Longhorn Johnson still tough as Williams' sidekick
By Natalie England Daily Texan
(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas -- After Texas' loss to Oklahoma last season, the receivers hobbled into Manhattan, Kan., to play Kansas State. Roy Williams and Sloan Thomas were struggling with hamstring injuries. But B.J. Johnson was fine.
"I knew Roy wasn't going to be able to play much, and Sloan was hurting," Johnson said. "So I knew that I was going to have to take it upon myself to step up and make the plays."
Johnson came through with four catches for 132 yards and a touchdown, and had a hand in Texas' other two scores in a 17-14 win. His performance included a 39-yard catch for the touchdown, and catches of 53 and 32 yards as well. The 32-yard catch set up the game winning field goal. Texas head coach Mack Brown called the game Johnson's best of his collegiate career, along with the 2001 Holiday Bowl.
"They were all basically the same play," Johnson said. "They were all go routes, and I was able to take advantage of the mismatch that I had. I got a chance to make the plays, and I made them."
So far this season, Johnson has caught nine passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, including a 123-yard performance and both touchdowns against the Razorbacks. He will assume the role of second receiver behind Williams Saturday, but the Kansas State defenders know what he is capable of, and Johnson doesn't mind the spot anyway.
Johnson said that Kansas State will see a different Roy this year, and that having Williams healthy will help him out Saturday as well.
"Teams will put their best man on Roy," Johnson said. "But he'll still make them look silly."
When asked about what defensive backs Johnson faced last year, Johnson said that most aren't good, and he just made the plays.
"You can't expect too much more from B.J. Johnson," said cornerback Nathan Vasher. "Receivers will say things like that, but B.J. backs it up and makes plays, and I'm looking for him to do the same against K-State this year."
TEXAS PASSING PERFECTION
Quarterback Chance Mock is currently second in the nation in pass efficiency with a 177.0 quarterback rating, behind only Pittsburgh's Rod Rutherford, who has a 182.6 rating. Mock has yet to throw an interception for his career after 88 attempts and has thrown 11 career touchdowns.
"Chance is playing great," Brown said. "And what our quarterbacks are doing right now is that they're making productive plays, but they're not trying to win the game themselves, they're playing within themselves, within the system, and we're really excited about what we've seen from them."
Mock's 177 rating doesn't compare to what he had his freshman year, however. Throwing a 21-yard touchdown on his only pass, Mock finished the season with a quarterback rating of 606.4.
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