Battalion
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Page 11 ‘Thursday, September 16, 1999
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BY AL LAZARUS
The Battalion
M ichael Bishop, David
Boston, Peter Warrick and
Ricky Williams all made ap
pearances at Texas A&M football
practices during the Aggies’ 1998
season. Strangely enough, though,
the four collegiate stars all appeared
to be the same size — about 5 feet
11 inches tall and 188 pounds —
and each of them seemed to feel
right at home in Aggieland.
The fact is, the Aggies had an im
postor among them. And he was,
perhaps, the most awe-inspiring im
postor in football history. Forced to
sit out his freshman season as
A&M’s partial qualifier, wide re
ceiver Bethel Johnson found a way
to amaze teammates and coaches
with his big-play capability, while
still contributing to the team by pos
ing as various impact players from
opposing teams.
“It helped the team out, by [me]
playing all these different players
every week,” Johnson said. “[It
gave] them a good picture of what
they were going to face. ”
Now a sophomore, Johnson fi
nally got a chance to shine when it
counts in his collegiate debut Sept.
4 against Louisiana Tech.
He did not disappoint, catching
four passes for 106 yards and a
touchdown. His longest reception
was a 46-yarder, but A&M coach
R.C. Slocum said he was equally im
pressed with one of Johnson’s
shorter hauls.
“When he caught that five yard
[pass] and turned it into 15 yards,
that was impressive," Slocum said.
“He did on the field what I had
seen him do in practice.”
So now that Johnson is eligible,
are his days of head-turning prac
tices over? Not according to Dante
Hall, the Aggies’ senior running
back who knows a thing or two
about making big plays.
“He’s been making big plays in
practice, and the Wrecking Crew
is no pushover defense,” Hall
said. “The way he was running
past our [defensive backs], that
was amazing.”
Before the Aggies’ opening
game, the hype surrounding John
son had reached a fever pitch, but
some remained skeptical at run-ori
ented A&M’s ability to lure a re
ceiver deserving of such praise.
For his part, Johnson said he had
a good feeling about A&M during
the recruiting process.
“They told me that coach
Kragthorpe was the offensive oo-
ordinator and wide receiver
coach,” he said. “So I was like, ‘if
he’s the wide receiver coach and
the offensive coordinator, there’s a
pretty good chance that he’s going
to pass the ball.’”
Johnson figured right, as the
Aggies demonstrated by racking
up 252 pass yards — compared to
219 on the ground — against
Louisiana Tech.
Although he has only seen action
in one game, Johnson already
claims to have a good idea of what
will make him a standout receiver
on the collegiate level.
“I like to stay on my feet,” John
son said. “Other receivers will be
like, ‘you better fall down,’ but that’s
how I’ve always been.
“I like to compete, basically. I
hate falling down after a catch.”
GUY ROGERS/Thk Battalion
er
ion:
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20
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