Aug. 3, 2007

In Attendance: Corey Masisak (Washington Times) and Christian Swezey (Washington Post)

Swezey: How was practice?

Johnson: It was a little lethargic. At the end of practice there was a little more spirit. It wasn't quite as up-tempo as I would have liked early on.

Masisak: I thought you prided yourself on not protecting your quarterbacks (Jarod Bryant got blindsided by Matt Humiston and Johnson let him know about it)?

Johnson: Except in a thud period when you're not supposed to be hitting them. He's (Humiston) a knucklehead anyway. He does that all the time.

Masisak: I was waiting for somebody to ask you about Nate Frazier on media day and I think you kind of got out in front of it and you were trying to quiet some of the hype about him since he's never really played.

Johnson: The kid's never played a down (when the game was on the line). I hope he's going to be a good player. We need him to be a good player, but I wouldn't anoint him as Deacon Jones just yet.

Masisak: Are you surprised that there's so much hype about him considering he hasn't played much?

Johnson: I think he's a big body and people see that and they get excited about it, we are excited about him, but he still has a lot to learn and he will still have a lot of growing pains. I think he wants to be good, but you still have to do it.

Masisak: How important would it be for him to step up and be a factor right away?

Johnson: Any time you have a guy that steps up and plays big it's important, especially for us to get a big guy on the defensive line. We have been playing with a lot of guys on the defensive line that aren't that big.

Masisak: Have you noticed anything different with Kaipo the first few days compared to last year?

Johnson: Not really. We haven't gotten into much, but I haven't seen any difference. He has a year more experience and maybe a little more confident, but that's about it.

Masisak: He said he didn't go back to Hawaii this summer, was it important for him to stay around as the quarterback?

Johnson: Yeah, I think it's good. Any time you're the quarterback and you stay around the guys all summer it's good. If you're going to be the leader of the team you need to be here, that's for sure.