A welcome opportunity for JSU

By REGGIE BENSON, Times Sports Staff

Once hoping to land at Tennessee, Johnson is thankful to be at A&M

Two years ago, Rashad Johnson was headed to the University of Tennessee. At least, that was the plan. However, those plans were derailed and he landed at Alabama A&M instead.

The Vols' loss has clearly been the Bulldogs' gain as Johnson has emerged into a key contributor at wide receiver in his first season.

A 5-foot-10, 185-pound freshman from Mobile, Johnson had an outstanding senior year at Murphy High School, catching 37 balls for more than 700 yards and 12 touchdowns. A number of schools recruited Johnson, but he wanted to play at Tennessee.

That dream ended when Johnson failed to make the required score on the ACT. Then Jones got in trouble with the law when one of his friends picked him up from work in a stolen car.

"We got pulled over," Johnson said. "I had no idea it was a stolen car."

With few options, Johnson's mother spoke with then-A&M offensive coordinator Stan Conner.

"Coach Conner told me if I came up here and got eligible, I could get a scholarship and play," Johnson said.

Johnson isn't on scholarship yet, but if he keeps playing the way he has through the Bulldogs' first six games, he'll certainly earn one.

Johnson has just only nine catches, but four have gone for touchdowns, which is second on the team. He is averaging 16.2 yards per catch, third-best on the squad.

That's not bad for a guy who wasn't invited to training camp until after it began.

"I guess they figured I really didn't want to play," said Johnson, who was named A&M's offensive player of the week after catching three passes for 40 yards, including a pair of touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 33-28 win over Southern more than a week ago. "I was determined to play. I sat out last year and I realized how much I loved football.

"I went out there with the mind-set I wanted to play and showed them what I could do."

Receivers coach Willie Totten noticed Johnson on his first day of practice.

"It was a Wednesday night," Totten said. "He was wearing No. 46 and we were doing 1-on-1s. He had great acceleration. He was aggressive. He's got a little different attitude than some of our other receivers. That caught my attention.

"I knew he could help us. He kept getting better and better and I told Coach (Anthony) Jones we needed to consider him. He was hungry. He was very attentive to what we were doing."

It didn't take Johnson long to make an impact.

He had just two catches for 14 yards in the season opener against Tennessee State, but had three catches for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the home opener against Clark Atlanta, including a 65-yarder.

Johnson managed just one catch over the next three games, but he came up big against Southern as A&M hung on for a big conference road win.

"Coach Totten told me to be patient and just keep running my routes," Johnson said. "I had to wait until my number was called and that's when I stepped up."

Johnson hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Kelcy Luke to stake the Bulldogs to an early 7-0 lead. Later, Johnson threw a key blocked that allowed wide receiver Gerald Stockdale to find Thomas Harris with a 55-yard touchdown pass. Then, early in the second quarter, Luke found Johnson with a 18-yard touchdown pass.

While Johnson was happy with the touchdown catches, he was more thrilled about throwing the block that led to Harris' touchdown.

"When Stockdale came in motion, I knew his man was going to come with him," Johnson explained. "As soon as he got the ball, he faked like he was going to run the ball and his man came crashing down. I pushed him as far as I could to the sideline and Stockdale was able to throw it to Harris."

Johnson hopes to continue his strong play Thursday night when A&M hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game. Kickoff is at 6:30 and the game will be televised live on ESPNU.

While Johnson is happy to be at A&M, Jones is equally excited to have him on the team. "He's been a great addition to our program," Jones said. "He just needed polishing. Coach Totten has done a great job of grooming him. "While he's been a great addition to our program, we've been a great addition to him and his development on and off the field."

Totten agreed.

"After the Clark Atlanta game, he came to me and said thank you," Totten said. "I didn't understand what he meant at the time. He said 'I appreciate you giving me a chance.' That still sticks with me today.

"He wants to prove to people that he's not the person people think he is. Those are the things that encourage me about Johnson. He's got a great attitude and he's trying to find his place in society. ... This football program is probably saving Johnson's life."