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ASU's Johnson moving up in draft Saturday, Apr 5, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - Larry Lacewell came within a fast 40-yard dash of providing the Dallas Cowboys with a sleeper of a safety in the NFL draft. Lacewell, who retired as director of scouting for the Cowboys early in 2005 after a dozen years on the job, still attends the NFL combine in Indianapolis. That's where he mentioned Tyrell Johnson to Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips. A former coach at Arkansas State University, Lacewell zeroed in on Johnson during a couple of the Indians' games. "This kid is a good player," he told Jones and Phillips. "I don't know what kind of speed he's got, but he's a really good tackler." Supposedly a 4.55 sort, Johnson cranked out a 4.43 at the combine. "He was on the horizon, but nobody knew how fast he was," Lacewell said. He also did better than any other safety in the bench press with 27 repetitions at 225 pounds and his 10-7 standing broad jump was only four inches shy of the best by any of the cornerbacks, who are supposed to be superior athletes. Johnson's vertical jump was a disappointing 33 inches, but it was his last activity of the day and he improved to 39 inches during a recent pro day at ASU. All of that adds up to B-U-Z-Z, the four-letter word craved by athletes in the meat market that is the draft. "Get a buzz going and they follow the leader," Lacewell said. Just this week, Mel Kiper Jr. moved Johnson up and into the bottom of the first round. That's a bit lofty, Lacewell said, but it's not bad for a kid labeled a two-star athlete out of Rison High School. "We don't put any stock in those recruiting rankings," said ASU coach Steve Roberts. "We do all of our own evaluation. We've had a lot of scouts say if he was playing for such and such, he would be a first-round guy ... he would have more notoriety." It's also likely that Johnson would have been a three-star or better if he had signed on with a Southeastern Conference school, but ASU is in the Sun Belt Conference and that's an automatic markdown in the minds of some. "He's probably the best tackler I ever had the opportunity to be around," Roberts said. "He has the ability to react and play with technique. He understood his responsibility as a safety." In other words, he learned from the ASU defensive coaches the different approach to sideline tackles, open field tackles, and in-the-hole tackles. Don't misread that. If the ball carrier is pinned up, the 6-foot, 200-pound Johnson can and will deliver a blow. Being a sure tackler and producing Steve Atwater-like highlights are not synonymous, but the ability to get the ball carrier to the ground is invaluable and could mean immediate playing time covering kicks in the NFL. "In this day and age, safeties are a more valuable commodity than they once were with the spread offenses and four wide receivers," Lacewell said. "People are not content to bang-bang-bang down the field. They want to get the ball to somebody in the open field." When the defensive coaches divide the field into quarters, the safety stands over the second receiver - maybe a tight end like the Giants' Jeremy Shockey or the Cowboys' Jason Whitten. If that receiver comes straight at the safety, it's man to man responsibility and that includes tackling a 6-5, 250- or 260-pounder. Johnson can do that, Roberts and Lacewell agree. Best of all, Roberts said, Johnson is a first-class individual. "I can't ever remember him missing a breakfast check or a class or ever being on the discipline list," Roberts said. Johnson also was one of many ASU players who graduated prior to the season. The decorum and the degree were bound to be points in his favor during recent one-on-one interviews with about 20 NFL teams. Lacewell has always held safeties in high esteem. Like that time at a coaching clinic when a high school coach told Lacewell that he had one superior player and 10 other so-sos. Where should I play the stud, the coach asked. "Play him at safety," Lacewell said. "He'll get a lot of chances." So will the ASU safety from southern Arkansas. ---- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
