Q&A with IU Offensive Coordinator Kevin Johns

At Indiana Football Media Day Saturday in Bloomington, Btownbanners had a chance to sit down for a few minutes with IU offensive coordinator Kevin Johns and ask a few questions about quarterback Nate Sudfeld and the IU wide receiving corps in particular.

Here is the result of that interview.

TERRY HUTCHENS: Nate says he’s been feeling close to 100 percent since early summer and some of these guys, receiver wise, are talking about how he is throwing the ball. What have been your impressions so far?

KEVIN JOHNS: I think that he’s back. I think he is physically throwing the ball as well as he has ever thrown it. The injury being his non-throwing shoulder helped a lot so he didn’t lose a lot of development in the passing game. So he’s doing well. I think the thing that is different with Nate is that he just has a different focus this year, a sense of urgency if you will. It’s pretty cool. I’ve never seen him have it. He’s on the field. He’s into it. His freshman year I would always challenge him. He would be good for a 15-minute period of 7-on-7 and then by the team he got to the end of team he was drifting. He wasn’t as good. Now he’s taking every rep with an extreme focus on his game. That’s where I think he is more different than anything else since his injury.

HUTCHENS: Is that a senior thing though? Do you see that with a lot of kids?

JOHNS: Yeah, I do. I think they realize that they’re almost out of time. ‘Oh my gosh, I used to have four years and now I have three or four months.’ So yeah, I think with seniors they have a sense of urgency and they recognize that it’s my time now and there’s no one else that’s going to lead this team if I don’t do it. So there is a different sense of urgency.

HUTCHENS: Nate has said in the past few weeks that this is the deepest wide receiver corps he has had and at the same time it’s the land of opportunity at that position. You have so many guys battling. Is the competition in that room as good as it appears to be from the outside?

JOHNS: Yes. It’s phenomenal and I think there are as many guys who are capable of playing than we’ve ever had. They don’t have game experience like you said but Nate has been throwing with these guys for a long time. On paper it may not look like we have seasoned veterans but in his mind he has guys that he feels comfortable with and has a good chemistry with. I know he’s excited. And I’m excited, too, as the receivers coach. Any time there’s a chance for new guys to take the field that no one has ever heard of before and they can go out and have some success it can be good for those young guys who have worked so hard.

HUTCHENS: Can some of these freshmen play right away, you think? What’s your early impression of a guy like Nick Westbrook for example?

JOHNS: As for your first question, yes. But without singling any of them out, just as a whole I think they are all kids, and again you’re looking at four new freshmen, you’re looking at Camion Patrick, you’re looking at Luke Timian who has joined our team (a transfer from Oklahoma State), Marqui Hawkins, all of those kids are physically ready to play. And at receiver that is big. Shane Wynn came in at 150 pounds. Now that’s hard to play your freshman year at 150. These kids are 190, 200 pounds and that’s where they’re different more than anything else. They’re a smart group, they’re hungry, they’re learning. I think they all have a chance to play and at the same time there are some more guys who want those jobs, too. It’s going to be an interesting competition.

HUTCHENS: You never want to see anyone get hurt, but when J-Shun Harris gets hurt early enough in the summer does that help you a little bit in terms of preparing for life without him for the 2015 season?

JOHNS: No doubt about it. And again for us, we hate to lose J-Shun and as a team we hate to see anyone go through an injury like that. But at the same time we have pieces in place with guys that should be able to pick up the flag and keep us going. We hate to lose him but it certainly has helped with the freshmen, with Luke Timian, Mitchell Paige, Damon Graham, those guys have been taking a lot of reps for a long time with Nate in the slot. So I think Nate feels comfortable with whoever steps out there.

HUTCHENS: Ricky Jones said he’s 100 percent healthy for the first time in his career to start a season. What’s the ceiling for a player like that?

JOHNS: Well, I know for him there’s a huge smile on his face because what you just said. He gets a chance to go play football healthy and for him it has been a long time coming. I think he has a huge ceiling, and more than anything else he’s one of those guys that coming into last few years of football he has a chance to go out and show the things he knew he could do three years ago but the injuries have just held him back. I think Nate feels good with him, all the quarterbacks feel good with him. For me, I look at him in that room as the old guys who has been with me a while. He doesn’t have a ton of game reps, but he has been with me and he can lead some of those younger guys.

HUTCHENS: This is my observation and maybe it’s not accurate but I’d like your take. Two years ago you had guys that could really go up and get the ball. Maybe last year not so much. But with this group, do you have those kinds of guys again or is that still going to be a challenge?

JOHNS: No I don’t think it will be as much of a challenge. We have some taller and longer guys than maybe we had a year ago. Actually a year ago I liked those guys a lot but we just went through some injuries that hurt us. We were playing a lot of young guys for the first time and it’s hard to play as a true freshman when you’re playing the majority of plays. You can play as a freshman in spot play or play half a game but when you have to go play 80 plays against Ohio State that’s not easy. But I think this year we are taller, we are longer and we are more physically built that we were a year ago. I think it’s a different type of body that we can have this year but I think we can do it. I think we can go up and make those types of plays this year.

@IndySportsHutch