Wake Forest Athletics
KJ All The Way
10/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
This article was originally published in the Oct. 18 edition of Kickoff, the official gameday magazine of Wake Forest football.
By Stacy Hicklin
His eyes dart back and forth between the quarterback and his assignment. Almost effortlessly he mimics the opposing receiver's movements so that they are mirror images of one another running down the field.
Then it happens.
Wake Forest cornerback Kevin Johnson sees the quarterback look ever so slightly in his direction and he knows the ball is coming his way.
"I always say it's kind of like Christmas," Johnson said. "It's like when you wake up in the morning and see all of those presents under the tree and you know something good is about to happen. If I'm on my guy and I'm in good position -- when I see that ball coming to me, my eyes just light up."
Those chances, however, aren't coming as fast and furious as they did when Johnson was an underclassman. The secret is out about the senior from Clarksville, Maryland. Quarterbacks know it won't be an easy completion if they throw at Johnson.
Johnson finished his junior season with 58 tackles, along with 12 broken up passes and three interceptions, and was named third team All-ACC by the league's coaches. Three of the four cornerbacks on first and second teams have graduated.
Entering the season, CBS Sports listed Johnson as the ninth best cornerback prospect for the 2015 NFL Draft. It predicted Johnson will go as high as the second or third round. Every Tuesday, NFL scouts descend into Winston-Salem for an up-close look at Johnson during practice.
"He has gone from a guy who was a very good athlete playing corner, that relied on raw talent and raw ability, to really becoming a technician of the game and a master of his craft," said Wake Forest cornerback coach Derrick Jackson. "He started studying film in the offseasons, especially that of NFL players, because he started to see himself as that type of player -- potentially an NFL player -- and he went about his business that way."
The communications major is only taking one class this fall and will graduate in December -- leaving him with plenty of time this spring to prepare for the combines and draft workouts. He knows the time is coming to focus on his future, but this fall, he is refusing to worry about anything other than Wake Forest football.
"I just try to go out there and play ball and have fun," Johnson said. "I try not to think about the future because it can make things more stressful and make you overthink things. When you're out there trying to win, you're having fun and that's what football is all about."
Always Smiling
Don't let his competitive fire, big-hit ability or intense focus fool you. Johnson is one of the most positive, energetic and often-times silliest member of the Demon Deacons. He's quick to laugh and is always up for a trip to his favorite place in Winston-Salem: the movie theater.
"His imagination is so broad that you never know what he'll say," said fellow cornerback Merrill Noel. "He's a joyful guy that comes with energy every day. If you're feeling down, he's going to make you laugh even if you don't want to, but you need it. He's a big kid at heart, but on the field he's a man. That's what makes him so enjoyable to be around."
Johnson maintains that his attitude comes from the fact that he gets to play a game with his friends. He wonders how someone can put on those pads and not have a good time.
There was a time, however, when suiting up and running onto the football field wasn't an option. After playing as a true freshman, Johnson found himself academically ineligible following the season and spent his second year in Winston Salem on the practice team, unable to play in games.
"When I wasn't playing football for that year, I realized how much I loved the game and couldn't take it for granted," Johnson said. "That goes with everything in life. You have to handle your business and grow up. There are consequences for things you do.
"But watching from a different viewpoint on the sideline helped slow the game down for me. It helped me understand the game a lot better."
Johnson responded from his year on the sidelines by registering 58 tackles and breaking up 15 passes. He also began what is now a 30-game streak in the starting lineup for Wake Forest.
Standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing in around 180 pounds, Johnson has come a long way physically not just in his time at Wake Forest, but from the time he became serious about football. Johnson began his freshman year of high school just five-foot tall, weighing 96 pounds. He only grew about six inches by his sophomore year, making him an unlikely big-time college football recruit.
He began to standout on the field with his play, but his size was an issue for most schools. Johnson grew to a respectable 5-foot-11 by his senior year, but was still undersized at 155 pounds when he enrolled at Wake Forest. Putting on weight and muscle has been just as important to Johnson as improving his reads and technique in coverage.
"He has done all of the things he needed to do to be an impact player and it is showing up on the football field," Jackson said. "There really aren't many holes in his game now. You have to study a lot of tape to see how to attack him."
