Green Valley alum making mark with California

By Jared Harmon

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 | 4:41 p.m.

Green Valley High graduate Brett Johnson is having a breakout year with Cal Berkley's football team.

As a red-shirt sophomore in 2007, Johnson played in 13 games picking up eight tackles as a free safety and special team specialist.

But, after the Golden Bears' victory against Arizona State on Oct. 4, Johnson has eclipsed his previous marks with 17 tackles, a blocked kick, forced fumble and two interceptions. He had seven tackles and a forced fumble in the win.

He returned one of those interceptions 43 yards for a touchdown in the Bears' 42-7 win over Colorado State on Sept. 27 in what he called his biggest moment yet in college.

"That game was pretty crazy," Johnson said. "It was like everything was going right for me. I had six tackles and then I pulled down that interception. That's pretty rare to be able to take it to the house like that. It felt great. It felt like the light at the end of the tunnel for all my hard work."

That hard work began at Green Valley where Johnson racked up 178 tackles, five interceptions and five forced fumbles between his junior and senior years.

Johnson credits former Gators coach Greg Murphy for his development.

"Coach Murphy played a big role in my life and where I'm at now," Johnson said. "He's the one who told me I could make it to a Division-I school. He told me to learn the cornerback and safety positions to be successful in at the next level. He just taught me how to be successful."

Murphy will be able to see Johnson's growth first hand on Nov. 1 when he travels to Oregon to see Cal take on the Ducks.

"Brett had a big impact on our program," Murphy said. "He was a stalwart on defense and he was easily one of the biggest hitters I've ever coached. He always wanted to go for the big knock-out tackle. He had a lot of tools and he developed well but he was still a late-bloomer. We knew he'd come into his own in college."

The 6-foot-1, 190 pound red-shirted his first year at Cal and then played special teams for two years awaiting his shot at playing time with the defense.

After seeing significant field time for two years in high school, he said it was difficult not playing.

"It took a long time to get some real playing time," Johnson said. "For two years I pretty much only played special teams but I still saw the defense in practice and made sure I was improving. I just had to maintain my hunger and my drive. My time is now."

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or [email protected].