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Published Aug 9, 2011
Coachs QA: Brian Bohannon
Kelly Quinlan
JacketsOnline.com Publisher
Georgia Tech assistant coach Brian Bohannon is in an unusual situation this fall. He has a wealth of options at both the quarterback and B-back positions he coaches. Bohannon talks about the quarterback race, how true freshman Vad Lee is faring and how the B-back competition is shaping up.
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You have a lot of competitions at your positions how is that going this fall?
It is going well, the work ethic and attitude of the quarterbacks and b-backs are great. They are all working hard and I think that is what competition creates. You have competition at quarterback and competition at B-back and they know they can't take a day off because they are going to lose their turn if they do. I am really impressed and pleased with their work ethic.
Here is the million-dollar question, how is Vad Lee doing?
Vad Lee has a tremendous work ethic and he is a great student of the game. He is eternally motivated to be the best quarterback he can be. He is the first one I have been around that has progressed this fast in something he hasn't done. Mind you that there are balls going everywhere and he is a freshman, but his attitude, work ethic and want to be good is amazing. He is a student of the game and he is up there all the time trying to learn. That is the most impressive thing. He has a calmness about him and great composure for a freshman. I am not even talking about athletic ability, just him as a person. We have to see how he develops as a player. He is a young buck and he has been here a week. People forget that because you hear all the accolades these kids get in recruiting but the kid has been here a week. He has the work ethic down. He is a tremendous worker and is very mature for a freshman.
Is the edge with Vad his ability to throw the ball and bring that dimension to this offense?
He has a natural knack for being in the pocket and seeing things. He has a natural knack for being able to anticipate throws. You can see that. In five minutes out there you can see that. That is something he does naturally. On the option end he is having to grind through that a little more because that is something he hasn't done as much. Very rarely do you get one who has done both well. Usually you get one or the other and you get them all up to speed. He is working his tail off to be the best quarterback he can be for Georgia Tech in all aspects.
How is the number two quarterback Synjyn Days doing?
He is doing well. Synjyn deal is that he sometimes has mental lapses and doesn't focus in on a regular basis and that is what we are fighting for everyday with him, positive plays. Synjyn when he runs the football can be effective in what we do, but he has to make sure he has positive plays. Don't turn the ball over and have negative plays.
It seems like Tevin Washington has become more outgoing and has calmed down a lot this fall.
He has a lot. It is funny in a meeting the other day Tevin usually doesn't say anything, but he said a couple of smart aleck comments to me in a good way. For him I was like wow. He has shown a lot of leadership this summer and the kids respect him for his effort and time he has put in to both get better for himself and help everyone else get better. There is something to be said for that.
How is Demond Smith doing?
Demond is learning. He is a freshman and he is learning and has some ability, but he is a little behind the learning curve and we will see how that goes.
Can you break down each of the four main B-backs?
Right now Preston (Lyons) is the starter. Over time he has been the most consistent blocking which is something we place a huge emphasis on at that position. Right now he earned that job and that is where he is at. Charles Perkins is the number two B-back right now and he has a lot of ability running the ball, but he is still learning the game a little bit this spring and he is coming into his own. He made hasn't had the opportunity to do some of the things we think he can do. The area he needs to improve is blocking. Richard Watson has been around the block for a while. The guy who has shown up the most this spring is David Sims. He has shown some extra quickness and an extra bounce in his step. He is a lot faster than he was in the spring and that is just from him getting comfortable with the position I think. It will be fun seeing him out here the next week or two and how he responds getting him in different situations.
Do you see the B-back position as a shared role this year or will it be one guy?
I think we will play the best guys. If there is one guy better than the others we will play him. I think you will be surprised. I am not going to say we have Jonathan Dwyer or Anthony Allen, but I think we will be just fine at that position. If there are two guys who are fairly equal we will play two guys. Once you get past that it is hard to play that many guys. That is something we will have to determine in camp and we will play the guys who give us the best chance to win. Whether that is one guy or two guys we will see.
Does the offense work better when one B-back takes hold?
We have done it different ways even at Navy we had a couple of guys. We don't have a preference to use one guy. Obviously if there is one guy that is better than the others he will get most of the reps, but I don't know that to be the case. We will see how that unfolds.
With a guy like David Sims, do you have to find a way to get the ball in his hands somewhere on the field?
We will see. I am not saying he is the next guy, but he has been noticeable to me with some things he has done. He is a lot quicker and David is a great athlete and has a lot of lower body strength. The few times he got in a game at quarterback I remember on the sideline it looked like he was down and he ran through two or three people. He has a strong lower body which fits that position well, so we have to see how he comes along blocking. If he can do everything under the lights per se we will see how he does.
Is there one area Richard Watson really needs to work on?
He needs to work on his blocking and his pad level and getting through the mesh a little quicker. He needs to keep working on that. Those guys have to duke it out.
How is Zach Laskey doing at B-back?
Zach is doing well. The thing about Zach at B-back right now is like we just talked about there are four guys there so he hasn't gotten a lot of work, but he has done some great things on special teams and talk about another great learner. He is a hardworker and does anything you ask. I can't say enough about the young kids like Vad and Zach, that part of it is great. How they turn out as players, I don't know, but their work ethics and drive to be the best they can be is great right now.
It seems like Coach Johnson is in a better mood, do you see that?
Yeah, there isn't a lot of mumbling and grumbling and everyone is trying to get better. How good are we going to be? I have no idea, but for the most part the kids are trying to work and get better. That is all you can ask. We want them to do everything perfect and that is our expectation, but I think they are all trying. When it gets hot they are fighting through it, our overall team chemistry and morale is in a better place right now.
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