Bucs happy to catch up with topflight receiver
Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson and the Bucs finally crossed paths in a hotel room Friday night for an interview that was limited to 15 minutes.
By RICK STROUD
Published February 25, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS - Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson and the Bucs finally crossed paths in a hotel room Friday night for an interview that was limited to 15 minutes.
It appears they might be on a collision course in the NFL draft.
No one is more excited about that than Jon Gruden.
"I met him last night, and we're going to obviously do a lot of work on him," Tampa Bay's coach said. "Six-foot-5, 239-pound guys that can run and jump 45 inches that are great kids, they don't come around every year.
"A lot of coaches from the ACC are here at the combine, and some of the guys I know in that conference, well-respected coaches. And I just asked them how it was game-planning for him. And there's a lot that a great receiver can bring to any team. He'll be a guy that we consider. I'm sure Cleveland and everybody else in the draft is looking at Johnson, too."
In addition to his physical attributes, Johnson is impressive off the field and likens his demeanor to that of Colts receiver Marvin Harrison. He is a player who will probably never see the backseat of a squad car.
And Johnson, 21, insists that if handed $15-million in the next few months, he will remain hungry.
"I know putting money in your pocket is different. But nothing is going to change for me," said the player from Tyrone, Ga., a town of about 3,900 that is 25 miles south of Atlanta. "I'm not going to change. Not me."
How humble is he? In his final college game, the two-time All-American and Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver didn't catch a pass. Quarterback Reggie Ball sprayed passes all over the field at the Gator Bowl, but none got close enough to the guy who can leap nearly 4 feet.
What did Johnson do? Throw his scatter-armed quarterback under the bus? Nope. He said nothing after the 38-35 loss to West Virginia.
"Calvin Johnson is a kid where no one is going to go wrong," said Tom Shaw, a strength and speed guru training Johnson at Disney's Wide World of Sports. "He doesn't have any negatives against him. There's nothing. He runs fast, he jumps high, he runs real good routes, he's been coached by NFL coaches. He's a sure thing. He's Peyton Manning. He's a sure thing."
The Bucs own the fourth overall pick, having lost a coin flip Friday to the Browns, who pick third.
Cleveland is thought to be targeting Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, possibly leaving Johnson for the Bucs.
Gruden did not want to address how Johnson would fit in a receiver rotation that includes Joey Galloway and 2004 first-round pick Michael Clayton. But it's clear he would use Johnson.
"I don't want to talk on the record about a lot of these things," he said. "We think Clayton is a heck of a receiver. We've got to play better at quarterback. We've got to play better at some areas. We've got to coach better, too. But Clayton is a guy we know that can play. But at the same time, when you pick high, when it's your turn to select, you want to draft a good football player. You'd like to draft the best player you see is on the board. That's what we're going to do."
Johnson said Saturday that he will not work out with the other receivers at the combine today, opting to wait until his pro workout day at Georgia Tech next month.
"It's real tough. I've been contemplating it now. I want to run," he said. "I know I'm going to put up good numbers if I just ran and got it over with. At the same time, it just depends how I feel."
The Bucs plan to do their homework on other players who could be available with the fourth overall pick, including quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell of LSU and Brady Quinn of Notre Dame.
"We'll get a good player at No. 4 if that's where we end up picking," he said. "You never know. But at least the pecking order is finally established. We understand where we are and what our number is."
And it's looking more like Johnson and the Bucs could hook up again.
Rick Stroud can be reached at stroud@sptimes.com.