Next chapter delayed
UM safety Jaquan Johnson’s decision to stay was a ‘no-brainer’
CORAL GABLES — After a junior season in which he led the Hurricanes in tackles, inout terceptions, forced fumbles and emerged as one of Miami’s emotional leaders, Jaquan Johnson had a decision to make.
Was it time for him to pursue his dream of playing professional football, start the next of his career and enter the NFL draft?
That goal, he ultimately decided, could wait a little bit.
There were still things he wanted to accomplish at Miami.
“We want to win every game. That’s the standard. Win the Coastal, win the ACC Championship, get in the playoff, win the national championship,” said Johnson, a safety of Miami’s Killian High. “That’s why I came back my senior year. That’s what we plan on doing.”
If the Hurricanes, who are coming off their first 10-win season since 2003, are to make another run to the ACC Championship Game and beyond, it’s likely Johnson — a secondchapter
team All-American and second-team All-ACC selection — will be called on to be a significant contributor during that run.
One of the Hurricanes’ most consistent players, he had a team-high 96 tackles last year and a team-high four interceptions. He became known as the face of Miami’s famed Turnover Chain, wearing the gaudy necklace that became a college football sensation a team-high six times.
He consistently earned praise from teammates and coaches, including defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and safeties coach Ephraim Banda. And when two of his teammates were faced with the same decision he had to make, Johnson became a lobbyist of sorts, urging defensive tackles RJ McIntosh and Kendrick Norton to return to Miami for their senior years.
Ultimately, both opted to enter the NFL draft — personal decisions Johnson said this week he understood each had to make. But he felt, for him, playing another season at Miami would only make him better and he’s hopeful more players consider the advantages of playing as a senior.
“You can develop. You get more developed, you understand the game more. Things start to slow down,” Johnson said. “You go in with knowledge you think you had when you’re a junior, but as a senior, you definitely know you know it. You can communicate to the [graduate assistants] and the scouts. You get stronger, you get faster. That’s why I think it’s important to come back.
“Then, you want to see things through. We have a great thing going here and I want to be a part of it. … It was a no-brainer.”
His teammates, especially fellow safety Sheldrick Redwine, who played with Johnson at Killian, say having Johnson back will benefit all of the Hurricanes, particularly some of the younger defensive backs still learning their way through Miami’s playbook.
“I’m happy he came back, but I knew he wasn’t going to leave,” Redwine said with a smile. “It’s a big difference [playing as a senior]. It’s an- other leader that you don’t lose that you can bring back to help the young guys. That’s really important.”
As to one of the areas Johnson says he’d like to help the Hurricanes improve, Miami’s defense at times last season struggled to get opponents off the field on third down.
Through the Hurricanes’ 13 games, opponents converted on 40 percent of their third-down opportunities, while Miami’s offense converted on just 29 percent of its chances on that critical down.
That was an especially frustrating stat for the veteran defender.
“I just believe if we can be dominant on third down, we’ll be a top-notch defense in the league,” Johnson said. “We have to understand the situation. Sometimes we weren’t getting in communication around the field and that lack of communication, we gave up a first down and we were pretty bad last year with our thirddown defense. We improve on that and continue to build on our success with everything else we’ve done, we should be okay.”
Earlier this year, Damarius Good was a sort of under-the-radar prospect just starting to get attention from major college football programs. But his speed and versatility caught the attention of Hurricanes safeties coach Ephraim Banda, who offered Good a scholarship in May.
It didn’t take long after that for Good — a three-star athlete — to decide he wanted to be a part of the Hurricanes’ recruiting 2019 class.
Good committed to Miami late Wednesday night, announcing his decision via Twitter after considering offers from FAU, FIU, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, USF, Southern Miss and Tusla.
Good, who is expected to play both quarterback and fullback for Lake Brantley High this upcoming season according to the Orlando Sentinel, projects as a defensive back at the next level.
He is the 12th player to commit to Miami’s class, which is currently ranked eighth in the nation by 247Sports.com.
ccabrera@ sun-sentinel.com; On Twitter @ChristyChirinos.