Whether it was intentional or not, Wes Johnson said he had no problem with the timing of Wednesday’s announcement by athletic director Josh Brooks that he was receiving a raise and a contract extension that will carry him through the 2031 season.
“Yeah, it's good to get that kind of stuff out of the way,” Johnson told UGASports after Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss to Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament. “I don't like distractions. Not that anybody does. But we live in a day and a world full of distractions. So, yeah, that was nice to get it out of the way. Now you don't have to put up with the chatter. We'll just leave it at that.”
Despite his recent assertion to local media that he was not interested in the job at Mississippi State, Johnson's name continued to be bandied about as a possible replacement for Chris Lemonis.
No longer.
Although terms of the deal have not been immediately disclosed, the 53-year-old Johnson is expected to receive a significant bump in salary from the $1 million he made this year.
Baseball America and D1Baseball still project the Bulldogs (42-15) to be one of the eight national seeds despite Wednesday night's loss to the Sooners.
“I think he's got a great understanding of this new world, obviously, the evolution of college athletics, and how to attack the portal and build a team in this new world," Brooks said at Thursday’s UGA Athletic Board meeting at Reynolds Plantation. "He's really cerebral. I think his understanding of technology and how to develop players, and he can pitch that in recruiting. And he's a great human being. He’s someone who loves Georgia; someone I love being around and working with. It's just, he checks every box."
But even with a spot in the tournament secure, Johnson said after Wednesday night’s game, there’s plenty of work to be done. Specifically, working with hitting coach Will Coggin to get Georgia’s bats clicking at a more consistent pace.
Although Johnson gave Sooner pitcher Kyle Witherspoon all the credit for the victory, he knows his team could be doing a much better job.
“Good teams find a way to grind it out and get off some better swings than we did. We're going to have to figure that piece out,” Johnson said. “Last year, you're running (Charlie) Condon and (Corey) Collins up there, and it doesn't matter who's pitching. Those two guys (Condon and Collins) were on base, they can hit anybody in the country and do damage, so we’ve got to figure out the offensive piece.”
Pitching-wise, Johnson likes what he’s seeing.
Wednesday, Georgia pitchers struck out Sooner hitters 10 times, three more than they averaged per game over the year.
“This team has the lowest chase rate in our league, and has the lowest swing and miss rate in our league. So, if you just strike them out 10 times, you have to do something,” Johnson said. “With that being said, I feel good with our pitching. We've got to get runs across the plate against a quality arm, which has obviously held us down this year.”
Getting Robbie Burnett (hamstring) back in the lineup won’t hurt.
“Once again, if this were a regional game, Robby probably would have played,” Johnson said. “But hamstrings are so unique in the aspect that another tweak and he's out, he misses regionals next week. So, that was just us trying to be smart for next week.”
