Oregon daily emerald., April 16, 1998, Page 13, Image 13

Johnson: Size is not a concern
■ Continued from Page 9
apart. And though less then a
minute remains in the game,
there isn't a thing on this earth
that's going to remove the smile
from the face of a 21-year-old
athlete on the verge of a miilion
dollar career in the NFL.
“I'm just trying to enjoy things
right now,” Johnson says. “I’ve
worked so hard; it's finally time
for things to happen for me.
Wherever or whenever I go in
the draft, I feel like I’ve done
everything I can control to as
sure myself of the best possible
position. There’s nothing I can
do now but wait.”
So wait he does — day in and
day out since his final NFL
workout at Autzen Stadium five
weeks ago. He admits that he
thinks about the draft and that
sometimes he’ll reads things
about himself by NFL scouts or
draft analysts. But Johnson
knows to take those things with
a grain of salt.
"Obviously I'd like to be draft
ed high, but it’s all up to what a
team’s needs are,” he says. “Be
sides if a team wants to draft
you, they aren’t going to tell any
one else. The only ones who
know right now are the teams."
Where Johnson is projected to
go in the draft depends on where
you look. Pro Football Weekly
rates Johnson as a first-round re
ceiver who could go as high as
30th overall if the defending Su
per Bowl champion Denver
Broncos decide to take him.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
doesn’t rate him quite as high —
the 10th best receiver in the draft
projected to go late in the second
round or early in the third.
“Mel Kiper doesn’t like me,”
Johnson says. “He said 1 was
small, he said I was a shrimp.
Then he said I couldn't catch -
whatever. All you have to do is
throw in the tape. He must have
been watching someone else."
The only thing the analysts
agree on is that this year's wide
receiver crop is as good as it has
been in a long time. There are 10
or so legitimate NFL prospects at
wide receiver with varying
strengths and weaknesses. And
it’s no surprise that Johnson
thinks he’s one of the best.
“1 always felt that I was one of
the best receivers coming out
this year," he said. “I think I’ve
run well at all the workouts, and
I’ve had good interviews. I just
want to get drafted high. I think
that I will.”
High for Johnson would come
at the end of the first round or at
the start of the second. Kiper
says there are really only two
guaranteed first-round receivers,
former Marshall star Randy
Moss and Utah’s Kevin Dyson.
But Johnson has a distinct ad
vantage over both of them.
“Speed,” Oregon head coach
Mike Bellotti says. "And also I
think that people realize that his
best football years are still ahead
of him.”
Ihere has always been some
thing to take away from John
son’s accomplishments on the
football field. When he was a
freshman, Johnson tied the
school record in the 200-meter
dash with a time of 20.39 sec
onds. Weeks later Johnson won
the 400 meters at the Pacific-10
Conference Championships and
was named an NCAA all-Ameri
can in both the 100-meter dash
and 200.
His sophomore season
brought even more track acco
lades, including recording the
second fastest 400-meter time
ever at Oregon.
Despite these accomplish
ments, the former prep all
American had had enough of
track and field. Following his
record-breaking sophomore sea
son on the track, Johnson decid
ed to quit the sport to focus on
football.
Free from the pressures of
track and field for the first time,
Johnson worked hard in his ju
nior and senior seasons to shed
his track star image. The hard
work culminated in an incredi
ble four-game stretch at the end
of last season that started with a
game-winning catch against the
then-No. 6 Huskies and ended
with Johnson accepting an MVP
trophy for his 169-yard, two
touchdown performance in the
Las Vegas Bowl.
Still, Johnson realizes that his
5-foot-10 height is not the ideal
size for today's powerful NFL
wide outs, and he knows that
leaves question marks in the
minds of pro scouts as to
whether or not he can take the
punishment of a 16-game NFL
season.
It’s no surprise that Johnson’s
not worried about that either. “I
expect to be able to do the same
things in the pros as I did in col
lege,” he says.
Interestingly, Johnson does
worry about being a proper role
model for his 18-year-old broth
er, Daniel, who has committed
to play football for a junior col
lege team in California.
