Jimbo Fisher National Signing Day Press Conference

Head coach Jimbo Fisher on Wednesday met with the press to talk about National Signing Day. Quotes and video are available below.

Jimbo Fisher NSD Press Conference Quotes

I just wanted to say thank you to the 12th Man, our fans, for the support you gave us this year. There were a lot of opposing teams complaining about the [noise] and we were only a quarter full, so I cannot wait until we fill that thing up next year and make it really memorable for the guys that are coming in here. Just wanted to give a shoutout to those guys and all of the people who support us. It’s second-to-none and I’m very happy about what we are doing. 

On signing LJ Johnson…

I’m very happy about today, as of right now we have signed LJ Johnson. Today is a little anti-climactic with all the [previous] numbers, but it was really big to get him. He’s a great player and we are very excited about what he can bring to us. First of all, he’s a great young man, a very intelligent young man and a great student, and he’s one heck of a back. He’s big, physical, fast and very, very smooth. It’s almost like you don’t realize how good he is by how his little nuances are making people miss, there’s not wasted motion. He gets vertical and can catch the ball, and he can block. He’s just a tremendous player and we are just blessed to have him. We are very excited about what the future will bring. 

On how LJ Johnson compliments the other running backs on the roster…

I think he compliments them because he can do anything. In today’s game, when you can leave one guy in there and he can do all those things, they don’t know what you are going to do. And I think that’s what LJ [Johnson] can do. He’s a great runner between the tackles and has power. He’s strong, natural, has great pad level. He can run the stretch and run away, he ran in the low 4.4’s for us at camp two years in a row. He’s athletic, he can get to the outside and run away from you. He can pass block and catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s a complete guy, and he’s a very intelligent, instinctive and competitive young man. 

On compiling three straight top-10 recruiting classes…

We are chasing our ultimate goal. We are going to keep recruiting and hopefully that translates to our performance on the field, which I think it’s starting to here. We are enhancing that with the culture we are creating and the things we do, and hopefully that can lead to SEC championships and national championships. Those are our goals and where we are trying to get to. We want to be the best we can be and create competition from within. Hopefully the toughest games we play are the days we have in practice, when you are going against another great player across the ball from you. We want to be embracing that challenge and doing it every day to create championship habits. You have to stack these classes together to create the competition and create the depth to do what you want to do. 

On how the signing class will help continue the momentum built in the 2020 season…

It will be good to get them in to the culture and let the older guys show them how we work and what we do. These guys are very talented. You see it now, freshmen are making impacts across the country. When you are recruiting these high [ranked] guys you have to get them on the field because they are too talented not to. You have to teach them and you have to have them for depth. Sometimes they become the big playmakers in what you are doing or whatever their role may be. You are incorporating them for the future because they are too gifted not to. Their ability to learn and to have the older guys incorporate them in. I’m happy to see that our older guys aren’t fighting us saying, ‘hey, you aren’t taking my position’. They fight for their position, but they know they need to help the younger guys because if we are going to win a championship, we all have to be in this thing together. Those young guys are very talented and I love those guys that are coming in ready to play. Hopefully they will learn the culture of how we do things and to play at a championship level.