment despite a 15-17 record.

“I thought we played well,” Hewitt said. “We improved throughout the season. (Maurice) Miller, (Zack) Peacock stepped their games up this year and the team did everything they were asked to do.”

Hewitt attributes his team’s sub-par performance to himself.

“I put those kids in a tough spot,” Hewitt said. “The problem was that I mismanaged our out-of-conference schedule, it was too strong. We played seven teams that made the tournament and six of those games were away from our home court. If you look at a team like Marquette, who made it to the second round, they only played two teams who made the tournament.

“I made the schedule thinking I’d keep (Javaris Crittenton or Thaddeus Young, who left after their freshman year for the NBA), but that’s obviously not what happened. (Radakovich) told me not to be so ambitious with the schedule.”

Looking forward, Hewitt is excited about the incoming class, which includes McDonald’s All-American Iman Shumpert, a 6-foot-4-inch combo guard from Oak Park, Ill., whom Hewitt says has a game similar to Crittenton’s.

On the women’s side, Joseph is coming off a 22-10 season — the most wins in the program’s tenure in the ACC — and a second straight tournament appearance. Entering her sixth season, she met all her goals of the five-year plan she proposed to then-athletic director David Braine, which included finishing in the top 20 and reaching the tournament.

“We made the tournament a year earlier than I had planned,” Joseph said. “I also wanted to be in a position to compete for a championship by years six, seven and eight and I think we’re getting there. Our last two recruiting classes have been top five in the country, and what they can bring to the table once they get some experience in ACC play, I think will be special.”