Johnson hopes to use size against Irish corners
By CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Editor
If you had to build the perfect wide receiver, what attributes would you give him?
You'd probably give him speed to get past defensive backs, good hands to grab anything thrown in his direction, jumping ability to go up for long balls, size to stay above the shorter defenders and strength to break off cornerbacks' checks at the line.
You're probably thinking Notre Dame already covered this guy two weeks ago against Michigan State's Charles Rogers.
Hopefully, the Irish defensive backs got some good experience against Rogers, because there will be more of the same Saturday against Stanford wide receiver Teyo Johnson.
"It seems like every team has those receivers," Irish defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. "He's big, strong, I know the family and I know the athlete. He's a tremendous football player. What makes him so good is his strength. And he's gong to be tough to handle. He's going to come in here and play his best football game."
The 6'7", 240-pound sophomore is Stanford's leading receiver with 16 catches for 245 yards and four touchdowns.
Rogers — who goes 6'4" and 205 pounds — gave Notre Dame cornerbacks Shane Walton and Vontez Duff troubles two weeks ago, grabbing seven receptions for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns over the shorter Irish cornerbacks.
Johnson adds three inches and 35 pounds to Rogers' measurements.
"I think if you look at the typical defensive back, they are under 6 feet and 200 pounds, but then you get guys that are my size and can run the same speed, it's so helpful," Johnson said. "If you want to make a tough pass it's very helpful. Football is all about mismatches, and that can be one of the keys in the game."
But Johnson isn't just a tight end playing further down the line of scrimmage. He is also an accomplished basketball player — he's a two-sport athlete at Stanford, playing for the Cardinal basketball team as well — and he can go up for jump balls like a center grabbing a rebound.
"What I think Teyo brings that the other guys don't bring is a body that's probably unmatched," Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham said. "When you put a 245-pound body on a guy that's 200, you've got a difference-maker there, and he knows how to do that with his basketball experience of how to just leverage his body into position to make plays. … I think they do a great job of just putting him in position for jump balls just to have an opportunity to do that, because he does it so well."
Duff and Walton held Rogers relatively quiet for three quarters two weeks ago, but when the Spartan wide receiver got single coverage, he caused trouble for the Irish.
Johnson knows how talented the Irish defensive backs are, but he will be looking for that opportunity to use his height as an advantage and make the game-breaking play.
"It's going to be physical out on the perimeter," Johnson said. "[Duff and Walton] are both very good athletes. They can cover well and cover the deep ball well. We're just going to try to go out there and do what we do. If I can just be one-on-one and physical with their defensive backs, I think it will be good for me."
All Sports Stories for Friday, October 4, 2002
