Johnson beginning to shine at receiver

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002 | 9:59 a.m.

Earvin Johnson arrived at UNLV last fall with as much fanfare as any wide receiver recruit in Rebel football history.

Coach John Robinson compared the 6-foot-3, 200-pound prep All-American to another wideout named Johnson he coached at USC -- All-American and No. 1 NFL draft pick Keyshawn Johnson.

But Earvin Johnson, who was making the jump from a very low level of high school football in Southern California, caught just 12 passes as a freshman as he struggled making the transition to Division I college football.

Somewhat overlooked amid the gloom and doom of last Saturday's 25-16 loss to New Mexico was that Johnson may have had a breakout game for the Rebels.

Johnson caught eight passes for 141 yards, including a spectacular one-handed grab as he was falling to the ground with a Lobo defender draped over his back.

"He's becoming the type of player we were hoping he'd become," Robinson said. "He's a big, physical type of receiver who can go up like a basketball player and kind of screen off and rebound the ball against a defender."

Robinson now compares Johnson to another former NFL star, former Minnesota Viking star Cris Carter.

"He's not a great speed guy, he's more of a power guy who is going to have to knock you off the ball a little," Robinson said. "I remember when Cris Carter first started in the NFL. Buddy Ryan cut him and said he'd never play a down because he wasn't fast enough. Earvin isn't slow, but he's a long strider who can knock you around like Carter did when he's running after passes. And when you hit him, he doesn't quit."

What does Johnson think of the Carter comparisons?

"That's kind of funny because that's what some of the players called me in high school," he said. "(Carter) had that saying, 'All I do is catch touchdowns.' And in high school that's what I did. I had like 29 touchdown catches one year. Everybody was like, 'All he does is catch touchdowns.' "

Johnson has 17 catches for 304 yards after six games. Ironically, though, he still is looking for the first touchdown catch of his UNLV career.

"I think I've come a long ways since last year," he said. "When I first got here, I was real skinny. This year I've gained some weight and I'm a little faster. I think last week's game was the best one I've played since I've been here. The quarterbacks did a good job of throwing the ball where I could go up and make a play."

"We're going to play both, but Jason is still the starter," Robinson said at his weekly Rebel Football Foundation luncheon on Monday at Big Dog's Cafe. "It will be that way. We just feel like we want to get Kurt doing some things and we'll get him in the game."

Asked how he will use Nantkes, Robinson said: "I'll have a plan, but I don't have one yet."

Robinson mentioned this isn't the first time he has rotated quarterbacks. He did it at USC in the 1995 season with Brad Otton and Rob Johnson and the Trojans went on to win the Pac-10 Conference title and defeat Northwestern in the Rose Bowl.