“He’s so talented,” Johnson
says. “The most important thing
for me is to have my brother
there. I want him to experience
all of this so he knows what can
happen if you work hard and do
what you’re supposed to. I want
to show him that he can do the
same thing if he works hard."
But this is Johnson’s time to
shine. And regardless of
whether the Bears can knock
down Brett Farve's fourth-down.
Hail Mary pass, Johnson is victo
rious.
EMERALD
Johnson's 337-yard all-purpose performance against Oregon State
earned him Pac-10player-of-the-week honors
ncaa outlines charges against Louisville for possible infractions
Athletic assistant Ray
Nystrand says the ‘death
penalty’ is a possibility
By Jeffrey McMurray
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Calling
possible infractions “major,” the
NCAA on Wednesday outlined
eight charges against Louisville’s
women’s volleyball program and
one against the men’s basketball
program.
While the university reported
most of the violations last sum
mer, the use of the word “major”
in the NCAA’s report opened the
way for various possible sanc
tions against the programs when
the governing body rules as early
as August. The university must
respond by June 8.
University officials refused to
speculate on likely penalties.
However, Ray Nystrand, assistant
for athletics to Louisville presi
dent John Shumaker, said the
NCAA could revoke scholarships
or television broadcast rights.
Afterward, Nystrand acknowl
edged the so-called “death penal
ty” as a “possibility” for the bas
ketball program, which already is
on NCAA probation for allowing
athletes improper access to vehi
cles.
Shumaker said he considers all
violations “major,” even those
that the NCAA classifies as “sec
ondary.” However, he said the
university was working diligent
ly to correct the problems and
had hired someone to monitor
rules compliance.
“I want to make it clear that for
a university of this stature, and
for a university with aspirations
of the sort we embrace, being on
probation of any sort, whether it
be for an academic program or an
athletic program, is unaccept
able,” he said. “We are deter
mined to see to it that the culture
and the climate within this uni
versity make a repeat of these in
cidents impossible.”
The citation against the basket
ball team involves arrangements
made by assistant coach Scooter
McCray in 1996 to keep player
Nate Johnson's father from being
evicted from a Louisville hotel.
McCray admitted giving his per
sonal credit card to the Wilson
Inn to assure Fredrick Johnson
wouldn't be evicted. However,
McCray said he never intended
to pay the bill himself.
In addition, the letter alleges
that McCray asked about “special
rates” for the elder Johnson prior
to his Sept. 18 move-in. Howev
er, university officials argue that
Johnson already had moved in
when McCray made the in
quiries.
“While we recognize there is
conflicting information around
this, we are unable to at this
point, on the basis of what we
know, to substantiate any claim
that Mr. McCray did this before
Mr. Johnson was there,” Nys
trand said.
After those violations were de
tected last June, Shumaker put
McCray on a year’s probation
with his salary frozen. He also re
quired coach Denny Crum to
hold a monthly meeting for bas
ketball staff on NCAA regulations
and compliance issues and also
required him to attend every ath
letic department compliance
meeting.
The allegations against the vol
leyball team are even more seri
ous. In addition to the six viola
tions that were part of the
university report released last
July, the NCAA added two of its
own. They were that assistant
coach Nlitzy Donhoff violated
ethic conduct standards and
head coach Leonid Yelin failed
to exercise "appropriate institu
tional control” over the program.
Donhoffs contract was not re
newed and Yelin was suspended
for 30 days without pay.
International Week 1998
April 16
12:00 p.m.
12:00-1:50 p.m
12:00—4:00 p.m
1:00-3:00 p.m.
2:00—4:00 p.m.
2:00—2:30 p.m.
2:30—3:00 p.m.
4:00—4:30 p.m.
Europe Day
Opening Ceremony at EMU Amphitheater
Exhibition in Fir Room (Yugoslavia)
Exhibition in Fir Room (Germany)
Exhibition in Fir Room (Russia)
Exhibition in Fir Room (Bosnia)
Slide Presentation in Fir Room (Germany)
Slide Presentation in Fir Room (Bosnia
Guest Speaker in Fir Room
"The Reconstructing of Bosnia after the war
eater
(
All events during weekdays are free and open to the public.
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