It seems uncommon for off-the-field headlines to dominate conversation leading up to a matchup between a defending division champion and an undefeated conference rival, but that has been the case this week for Duke and Georgia Tech. Earlier in the week, Blue Devil coach David Cutcliffe said that Georgia Tech has done a great job despite the challenges of recruiting “high-end players,” and Paul Johnson was not happy about the comments, saying the Duke coach “ought to worry about his own business.”
On Thursday, Cutcliffe made his weekly appearance on The David Glenn Show and said he had no response for Johnson.
“It’s silly,” Cutcliffe said. “I don’t ever comment on coaches’ comments. I’ll talk about a team, I’ll talk about what I’ve seen, what I’ve evaluated, but I’ve made it my policy to never comment on a comment that’s directed at us, so I just kind of leave it alone.”
While Cutcliffe did not add any fuel to the fire, he did reinforce his words from earlier in the week.
“The commentary that is worthy of talking about is the push of kids — because of recruiting and recruiting services and it’s become a spectator sport — that the NFL is the goal. Basically pointing out that, for some of us, that seems to make it more difficult.”
Cutcliffe also made it clear that he has respect for Johnson as a coach.
“What I would say about Paul Johnson and watching him through the years is he’s a great manager of their offense,” Cutcliffe stated. “He’s a great counter-puncher. He knows what he’s doing.”
In addition to (sort of) addressing Johnson’s comments, the 60-year-old coach talked about the triple option and Ole Miss’ win over Alabama. Click below to hear the full interview: