Bucs/NFL

Perfect prospect

The Bucs and coach Jon Gruden can find little wrong with coveted Georgia Tech wideout Calvin Johnson.

By RICK STROUD
Published April 22, 2007

TAMPA

Jon Gruden looked exasperated, recalling how he tried to find something - anything - Calvin Johnson could not do well. Sitting at the NFC coaches' breakfast during the owners' meetings last month in Phoenix, Gruden said he never had seen a 6-foot-5, 238-pound receiver run 40 yards in 4.36 seconds, broad jump 11-7 and high jump 44 1/2 inches. But that's what Johnson, widely considered the best in the draft, did at the NFL combine.

"There's got to be something the guy can't do," Gruden remembered thinking.

For emphasis, Gruden patted his head with his right hand while rubbing his stomach with the left.

"Come here, Calvin. Can you do this?" Gruden said.

The dozen reporters gathered around his table erupted in laughter, but his point had been made.

"If the guy doesn't make it," Gruden said, "then there's going to be a lot of guys that are going to be wrong."

Johnson, an introverted 21-year-old from Tyrone, Ga., is the perfect prospect, the can't-miss kid who might become the first receiver since Keyshawn Johnson to be selected first overall.

Physically, Johnson is a cross between Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, but he has the humility of Marvin Harrison.

Too good to be true? Maybe. A report surfaced last week that during interviews at the scouting combine, Johnson, Louisville defensive tackle Amobe Okoye and Clemson defensive end Gaines Adams admitted to experimenting with marijuana. But even that revelation may play in his favor because some teams loved his candor.

"I think he's a great young man who probably did it one time to see what it was like and told the truth (when asked about it)," said Chan Gailey, his coach at Georgia Tech. "I don't think it's an issue with him."

No one will ever question Johnson's ability. Without the benefit of a great quarterback, he caught 76 passes for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns last season to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver.

What will make Johnson great at the next level?

"My character, my willingness to compete," he said. "I believe those things will make me great."

Quarterback Chris Simms got to see what Johnson could bring to Tampa Bay firsthand when he accompanied Gruden to Georgia Tech last week.

"Everything you hear about that guy is definitely true," Simms said. "Especially his demeanor as a person. He's calm, cool and collected and very humble. He's not anything you'd expect one of the best athletes in college sports to be like."

Because Johnson didn't run a lot of short routes at Georgia Tech, Gruden wanted to see him get in and out of breaks. He even had Simms throw some poor passes.

"Everybody knows he can run fast and catch the deep ball," Simms said. "Coach Gruden wanted to see him do some things out of his element - short routes, run in and come back out, double-move stuff. That was impressive as well because he's a really big guy, and it's amazing to see him change direction like that. It's very impressive."

If the Bucs want to have a crack at Johnson, they may have to trade up from the No. 4 overall pick, most likely to Detroit's spot at No. 2. And even that might not be enough because the Raiders, with the No. 1 pick, have begun negotiating with Johnson and LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

Simms won't allow himself to daydream about Johnson.

"I just don't want to get my hopes up too high," he said. "I just want our coaches to do whatever is best for this team. But if that means drafting Calvin Johnson, I'll be one of the happiest guys in the world."

[Last modified April 21, 2007, 23:37:17]