Johnson Brings Balance To Buffs Offense
December 16, 2018 | Football
BOULDER — New Colorado offensive coordinator Jay Johnson worked with new CU head coach Mel Tucker for just two years at Georgia.
But it didn't take long for Johnson to say "yes" when Tucker invited him west to join the Buffaloes' staff.
"We were on different sides of the ball at Georgia, but different things came up where we were able to interact and see each other at certain moments," Johnson said. "You learn about each other in those types of environments, and you get to know what a person is truly like. I knew very quickly what Coach Tuck was like and I think we mesh really well. His personality, his poise, his composure, his leadership — all those things will be awesome for the University of Colorado."
Johnson's offensive philosophy is relatively simple — balance. Throughout his coaching career, his teams have almost always been adept at throwing and running the ball. He ran a balanced attack as a record-setting coordinator at Louisiana for five years, and for the last two seasons, brought that philosophy to the table at Georgia. As a quality control offensive assistant for the Bulldogs, he helped implement a scheme this season that saw Georgia throw for 227 yards per game and rush for 251 yards per game while averaging 39.15 points per contest.
But the key, Johnson said, is the same on every play — run or pass.
"You have to execute," Johnson said. "When it's third-and-8 and everybody in the stadium knows you're going to throw it, you have to be able to execute. At the end of the day, that's what will make you successful. Can you block and execute what's asked of you at that particular moment in that particular situation and win that particular opportunity? If you can do that, you have a pretty good chance of moving the ball."
Johnson has had his fair share of stops in the coaching world, including stints at Kansas, Southern Mississippi, Louisville, Louisiana and Minnesota before his most-recent job at Georgia. That has given him the opportunity to design and refine an offensive philosophy he believes will be a good fit under Tucker.
But that philosophy doesn't stop with scheme or down and distance. It also involves a much more foundational approach.
"Three things are always the same," Johnson said. "First and foremost, respect the football. If you take care of the football, you have a chance to win games. If you don't, you're probably not going to win many games. That's the first thing our entire team will understand and know — we have to have great respect for the football.
"Second thing — a physical mentality and the ability to play fast. That can be tempo fast if you want to do that, which is something we will be able to do. But it also means once the play is snapped, how fast and physical can we play on every down?
"And that leads to the last thing — be explosive. If you take care of the ball and you have explosive plays, that's generally a pretty good combination for your team. Those are the three main focal points we'll have as we continue to move forward."
In his 25-plus years of coaching, Johnson has witnessed the evolution of offensive football, and has adapted accordingly.
But as defenses have also adapted, he has seen the growth in importance of "situational" football — the ability to convert third downs and score touchdowns in the red zone.
"Situational football has always been important, but it's become even more important over the last few years," Johnson said. "With the way the game is played now and the athletic ability of the top teams that you play, you have to win situational football. You have to score touchdowns in the red zone. You have to convert third downs because that gives you at least three more chances. The more chances you get, the more chances you have for explosive plays — and when you have explosive plays, that lends itself to winning football."
But it must all be built on fundamentals.
"It all goes back to where you start: what is your base? What are your fundamentals? What is the process you go through each and every day as you prepare?" Johnson said. "It's a matter of being consistent and that's the approach we're going to take with our guys here. It's the nuts and bolts."
A record-setting quarterback at Northern Iowa in the early 1990s (fun fact: he played ahead of future Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner for three seasons at UNI), Johnson will also coach the position at CU.
"I will never stray far from that," he said with a smile. "There's something about the whole process of the quarterback room that I really enjoy because it starts with teaching. To see a young man come into that setting and learn, then take it to the practice field and execute it, then all of a sudden in front of the whole world on a Saturday afternoon execute it again — that's very rewarding. It's that process that we go through in that room that I really love to be a part of. I always enjoy seeing those young men go through the process of continuing to grow."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu