Denver Johnson
Denver Johnson
Denver Johnsonis an American football coach and former player. In April 2015, Johnson became the head football coach at Missouri Southern State University. Formerly, he was the offensive line coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2011 to the end of the 2014 season. Johnson was let go when head coach Bill Blankenship was fired on December 1, 2014. Previously, Johnson was the head football coach at Murray State University from 1997 to 1999 and at Illinois State University from...
academic build evaluate good pillars program second social third three
We've got three pillars that we're going to try and build this program around. The first is academic integrity. The second is social responsibility. We want good citizens. Third is competitive excellence. When I evaluate our program on those three pillars, I think we're making good progress.
forced good prove structure
We won't be better because Boomer's gone, but it has forced us to structure some things differently, and I think that will prove good for us.
again bit coach direction easy excited good head illinois leadership sure tenure time
To be honest, I'm excited again to be head coach here at Illinois State. There was a time here when I'm not sure I could say I was excited. My tenure here has not been an easy one. I feel we've got new leadership in the department, we've got good direction in the program. I feel that we're going to get a little bit of traction here and really become productive.
beat certainly couple drake game gave good opportunity people team upset worthy
Drake is certainly a worthy opponent. They gave us a pretty good game out here a couple of years ago. Drake is a good enough team to come in here and beat us. If you don't play well, you give people the opportunity to upset you.
ball good lots offensive overall side terms watered
I was really disappointed on the offensive side of the ball today. We are little watered down right now (in terms of offensive personnel), but overall I thought it was a good day - we got a little something done and lots of film to look at.
ball college complete completed couple field game good line loose luke pass sophomore staring takes time turned
I don't know if Luke was nervous, but I was. You have a sophomore quarterback who has never started a college game and the first time he takes the field he's on his own 20-yard line and staring at a very good Big 12 defense. He didn't complete a pass on his first couple of tries, but once he completed one he turned the ball loose with a little more confidence.
bad degree far fast good move sure
I'm not sure I anticipated how far and how fast this institution would move academically, but I did see it coming. It's not a bad thing. It is a good school. To get a degree here is not an insignificant thing.
break certainly good season
I'm not happy, certainly not satisfied, with what we've been able to get done on the field. We've had some good years. We've had some very competitive games, but we need to break through. We need to have an 8-, 9- or 10-win season before long.
boomer guys tackle
It has been Boomer's team, sometimes to a detriment. He was making the tackle that someone else should have made. We had guys just think that Boomer would be there.
ball fun hurt positive scoring spring system turn wrapped
Our scoring system showed if you turn the ball over it's going to hurt you. Overall, I think the spring was really good. We wanted to have some fun and we did that. We wrapped it up on a positive note.
challenge chance evaluate focus four games ourselves towards
Our focus is always on the Gateway, and we use the four non-conference games as a chance to evaluate towards that. (Eastern Illinois) will be a challenge for us. We'll know a lot more about ourselves when we get on Saturday.
beat last physical played pleased state team
I was very pleased with the way we played last week. We beat a big, physical Murray State team and we did it soundly.
against appreciate excited gives kids open opportunity playing recognized season worked
We are excited to get this worked out. It gives us another opportunity to open up the season against a nationally recognized opponent. Our kids are always excited about playing these I-A games, and we just appreciate the opportunity.
attractive committed couple fairly great past perceive program special
The past couple of years I've had other opportunities that were fairly attractive to me, but I'm committed to this. I still perceive this program to have great potential. I think we can do something special here.