Johnson focused on catching the century mark

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2003 | 9:34 a.m.

Earvin Johnson says he's not big on individual goals.

"I'm just focused on doing what it takes to help my team win," he said. "And getting to a bowl game. I've never played in one and that's my No. 1 focus."

But to realize that dream, Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound junior wide receiver, more than likely will have to have to put up some eye-popping numbers in 2003.

Johnson, a first team all-Mountain West Conference preseason pick, finished third in the MWC with 51 receptions for 793 yards and four touchdowns despite starting just nine games because of injury. He finished the season with a bang, however, with 12 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns in UNLV's season-ending 36-33 upset of 13th-ranked Colorado State.

There are those around the Rebels program who believe a healthy Johnson is capable of hitting the 100-reception mark this season. One of those people is UNLV head coach John Robinson.

"I think we're going to try and get the ball to him," Robinson said. "We're going to try and do some different things.

"In my past, when I had Johnnie Morton at USC, Henry Ellard with the Rams and Keyshawn Johnson at SC, when we had a guy like that we'd get the ball to them. Those guys all had about 100 catches or that sort of thing. In Earvin I think we've got one of those type of players. We'll try and get him and Michael Johnson, who has also been doing very well, the ball a lot."

Keyshawn Johnson caught 102 passes for Robinson in 1995. Morton had 88 in 1993.

Earvin Johnson just smiles when asked about garnering triple digits in receptions this year.

"I just want to go out and catch more balls than I did last year and go over a G (1,000 yards) this time," he said. "If I get 100 catches that would be nice. But right now I'm not even thinking about that."

Johnson was arguably Robinson's highest rated high school recruit since he's arrived in Las Vegas five years ago. He was a prep All-American at tiny Cathedral High School in downtown Los Angeles right below Dodger Stadium in the Chinatown District. He finished his career with 169 catches for 3,000 yards and a state record 66 touchdowns for the Phantoms.

But it took Johnson a while to get acclimated to Division I football. Cathedral played at the Division 11 level in the CIF Southern Section, just a notch above eight-man football. Despite that fact, he still managed to play in 11 games as a true freshman at UNLV and finished fifth on the team with 12 receptions.

"It was a big jump," Johnson said. "That's why I worked hard every day as a player and a person. I'm more mature now both mentally and physically back than when I was a freshman. Last year I got more focused and more comfortable with the system. I felt good each time I went out to play."

"He got a lot more confident than when he first got here," Robinson said. "Back then he was a big, nice-looking guy but he was a real kid. Now that's all gone. He knows how to play the game. He's a mature person now."

A mature person capable of some pretty big numbers if he can stay healthy this season. College Football News listed him as the 49th best player overall in college football last spring and ranks him as one of the 10 best players in the Mountain West Conference regardless of position.

They won't get any disagreement from Robinson on that.

"Earvin Johnson has a chance this season to simply become a premier player in the country," he said.