With college football’s focus squarely on the town of Fayetteville, one angle that has yet to be touched of the Bobby Petrino scandal is the state of the football team, which is now moving forward while their coach is on paid leave.
Leading that team is linebackers coach Taver Johnson, who has only been on the job a few months since leaving Ohio State back in January. Speaking to the media on Friday, Johnson said his first and pretty much only goal is to keep “business as usual.”
“Our main focus has been the football team, so nothing has changed in that regard,” Johnson said. "[I’m] overly excited and proud of football team. The leadership we have in the locker room is tremendous.”
Johnson said he hadn’t spoken to Petrino much over the past several hours, but plans to consult Petrino for details down the road. As it pertains to the controversy surrounding the Petrino, who implied a “previous inappropriate relationship” with UA football employee Jessica Dorrell, Johnson said he’s not focusing on it.
“Right now we don’t have any facts,” he explained. “You can’t place any blame... You have to let administration take control.”
When asked if he thought Petrino would be fired, Johnson replied “No, we haven’t discussed that at all. That’s something you really can’t delve into.”
(Hat tip: Robbie Neiswanger and Chris Bahn)