ropping the Ivedshirt
Starters' injuries allowed tailback Jeremiah Johnson
to step up and seize the spotlight against the Cardinal
BY LUKE ANDREWS
SPORTS REPORTER
ost among the shadows of a
loaded backfield including sen
-1—iior Terrence Whitehead and
freshman phenom Jonathan Stewart,
Jeremiah Johnson was virtually un
known heading into the 2005 season.
That all changed Saturday when,
after injuries sidelined Whitehead
and slowed Stewart, the Los Angeles
native was thrown into the lineup for
Oregon’s Pacific-10 Conference road
opener at Stanford.
Johnson, a true freshman, was in
tending to redshirt this season for the
Ducks because of a limited opportu
nity for playing time.
The Ducks already had a
bonafide 1,000-yard rusher in
Whitehead and landed possibly the
biggest recruit in the program’s his
tory by signing Stewart.
Alongside them were sophomores
Terrell Jackson and Andiel Brown,
who rounded out one of the deepest
backfields in Oregon history as all
four figured to vie for playing time
this season.
Now Johnson can be added to that
list of backfield hopefuls.
“Certainly we have great depth
there. It’s one more guy we have to
factor in terms of how we’re going to
get him the ball,” Oregon head coach
Mike Bellotti said. “But overall I like
that. It’s a great problem to have.”
For Johnson, the transition from
scout team to second team was a
smooth one. The 5-foot-10-inch, 190
pound Johnson led the Ducks in
rushing, gaining a game-high 63
yards in 11 carries and a touchdown
against the Cardinal.
“I knew all along that he could
help us, but I kind of wanted to save
him,” said running backs coach Gary
Campbell, who was forced to lift
Johnson’s redshirt status because of
the aforementioned injuries. “Now
that he’s gotten in the lineup, I plan
to use him as much as possible and
try to find some things for him offen
sively as well.”
Johnson’s play also got the atten
tion of Bellotti.
“I was very pleased for Jeremiah to
step up in his first college game and
be the leading rusher,” Bellotti said.
“He did as we thought he would do.
He’s a quality back. He is fearless. He
is fast. He is a great receiver out of
the back
field, and I
thought in
his first Pac
10 game he
did very
well.”
Though
Johnson like
ly will not
see signifi
“I came here to play ball and
coach (Bellotti) and coach
Campbell gave me an opportunity
and I made stuff happen.
Hopefully I will go further. ”
Jeremiah Johnson | Oregon running back
cam mne in
the backfield after Whitehead and
Stewart return to full strength, he is
confident that he can contribute to
this year’s team.
“It really didn’t matter,” Johnson
said of losing his redshirt status. “I
came here to play ball and Coach
(Bellotti) and Coach Campbell gave
me an opportunity and I made stuff
happen. Hopefully I will go further.
“I’m trying to make something
happen so I can be ready for next
year and hopefully start.”
Johnson will be a part of the special
teams unit, serving as the kick returner
against Arizona State on Saturday.
“I’m having fun back there,” John
son said. “It is pretty intense, but I
can do it.”
Johnson's road to Eugene
Johnson first became familiar with
the University of Oregon’s football
program after his brother, Jerome, a
fullback, signed with the Ducks as a
member of the 2003 recruiting class.
However, Jerome was ruled ineligi
ble by the NCAA and has since left
the university.
“He played a big role on my part,”
saia jeremian, reiemng to ms Drotn
er’s influence to attend Oregon. “We
were going to be two running backs
in the backfield, but he had a little sit
uation so he’s not here right now. I
am just going to stick with it and do
what I can without him here.”
Johnson also attended Dorsey
High School with current teammate
Jerome Boyd, and Johnson’s brother
competed against Whitehead while
Oregon’s back was at Dorsey’s rival,
Crenshaw High School.
“Jerome (Boyd) helped me a lot
with my decision to come here,”
Johnson
said. “And I
always
looked up to
Whitehead
when I was
in high
school.”
As a sen
ior at Dorsey
High School,
Johnson, returning from an ankle in
jury sustained during the previous sea
son, ran for 1,615 yards and 18 touch
downs, helping to lead the Dons to a
12-2 record and a Coliseum League
championship. He averaged nearly 9
yards per carry and ran for 100 yards
or more in six of his seven games,
while finishing as the conference’s
leading scorer.
Johnson has even loftier goals for
his four years at Oregon.
“I hope to be an impact in other
team’s game plans,” said Johnson,
who was the Oregon Football Camp
MVP in 2004. “And I want to be a
Heisman winner or get an award. I
David Gonzales | Stanford Athletics
True freshman Jeremiah Johnson carries the ball Saturday, which was his first collegiate
game. Johnson rushed for a team-high 63 yards against Stanford and Johnson will play
Saturday against Arizona State.
want to try to be an impact in
college history. ”
Beginning a career
Johnson’s stellar high-school ca
reer rushing the ball may have been
overshadowed by his defensive play.
He was recruited by many to play de
fensive back after being named to an
all-defensive team by the L.A. Times.
The ability to play running back,
the position Oregon recruited him as,
appealed to Johnson, who also notes
Eugene’s community environment as
a big reason for his decision.
"I like this atmosphere a lot right
here. I feel at home,” Johnson said. “I
am having fun out here. ”
Johnson intends to major in crim
inal justice with the possibility of
law school.
“He’s one of those guys that you
just tell him what you want and he’s
happy to do it,” Campbell said.
“When we anticipated that we might
redshirt him, he was fine with that
and worked really hard down with
the defense. Every day I heard some
thing about him and how well (the
defense) thought he was doing. ”
Now the opponent will be the ones
talking about Johnson’s performance.
landrews@dailyemerald.com
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