Rough week for Johnson

Just a couple of weeks ago, Philadelphia linebacker C.J. Johnson was eying the Army All-American game as a great experience. As far as the game went, the 6-foot-2 and 22-pound Johnson did enjoy playing against the “best of the best”. But the circumstances before and after the game were not as pleasant.

Last week, Johnson found out the news that his position coach at MSU (Manny Diaz) was leaving to take the defensive coordinator opening at Texas. Then once the weekend came to a close, Johnson had to battle weather difficulties to return home to the Magnolia State.

“Man, it was the worst weekend,” said Johnson. “I got stuck in Houston and our flight got cancelled with the weather and all. Then my cousin is a captain in the Army and he was assigned to fly in to Jackson. I was going to fly with him to Jackson but that got cancelled, too. Then they could not transfer my luggage and it got stuck on a plane and then I also lost my wallet.
“Luckily, my sister and other family was still in Houston so they were able to drive me back home. Man, what a week!”

Concerning the game, Johnson made a few tackles to help the East squad come away with a victory.

“It was alright,” said Johnson. “I had four or five tackles even though I sat out most of the third quarter. It was a good experience. You got to see a little bit what college football will be like with all that talent on the field.
“But I didn’t like hearing some of the guys on our team start crying and whining about not playing that much. They should have just been having fun and enjoying when they did get on the field.”

When Johnson announced his plans to de-commit from MSU and take time to evaluate the situation, he noted he heard from numerous other schools. He will also begin his visits’ tour this coming weekend with a trip to Mississippi State.

“When I de-committed, a few more schools had me get in contact with them,” said Johnson. “Coach Oregeron from Southern Cal, Coach Caldwell from Arkansas, Coach Chizik from Auburn were some of the schools and Coach Nutt from Ole Miss, too.
“I am going to visit Mississippi State this weekend. Then I will visit Ole Miss, Arkansas and LSU if I can fit them in.”

And looking ahead to this weekend, Johnson said he is just looking to get that “comfortable” feeling again with the Bulldogs.

“I talked to Coach (Chris) Wilson and Coach (Dan) Mullen some last week and that helped some,” said Johnson. “I know they will come to see me this week, too. At this point, you just have to make sure and check out every situation. It is just a matter of me getting comfortable again with Mississippi State and seeing how that process goes this week.”

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