Rutgers DC Travis Johansen talks Spring Practice: Press Conference

Rutgers Football began spring ball this week and on Friday afternoon, Rutgers Football Defensive Coordinator Travis Johansen spoke to the media for his spring football press conference opener.

Hear Johansen’s complete comments to the media embedded in this article, or on live replay on the The Knight Report YouTube Channel. He spoke for roughly seven minutes and addressed a range of questions, including his adjustment since taking over, player standouts, the new staff, and much more.

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Press Conference Video

Full Travis Johansen Presser Transcript

Q: Travis, you’ve assembled your staff since the last time we’ve talked to you. A lot of guys connected to you. How is that going to help? And also, there’s going to be some concern of these guys don’t really have Big Ten experience, a lot of experience at the lower levels, D-II, FCS. What do you say to people that have that concern?

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, I think it’s a combination of both, right? Coach Dotton coming from within the Big Ten and some other guys that have certainly been in Big Ten programs throughout their careers in different capacities, but I think more importantly, guys that are great human beings, connect with players really well, and have an understanding of our system so that the teaching gets really streamlined.”

Q: A lot of the defensive transfers were brought in before you were hired. What have been your early impressions of them this spring? 

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, fantastic. You know, a lot of guys that, you know, they all feel like new guys, so it’s hard to differentiate a transfer from a new guy, but you know, they’re all extremely hardworking young men, good people, and I think fit our culture really well.”

Q: Where are things right now in terms of the group getting to know your defense and you being able to implement and install some of what you want to do?

Travis Johansen: “I think, you know, honestly we’re right on track, I think. It’s going to be a slow process.You know, it’s going to take us you know, all summer, all fall camp to kind of get the mastery of what we’re trying to accomplish, but you know, I think their minds are wrapping around it really well. I feel good about our staff’s ability to wrap their minds around it really well, and so, so far, you know, feel good, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Q: What surprise, or I guess, is there anything that has surprised you in your few months on the job here, whether it’s with players, coaches, or anything like that so far, Rutgers? 

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, I wouldn’t say anything quite surprises me. I think it galvanizes a lot of what I believe in. You know, I think Coach Schiano is an incredible leader of people, and the stability and the structure of the program I have a lot of respect for, and it’s been really helpful as far as, you know, what I believe in in the same breath. I think we’re lock step as a staff in that, and I think that helps to streamline things as well.”

Q: I guess to kind of go off that, building relationships with the players, things like that, you kind of already touched on this, but what has that whole experience been like? Since you’ve been able to meet them, since the last time we talked with you, you hadn’t really gotten a chance to do that yet.

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, I mean, I’ve sat down with every single player, you know, multiple times, one-on-one to get to know them. Our staff has done the same, so you know, I think we’ve built some really good relationships.We’ll continue to now have a bunch of lived experience together, which I think is, you know, the key to it. But no, I think from a human level, you know, we know the people, which is imperative to capturing them, inspiring them to play great football.”

Q: Since we spoke with you last time, one of your former players has joined Rutgers. He’ll arrive here in June. What does Mikey Munn bring to this defense, and what kind of expectation level do you have for how he can contribute?

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, I think Mikey’s gonna have to be like all these guys and earn it. You know, it’s gonna be a new experience, new place for him. Maybe a little bit understated for the defense, but you know, I think like everybody, he’ll have to get out in the grass and do the job. I think there’s a lot of good players in that secondary, and his ability to come in and be competitive. You know, we’ll see what that looks like when he gets here, but excited to get him here alongside and in that group with Coach Finney and you know, see what he can add, but you know, we don’t know that right now. You know, Mikey’s gonna be new for him as well.”

Q: More personally for you, how has the move been from not just only Rutgers, but to New Jersey?

Travis Johansen: “Well, my family’s still in South Dakota, so I’m kind of a bachelor right now in New Jersey, but it’s been great. Great people. Awesome food town. You know, there’s a lot of great experiences we’re having, but most of my time’s spent in the Hale Center, and I’m looking forward to some time where I can actually experience New Jersey a little bit, but yeah, it feels like home to me. It’s great.”

Q: This might be a difficult question to answer now in the spring, but this was one of the worst defenses in the country last year. A lot of new faces on the coaching staff, a lot of new players on the field. How much better can this unit realistically get?

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, my argument to be that is a lot of these faces weren’t a part of that defense, so I think we don’t look at it that way. This is a fresh start, and we’re building something brand new, so we don’t know who we are right now. You know, where we’ll be is where we’ll be, but you know, I have a lot of confidence in the people here, and really we’re not looking backwards. Everything’s about moving forward and what we’re trying to build from the ground up, and so yeah, I know there’s a lot of those narratives, but that’s certainly something we’re not in space one bit.”

Q: Everywhere you’ve been, all your stops, you’ve always had a reputation as being a developmental guy, a guy that focuses on fundamentals. How do you do that? How do you translate from the meeting room to the field and vice versa, especially with so many new faces and a new defense?

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, what you believe in is what you emphasize, and every single day, and that’s why back to Coach’s structure every day is about fundamentals in defense, and he believes in that too, and so when you have your head coach backing you that way and you coach it and he’s coaching it, your players find a lot of value in that, and you can show them the places where that’s important, so we spend a lot of time coaching that alongside of skiing, and so when you’re backed by your head coach like that and the program, you find that really streamlining forward, so we’re seeing a lot of good things come together that way. Got a lot of work to do to get it to an elite level.”

Q: Joe Woodley‘s a guy you have a lot of experience working at from your time at Grand View. I guess how important was it to bring him in as another coach on this defense, and how important is it to get to work with some of the guys that he’s worked with at Drake?

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, I think having Joe here brings a lot of familiarity. He’s a great leader of people.He’s a very detailed coach with a lot of experience from looking at the perspectives from 10,000 feet, not just on ground level, so it’s a good person for me to have next to me when maybe I need a little bit of a different perspective, but yeah, it’s really important. Alongside of all these guys have a different fit that are complementary to my shortcomings, and that’s the fun part about being with a full staff of good coaches.”

Q: At linebacker, you have some returning starters, a transfer coming in, some really promising young guys. What do you think about that room and how you balance finding the best two guys to put on the field versus having those young guys, getting them experience too?

Travis Johansen: “Yeah, it’s going to be a competitive spring. It’ll be a competitive summer.We’ve got some guys that are coming off injury that have yet to get to the mix and look forward to get those guys a part of it too, but I think like every position right now, it’s a lot of learning. It’s less competitive versus the room. They’re all in their 111th of the defense learning, so when it comes more evaluation and competitiveness, we’re still early in spring. We’ve got a long way to go that way.”