UM TEAMMATES GLAD SAFETY JOHNSON DID NOT GO PRO
Johnson calls decision to return for another season ‘a no-brainer.’
CORAL GABLES — Miami Hurricanes senior safety Jaquan Johnson said Tuesday he tried to get junior defensive tackles Kendrick Norton and RJ McIntosh to return for their final seasons, but they chose the NFL instead.
McIntosh was drafted early in the fifth round by the New York Giants, and Norton went late in the seventh round to the Carolina Panthers.
“It was a no-brainer,’’ Johnson said at a team community service event at Carver Elementary in Coral Gables. “I knew I was coming back my junior year. I was just trying to get RJ and Norton to come back.” Why didn’t they listen?
“Guys make their decisions for their families and they’re doing well,’’ said Johnson, a second-team All-American who was a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award
“I wanted to get my degree, but most importantly I wanted to play with my brothers for my final year,” he said. “You develop, you understand the game more. Things start to slow down.
“You go in with knowledge that you think you had when you were a junior, but in your senior year you definitely know you know it. You’re able to communicate to the (graduate assistants) and to the (scout-teamers). You get stronger. You get faster. That’s why I think it’s important to come back. And then, you want to see things through. We have a great thing going here, and I want to be a part of it.”
Last season, the 5-foot-11, 190pound Johnson was called the “heart and soul of UM’s secondary’’ by defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.
“The guy is unbelievable,’’ Diaz said. “When you need a guy to make a play, that’s the guy. That’s the guy.’’
Johnson, 22, led the Hurricanes in tackles last season with 96. He had four interceptions, three tackles for loss, one sack, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
“”We want to win every game this year,” Johnson said. “That’s the standard. Win the Coastal, win the (Atlantic Coast Conference) championship, get in the playoff and win the national championship. That’s why I came back for my senior year, and that’s what we’re planning on doing.’’
Defensive end Demetrius Jackson, a redshirt senior who sustained a season-ending torn meniscus in his right knee against Virginia Tech on Nov. 4, said Johnson returning meant “a lot.’’
“It shows that a guy like that is not selfish. We’re from the same background,’’ Jackson said Tuesday. “We come from the hood. It shows he’s not a greedy guy. He cares more about this team. He’s a team-first guy. He puts the team on his back ...
“He knows what we’re going to do this year and I think that’s one of the reasons he came back, to be a part of something special.’’
Safety Sheldrick Redwine, a converted cornerback who was teammates with Johnson at Miami Killian High, said he was “real happy’’ Johnson returned.
“I always knew he wasn’t leaving,” Redwine said. “It’s a big difference. It’s another leader that you don’t lose that you can bring back to help the young guys.”
Roster addition: Former Illinois defensive tackle Tito Odenigbo has joined the Hurricanes as a graduate transfer.