Johnson’s in the running for Rebels’ tailback spot

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 9:26 a.m.

One look at his number and it's easy to figure out who UNLV senior tailback Jabari Johnson grew up idolizing.

"I've been wearing 32 all the way back to my Pop Warner days," the 6-foot, 200-pound Johnson said. "My favorite player was Marcus Allen."

Johnson, a graduate of Dobson High School in Mesa, Ariz., has the same head coach, John Robinson, and running backs coach, John Jackson, as the 1981 Heisman Trophy winner from USC.

"It means a great deal to me," Johnson said after a recent spring football practice at Rebel Park. "To be able to wear No. 32 and be coached by the same coaches that coached Marcus Allen is a dream come true."

Now the senior transfer from the University of Washington will get his shot at earning the starting tailback job for the Rebels.

"He's almost the perfect size for a tailback," Robinson said. "He's got some power and he's pretty explosive."

Johnson, who had 19 carries for 70 yards as UNLV's third-string tailback last season behind then-seniors Jeremi Rudolph and Kevin Brown, is considered the likely heir to the starting tailback job next fall.

"I have some big shoes to fill," Johnson said. "With Jeremi and Kevin not here anymore, I feel it's up to me to uphold the standards they put up. It's my turn to produce."

Rudolph became the first UNLV back since Ickey Woods to rush for 1,000 yards in a season last fall. He and the powerful Brown combined to rush for more than 1,800 yards.

Johnson also figured in UNLV's tailback plans last year until he suffered a hamstring injury a week before the Rebels' season opener at Iowa State.

"I blew out my hamstring toward the end of camp," Johnson said. "It set me back for a few weeks. After that, I was pretty much ready to go. But by then, Kevin Brown and Jeremi had established themselves as the great backs that they are. So I had to be patient and pretty much wait my turn."

Johnson and junior Joe Haro, who started his UNLV career at running back, then switched to corner before returning to running back, are battling for the No. 1 spot in spring drills. A couple of highly touted freshmen, Dyante Perkins of Bishop Gorman and Dominique Dorsey of Tulare (Calif.) Union, are expected to join the mix in August.

"Joe Haro is a great guy," Johnson said. "He pushes himself hard out here every day. That makes me push myself a little harder. I look at it that the position is pretty much up for grabs."

Johnson came to UNLV from the University of Washington, where he redshirted his first year. In 1998, he had just two carries after starring in the Huskies' spring game, garnering 93 yards on 15 carries.

But it was after his second year in Seattle that Jim Lambright was fired as head coach and replaced by Rick Neuheisel.

"Coach Neuheisel brought in a whole new offensive scheme," Johnson said. "We sat down and talked it over after spring ball. He told me I really didn't fit his offensive scheme. ... We shook hands about it. It was pretty much a business move on his part and mine."

Robinson had taken over for Jeff Horton a few months earlier. So Johnson decided to transfer to UNLV and play for the head coach who helped put the tailback in Tailback U.

"Coming to UNLV was a good opportunity for me," Johnson said. "My parents get more of a chance now to come and see me play. And I get to play for one of the greatest coaches ever in college football. Man, it doesn't get any better than that."