After much thought, junior linebacker Micah Johnson has decided that his dream of playing in the National Football League will have to wait.
At a news conference Friday, the Fort Campbell, Ky., native made clear his intentions to return to school, despite being projected as a third-to-fifth round pick. Johnson hopes that staying another year will boost his stock into a first or second round pick next season. Johnson was named to the All-Southeastern Conference First Team Defense by the league’s coaches this year.
UK head coach Rich Brooks said that having Johnson return was the equivalent of landing a big recruit.
“This is huge for our defense to be able to bring back Micah, who is one of the leading tacklers on our team and in the Southeastern Conference,†Brooks said. “It’s like getting a big-time recruit, but even better in that it’s one who knows what you’re doing.”
But increasing his own draft stock wasn’t the only reason Johnson returned. Even with the losses of senior defensive players Marcus McClinton, Braxton Kelley, Johnny Williams and Mryon Pryor, Johnson based his return on big goals he has planned for the 2009 season.
“I really want to have a chance to compete for the SEC Championship, play in an SEC Championship or BCS game, something special like that to take this program to the next level,” Johnson said. “The talent is here, we can do a lot better than what we did this year. We were in a situation where we could have made more things happen this year if a few plays change in games that we could have and should have won.â€
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