Former New Orleans Saints assistant and current Houston Roughnecks head coach C.J. Johnson talks about the upcoming season in the UFL.
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00:00 That's right, that's right.
00:01 >> Well, Coach, man, you're here with the Houston Roughnecks.
00:04 You're coming all the way from New Orleans to Tulane, and
00:07 now you're here in H-Town.
00:09 >> H-Town.
00:10 >> Second straight year.
00:11 How do you feel about what's gonna happen with the Roughnecks?
00:14 >> Look, I love what we're doing.
00:15 I love the fan support.
00:18 Man, this is amazing.
00:19 Houston men, very educated fans, very smart.
00:23 They know what to look for.
00:24 They're supportive, they're enthusiastic.
00:27 I just love being here.
00:29 >> You've been in some great situations.
00:32 You won the Super Bowl with the Saints, and you were under Sean Payton,
00:36 one of the most dynamic, offensive-minded guys.
00:40 And as well as you had an attack from those wide receivers all those years.
00:44 >> Yeah.
00:45 >> You cultivated some of the greats.
00:47 >> Yep. >> Talk about what you want from your
00:49 offense this season with the Roughnecks.
00:51 >> Well, the first thing is, man, Mark Thompson is our guy.
00:54 He's a running back, he's all USFL.
00:56 He's a great player for us, Justin Hall, our receiver.
00:59 Man, he can run, he can do all those things.
01:01 He can catch it, the catch and run guy, he can go deep.
01:04 You watch him.
01:05 And so it'll start with those two guys on offense.
01:07 We got three quarterbacks that we're excited about signing, a plethora of tight
01:12 ends, but man, this thing gonna start with those big uglies up front, that offensive
01:16 line, man, I'm telling you, Avery Genesee, he's one of our best players.
01:20 >> Those buffet eaters, right?
01:22 >> That's right.
01:22 >> [LAUGH] Talk about your defense.
01:25 What should the fans expect this season from the defense?
01:28 >> I think we have a tremendous D line.
01:30 Toby Johnson, Ethan Westbrook, Adam Rodriguez, all those guys that have USFL
01:36 honors, they'll be good.
01:38 Chris Odom from down here, he's a sack leader, sack master.
01:42 So you're looking at all those guys, man.
01:44 Shad is another player that you gotta mention.
01:46 Howard, man, there's so many of Jeffrey Johnson, so many good players.
01:50 And I thought it was gonna start in the trenches.
01:52 I went out and got to try to get the best D line I can.
01:55 >> Well, I also covered the HBCU scene, not just the Saints.
01:59 Talk about the HBCUs.
02:00 Have you guys got any guys on your roster so far?
02:04 Are you guys going to still develop that roster?
02:07 >> We're developing players from all over.
02:10 HBCUs, man, my father went to Gremlin.
02:12 I'm a Southern guy.
02:13 We also, man, we got Deon's calling me about his players.
02:16 So as many as we can, we gonna get, but man,
02:19 it's about going after good players, and that's what we've been doing.
02:22 >> All right, last,
02:23 what should the fans expect from the Roughnecks in 2024?
02:27 >> Very physical defense, exciting offense.
02:29 We're gonna be able to run the ball, but we can throw it in the air.
02:32 But I wanna always be the most physical team.
02:34 If we can be the most physical team, we definitely can win a lot of games.
02:37 >> All right, thank you, coach.