This article originally appeared in the October 12, 2012 Football Edition of The Arkansas Traveler.
Dennis Johnson has
been a Razorback for 10 years.
Before his career
with the Arkansas Razorbacks, he played for the Arkansas High School Razorbacks
and North Heights Junior High Razorbacks in Texarkana, Ark.
When former UA
assistant coach and current Southern Arkansas University head coach Bill
Keopple was hired as the Arkansas High head coach, Johnson was in eighth grade.
“I knew right away he
had special athletic talents,” Keopple said. “No one wanted to tackle him. He
was exceptionally strong and the fastest kid in town.”
Although he was “a
little wild” at first, he found out that it was “our way or not play” once he
got to North Heights Jr. High, Keopple said.
Keopple’s first
memory of Johnson as an Arkansas High Razorback came in the spring practice
before his sophomore season, when he was still only a ninth grader. Arkansas
High’s starting safety that year was a senior who was recruited and offered a
scholarship by the University of Houston.
“Dennis turned the
corner on a sweep and ran him over,” Keopple said. “I knew right then he was
ready to be a star player.”
Johnson played
immediately at Arkansas High. He rushed for 1,734 yards and 18 touchdowns as a
sophomore, 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior and 1,529 yards and 20
touchdowns as a senior.
His junior and senior
seasons ended with 6A Arkansas State Championships, in which he was named the
game’s MVP both times.
“He was the kind of
kid you could build a team around,” Keopple said. “Teams didn’t look forward to
playing against him in our league.”
The way he performed
in big games and his impressive stats earned him many accolades including being
named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas team as a junior and
senior. He was also ranked as the No. 33 all-purpose back in the nation and No.
10 overall prospect in Arkansas by Rivals.com.
“He was a force
running the football as well as catching the ball out of the backfield. His
ability to return kicks was also remarkable,” Keopple said. “There have not
been many running backs in the state of Arkansas that were better than Dennis
Johnson in high school.”
After being recruited
by Tulsa, Oklahoma State and Louisiana Tech, Johnson decided to remain a
Razorback and signed with Arkansas.
As a true freshman,
he was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team as a kick
returner. He broke the school record by gaining 905 yards on 41 returns.
Against Tulsa, he scored the game-winning touchdown on a 96-yard kickoff
return.
He followed that with
another record-breaking season, gaining 1,031 yards on 40 returns. He also
broke the school record for career kickoff return yards his sophomore season.
In 2010, Johnson
started the year on the Doak Walker Award watch list, but was injured during
the second game, leading to a medical redshirt.
Returning from the season-ending
injury, he took a larger role in Arkansas’ offense last year, rushing for 670
yards and catching 24 passes for 255 yards. In the return game, he returned 18
kicks for 461 yards. His 126 all-purpose yards per game was second-best in the
SEC that season.
This season has been
an up-and-down one for Johnson, as it has been for the entire team. In the
return game, Johnson is averaging a career-low 21.5 yards per return, but he
broke the SEC career record for kickoff return yards against Rutgers.
With star running
back Knile Davis returning from missing last season with an injury, Johnson
started the season as the second-string running back. Through the first five
games he was only averaging 5.4 carries per game.
Davis, however, has
struggled, giving him an opportunity to get more carries. Johnson finally had a
breakout game last week against Auburn, carrying the ball 17 times for 76 yards
and catching four passes for 15 yards.
“Dennis was having a
good day and we wanted to continue (giving him the ball),” UA interim head
coach John L. Smith said.
Johnson’s toughness
and ability to gain yards after contact has impressed the coaches, as well as
his teammates.
“He is able to absorb
that first blow and fall forward to get two or three yards and get you in a
better position,” senior quarterback Tyler Wilson said. “If there’s nothing
there, he can will you a couple yards.”
If Davis doesn’t
return to his 2010 form, Johnson will most likely be asked to take a majority
of the snaps for the rest of the season. He will have to use his senior
leadership and pick up the slack, which Keopple believes he is capable of.
“I definitely believe he could lead the
team in rushing if given the opportunity. He’s a physically hard-nose runner
with the speed it takes to make things happen,” Keopple said. “With Davis not
totally back to full speed, Dennis could be the guy to carry the load.”
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