Johnson can almost grasp the top rung

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Nov. 11, 2004 | 8:57 a.m.

Most of the UNLV football team has been able to put behind the bitter memory of its 63-28 loss at seventh-ranked Utah three weeks ago.

But for senior wide receiver Earvin Johnson, the ring finger on his right hand continues to provide him with a painful reminder of that contest.

The key word here is "painful."

It was early in the first quarter that Johnson, a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, landed awkwardly. The man voted as having the best hands in the Mountain West Conference by Street & Smith's magazine looked down and saw a finger that was going in three different directions.

"When I initially looked down I thought I had broken it," said Johnson, a soft-spoken 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from Cathedral High School in Los Angeles. "But then they popped it back into place and the X-rays were OK."

Johnson hadn't broken the ring finger but had dislocated it in two spots -- in the middle joint and also the joint right above the fingernail.

Can you say "ouch?"

Now almost three weeks later, Johnson, who needs just 14 receptions to break the school career mark of 187 set by Damon Williams (1995-98) and 58 receiving yards to break Williams' school career mark of 2,558, still has his finger in a splint. That is, when he isn't icing it four or five times a day.

"It's still a little bit messed up," he said. "It's still sore right now."

So sore that Johnson had to get a painkiller shot in the finger before Saturday's 53-45 triple-overtime loss to Wyoming just so he could play.

"I had to numb it," Johnson, who is tied for third in the conference in receptions (51) and is second in touchdown receptions (8), said. "I went out there at first just to see how it felt. But every time I caught a ball I still had a lot of pain. I just shot it up. It got numb a little bit and I was able to catch some balls."

Not just some balls, but a game-high eight receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns, including a 25-yarder at the start of the second overtime session to give the Rebels their last lead of the night, 45-38.

"I can only bend (the finger) about halfway still," Johnson said. "I'm trying to straighten it out. I still can't make a fist but I think I'll be able to make a grip by Saturday. It has so much swelling. I've just got to keep icing it. If it still hurts I'll still go out and play and do the same thing I did last game."

Johnson says his motivation for playing in the last two games at Colorado State on Saturday morning and at San Diego State on Nov. 20 isn't just about trying to break the school's two career receiving marks.

"I'm just happy to be in this position to maybe be able to break them," he said. "But I want to get a couple of wins. It's tough going out there and playing hard and end up losing at the end. These last two weeks it's just going to be all about pride. Everybody has got to play hard and give it their all."

Despite a disappointing 2-7 record in his senior year, there's no denying Johnson still is giving it his all. All one has to do is look at his finger if they have any doubt.