ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF
Florida running back Montrell Johnson Jr.’s session with reporters during SEC Football Media Days in Dallas on Wednesday.
Q. I had a different question but after hearing from Coach Napier, how is the video game going?
JOHNSON JR.: It’s going extremely good, I feel like The Swamp looks great on it as well.
Q. How is the preseason, a lot of pressure or excitement?
JOHNSON JR.: In the looker room it’s very exciting. The upcoming schedule, I feel like the guys are using it as motivation and looking at it as 12 opportunities to prove ourselves to the nation.
Q. Montrell, for Oklahoma’s sake they know every SEC road game is going to be a dog fight. What’s it like playing on the road in the SEC and what’s the toughest venue you’ve played in so far?
Hidden talent unlocked 🔓#GoGators | @Trellll_3 pic.twitter.com/BAKUUTr9aD
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) July 17, 2024
JOHNSON JR.: It’s tough playing on the road in the SEC. You gotta come with it, every time you do. The toughest stadium I played in is Tennessee by far, the checkerboard audience, the way the ground shakes when the fans are screaming and stuff like that. That made it very tough for us that year.
Q. What were some of the things that Graham (Mertz) did when he arrived at Florida to establish himself as a leader and went over to the locker room, and would you say he has evolved as a leader on this Florida team?
JOHNSON JR.: Most definitely. His first year here was quiet, because he just got there, but that next year he had to fire up. He’s spoken out more and called guys out.
Q. What do you think the most exciting thing about SEC football is?
JOHNSON JR.: Man, I think it’s the stadiums, the fans, I feel like the fans make it the most exciting. Just playing in The Swamp every home game, it’s very surreal to me all those fans out there cheering for me.
Gators get it goin’ 🐊@GatorsFB x #SECMD24 pic.twitter.com/q1XfCXOnDl
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) July 18, 2024
Q. One of your compadres left to go to Georgia. Do you relish the task of getting the ball more?
JOHNSON JR.: I expect to get the ball more coming into the future this next season. I’m not too worried about it, because I feel like I can hold the load on my own and just going out there and making sure I play mistake-free football.
Q. Oklahoma and Texas play in the Cotton Bowl every year, neutral site. What’s it like playing in Jacksonville when you play that big game, neutral site, two fan bases? Explain to me what it’s like playing that game every year.
JOHNSON JR.: It’s great playing that game every year, knowing that you’re playing in an NFL stadium, the game is so big that you have to play at a neutral site makes it more amazing, and knowing that the stadium is half and half, blue and red, it makes the atmosphere more amazing.
Q. Who is somebody on the team that we may not know right now who has impressed you with the work they have done this off-season, could have a break-out year for Florida?
JOHNSON JR.: I would say Jadan Baugh, our freshman running back. He’s been shocking me every single day the way he preps, coming to work every day, and the way he attacks. Him being a freshman is kind of surprising to me.
Cho(m)pping it up 🗣️@GatorsFB x #SECMD24 pic.twitter.com/LvbZwhqSNc
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) July 17, 2024
Q. What’s Coach Napier like on a regular basis, day to day?
JOHNSON JR.: Napier is very chill. You always see him around the facility smiling, laughing with people. He’s a very chill individual.
Q. Do you have some skills you want to display this season that we haven’t seen in the past? Pass catching, anything?
JOHNSON JR.: I would say my catching ability. I just want to catch more balls out of the backfield and just get in space more and show my ability to, you know, make the first defender miss, stuff like that.
