Alabama CB has final three

Cornerback Darius Johnson and his B.C. Rain teammates struggled through a 3-7 season, but he said the losing didn’t keep him from having a strong season on his own. Now he’s hoping that his college decision will place him at a school where he can avoid another 3-7 year.

“I’ve been talking to MTSU (Middle Tennessee State), Kentucky and Louisville,” Johnson said. “I like different things about all those places. I like how MTSU has reached out to me a little more, and so I’m feeling a lot of comfort from them. I like how Louisville is just a really good program, and I like how Kentucky is lacking strong cornerbacks right now, so I think I could go in there and play.”

The different schools all offer different opportunities for the defensive back, but Johnson said his decision will come down to two main factors.

“First, I want to go somewhere where I can show my talent on the field early, no matter where on the field I am,” he said. “The other big thing is that I have to feel comfortable wherever I go.”

Johnson knows that he’ll need official visits to distinguish between his final choices, but said he isn’t sure when he will take those trips. He said that while both Louisville and Kentucky, which have given him scholarship offers, have called and written him about making an official visit, he hasn’t been back in touch to set them up yet.

With 50 tackles on the season, Johnson got in a good deal of hard hitting plays. Still, he said that he was as proud of his two interceptions, mainly because it was a rarity when other teams would throw to his side of the field.

“I had a real good season, and other teams didn’t test me as much as I thought they would,” Johnson said. “Other teams ran a lot of running plays, and they only made real cautious plays when they would throw it. I hit like Roy Williams (Dallas Cowboys safety) and cover like Deion (Baltimore Ravens cornerback Sanders), so you may think you’re open, but you’re really not. When the time comes, everyone will see my talents.”