Oregon senior running back Jeremiah Johnson has been waiting in the wings for his chance to shine for the Duck offense. Reasonable, then, that he would be chomping at the bit to run up some numbers against the unassuming Utah State defense.
In the minds of many, including head coach Mike Bellotti, Johnson is the centerpiece to many of this season’s hopes of success.
“Jeremiah Johnson, first of all, could play in any system. He’s that great of a running back,” Bellotti said. “He fits this offense very well because he’s a great receiver out of the backfield … He has tremendous stop-start ability. He can make people miss.”
But on his first carry last Saturday, the Ducks’ second play from scrimmage, Johnson dislocated his right shoulder.
Johnson took the handoff on the play and scampered 30-plus yards down the left sideline, but refused to be tackled by the last defender between him and paydirt. Instead of being forced out of bounds, Johnson delivered his trademark stiff-arm – of considerable MySpace fame – but was dragged down by that arm by the Aggies’ defensive back, dislocating the shoulder and rendering Johnson unable to play another down.
“He has a very vaunted stiff arm or straight arm,” Bellotti said. “That got him into a little bit of trouble last game.”
Johnson was far from pleased by his removal from the game. He could be seen on the Oregon sideline, visibly angry with the decision to not allow him to play despite the injury.
“I’m not going to say the exact words because I think I cursed a little bit there,” Johnson said of his sideline tirade. “It’s my senior year so I’m trying to get every nook and cranny out of it.”
This week, Johnson will most likely take the field with a brace on his injured right shoulder. He was loathe to assign a percentage to his health.
“I’m not going to put a particular percentage on it or anything because I’m playing no matter what,” he said. “It’s my first time playing around in (the brace) so we’ll see how it feels and see how it goes from there.”
But no matter the injury to his right shoulder, Johnson promises to be just as effective this Saturday as in the past.
“I run with my legs, you know, so I’m good,” Johnson said. “I have another arm too, so it’s not really anything that’s going to hurt my game in any way.”
[email protected]