Kansas linebacker Steven Johnson is aware of his situation.
"Not everyone can play Division I football," he said.
He understands how rare it is to have the opportunity to play the sport he loves at the highest level. He relishes every experience -- simply because his dream almost didn't come to fruition.
The Jayhawks' leading tackler in 2010, Johnson's road to Lawrence, from sideline to sideline, has been treacherous -- full of detours, doubters and denial.
Johnson didn't suit up on his varsity high school team in Media, Pa., until his senior year. And although he led the state in tackles, with 123 to his name, he received zero offers to play Division I football.
So he enrolled at Wyoming Seminary College Prep School in Forty Fort, Pa. After four games flourishing on the field, Temple and Georgia Tech took notice. But in his fifth game, his dreams seemingly snapped the minute his ACL tore.
For a player who hearkens back on the little things, it was a big blow. But it was not as detrimental as he originally thought.
Surprisingly, KU came calling, offering Johnson a walk-on spot. He jumped at the opportunity and after two years of relentlessness, he's the unequivocal leader of a defense hoping to rebuild.
The Jayhawks went 3-9 in 2010 under first-year coach Turner Gill. Though his first season in the Big 12 didn't go according to a plan, the important part is that he does have one.
"I have a plan being able to recruit, being able to teach and develop young men to play the game of football," Gill said, "and also play in the game of life."
Johnson can attest to football translating to life.
"It's the little stuff," he said. "Everything I do has always translated to football. Never skip a set, never jump the line."
Because of that attitude, Johnson has been stirring on the field, leading his defense under the tutelage of new defensive coordinator Vic Shealy.
"Steven Johnson right now, it's phenomenal the growth that's occurred as a football player," Shealy told the Kansas City Star. "It seems as if every practice he does something where we just kind of say, 'Wow.'"
Johnson points to an offseason of strenuous workouts as a reason for his maturation on the football field. He also lists a CD given to him by linebackers coach Vantz Singletary -- formerly the inside linebackers coach of the San Francisco 49ers -- as a major teaching tool.
"I have a CD of Takeo Spikes and Patrick Willis going through certain drills and I just study that and watch their form and technique and try to mimic everything they do," he said.
Little is expected from the bunch in Lawrence. The pundits see the team as the bottom-feeder of the conference. To Johnson, though, he has a simple goal.
"Last year, my goal was 10 [tackles] a game," he said. "This year I'm upping it to 13 or 14 a game. That's my goal. I want to lead the team in tackles."
For a guy who three years ago was enrolling at an unknown school in Forty Fort and who two years ago was merely a walk-on trying to find his way in a Big 12 program, it's a lofty goal. But looking at his past, his love of the game, his fight and his style of play, it's a realistic one.
"I love just flying around, making plays," he said. "That's my thing."
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