UT juniors Humphrey, Johnson quite a catch
Wide receivers mull decision to turn pro or return to Austin
NEW ORLEANS — David Ruffin and the Temptations weren’t too proud to beg, and neither is Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger – at least when it comes to keeping junior receivers Collin Johnson and Lil’Jordan Humphrey on campus a bit longer.
Ehlinger’s two favorite targets are considering leaving early for the NFL. He’ll support their decisions regardless, but visions of what they could accomplish together in 2019 are too intoxicating to let them ride off without making a compelling case for why they should stay.
“I don’t know if I’m going to have to beg. Actually, I’m going to have to beg,” Ehlinger said Saturday. “They’re both tremendous players, and I think in order for programs to get to an elite status and continue to excel, you have to have your elite players come back.
“I’m definitely going to be begging and offering everything I can in order to throw the football to them next year.”
The NFL college advisory committee pores over game footage, statistics and other relevant material for those underclassmen who seek its guidance. The committee in turn provides the prospect with either a first-round grade, secondround grade or a recommendation to return to school.
Johnson was advised to return for his senior season. Humphrey did not divulge what the committee told him, though it’s likely he, too, was counseled to stay another year.
Neither will make a decision until this season ends.
They have spent some time consulting with coaches and family members, but most of the past month has been dedicated to preparing for Tuesday’s Sugar Bowl against fifth-ranked Georgia (11-2) at the Superdome.
“I’ve thought about it a little bit, early on during bowl prep,” Humphrey said. “But right now I’m just focused on playing Georgia and beating them. That’s what my mind is set on.”
Johnson wasn’t surprised with the committee’s findings. He received the same evaluation from the one-man committee known as Johnnie Johnson, aka “Dad.”
“Basically, what the advisory committee told me my dad told me that before they did,” Johnson said. “My dad played in the league for 10 years. He knows a lot and he’s seen a lot. That’s someone I have an unbelievable amount of respect for. That’s my dad; I love him and trust him to death.”
There’s no doubt Johnson and Humphrey possess the goods to be productive pro receivers.
Both are matchup nightmares. Johnson is a supple 6-foot-6 giant with an immense catch radius; Humphrey is a powerful 6-4, 225pound former running back who has made a spectacle of dragging around piles of would-be tacklers.
Humphrey led Texas with 79 catches for 1,109 yards, both fifth on the school’s all-time list, and nine touchdowns. He became the first nonquarterback since Darryl Clark in 1982 to register at least one passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in the same season
Johnson set new career bests with 65 receptions for 945 yards and seven touchdowns. In two outings against Oklahoma, he recorded 14 catches for 258 yards and two scores.
The knock on Humphrey is he’s not yet a refined route runner. Another year of fine-tuning and growing comfortable in the shoes of a wide receiver could boost his value.
For Johnson, who has the potential to grow into an elite red zone threat, it’s about learning how to consistently leverage his size against smaller defensive backs.
“The physicality, he’s a big wide receiver,” Johnnie Johnson said. “But when you look around college football and you look around the NFL, there are a whole bunch of big receivers.
“What are going to be the intangibles that are going to separate you from the other players? It’s not going to be size, it’s not going to be athleticism, because that’s going to be something everybody is equipped with. So it’s going to be his consistent, sustained motor to playing the game.”
Both Johnson and Humphrey said beating the Bulldogs wouldn’t sway them one way or the other. But a victory over one of the nation’s elite programs in a New Year’s Six bowl could get the pair thinking about what might be possible next year were they to remain in school.
Ehlinger. Johnson. Humphrey. Fellow junior receiver Devin Duvernay. Rising freshman running back Keaontay Ingram.
Imagine how potent that offense might be.
“I can’t even imagine, to tell you the truth,” Ehlinger said. “The progress that we made from last year to this year with the chemistry and the understanding of the offense all across the board, especially with those two guys. We were pretty good this year. I think next year would be really, really scary.”