LICENSE TO DRIVE
Entering 2nd season as starting QB, JJ Johnson ‘the keys to our car,’ Crown Point coach says
Entering his second season as Crown Point’s quarterback, JJ Johnson has earned both his learner’s permit and his driver’s license. Metaphorically speaking.
“In our offense, we sort of give the keys to our car to our quarterback — like, ‘Here it is,’ ” Crown Point coach Craig Buzea said.
“We ask him to make decisions not only pre-snap but post-snap, and he’s obviously a dual-threat type of kid, so he has to know the run game as much as he does the passing game and the protections. He’s light-years ahead of where he was last year, and last year he really had a phenomenal year for a firstyear quarterback.”
Johnson completed 90 of 171 passes for 1,227 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season, Crown Point’s first with the highly respected Buzea as coach.
Johnson added 647 yards and a team-high 10 TDs on 159 carries, tied with running back Elijah Tiawhan for the most on the team.
“It was exciting,” Johnson said. “I was a little nervous at first. Everyone’s watching. But the more I played, the more I loved it. It was so much fun.
“Having that experience, it’s been huge. He trusts me a lot more to make decisions, and I’m way more confident in myself. My receivers are more confident as well, and the big boys up front are really good.”
Johnson grew up playing primarily quarterback, including on the freshman team. But as a sophomore in his first varsity season, he shifted to wide receiver and started, with then-senior Will Pettit established at quarterback.
“I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot,” Johnson said of his sophomore season. “I just wanted to be on the field. I just wanted to do anything I could to play, help the team win. I was excited to be out there.”
Johnson also was happy to get the opportunity at quarterback last season. He envisions having an increased role.
“The offense, we already know the basics,” Johnson said. “Now we get to expand on it. There’s so much he has for us, and it’s just fun to learn every aspect of it.”
Buzea agreed the Bulldogs can open up the playbook.
“We told them at the start of summer here, we’re taking the training wheels off,” he said. “Last year, we were very, very, very basic. We had to be. But this year we’re trying to take that next step in regards to putting more things in. We’re putting more responsibility on our quarterback. Everybody else can make decisions on their own too.
“Last year it seemed like we had to make every decision for them. When something was different, things broke down. But now I feel like they’re taking more ownership. They know what we’re doing, they know what needs to be done and they’re attempting to get that done.”
That notion applies to the program in general. When Buzea took over, there was a sense of optimism for the Bulldogs. With a foundation laid in a 5-5 season that included signs of progress, they believe they’re closing the gap with some of the area’s top programs.
“I just like our mindset. I like our attitude,” Buzea said. “It’s just a world of difference from where we were at this point last year. Last year was so much of a learning curve, not only scheme-wise, but what our expectations were. Those have all been set. Even though we keep our standard the same, we’re not talking about those things because they understand. It gives us time to work on fundamentals and scheme. I don’t want to say it’s a lot more fun, but it’s nice moving quicker than what we were last year. So we’ve made good strides.
“How late we came into the program last year and then having to do some things to get it the way we wanted to get it, winning five
games was a pretty good season for us. But obviously that’s not our standard. That’s not where we want to be, and we want to take the next step. To take that next step, we have to beat some of the big dogs, and there’s two of them (Merrillville and Valparaiso) that have been at the top for a long time, and Michigan City’s up there, and there are others in our conference that are always fighting.”
Johnson also has felt the difference.
“This group really wants it bad,” he said. “They haven’t told us one time we’re going too slow. Everybody’s playing hard, intense. I’m really proud of the guys.
“The sky’s the limit if the guys are ready to put in the work. If we don’t play scared, we can beat anybody. We have a tough schedule, but we’re not afraid of anyone. We want to show we can play with anyone, beat anyone.”
Buzea described Johnson as “a fun kid to be around” and one who can accept “hard coaching” with an open mind and thick skin.
“He’s been tremendous, and he’s made tremendous strides,” Buzea said. “When we took over the program, we did not have a single quarterback in the system at all, at least one who played the year before.
“So not only was he playing quarterback for the first time at this level, but he also was playing quarterback for the first time in our system. Even though he had a very productive year, just to watch his growth from last year at the end to where he is now, he’s just miles ahead.”