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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, OCT. 21, 2015 – D'Ernest Johnson is USF Football's Renaissance Man.
When the sophomore running back isn't gaining tough yards on the ground, he's catching touchdown passes, blocking for Quinton Flowers, returning kicks, covering kicks and surprising defenses with his arm.
“I call him the 'Junkyard Dog.' He just does it all for us and he loves doing it,” head coach Willie Taggart said.
Taggart noted Johnson “by far has the best hands on the football team,” and the Immokalee native put them to good use right away this season.
Johnson hauled in two touchdown catches in the season opener and had two more scoring receptions in Week 2 at FSU, including one for 71 yards.
Johnson already owns USF's single-season records by a running back with four TD catches and 217 receiving yards with six more regular season games to go on the schedule.
“He's just one of those guys that shows up and shows out under the lights,” Taggart said. “There is nothing really he can't do.”
Aside from averaging 4.7 yards per carry, Johnson continues to produce in the kick return game with 26.5 yards per attempt. Johnson has been a standout on special teams since his days at Immokalee High School, when he returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown as a senior.
“Just being able to contribute in all aspects of the game, that's great for me,” he said.
USF already has 12 touchdown passes this season, one more than in 2014, and Johnson helped the Bulls top last season's total in last week's 28-20 win at UConn. Down, 10-7, in the third quarter, USF called a halfback option pass and Johnson threw a 29-yard touchdown strike into the wind to Rodney Adams.
“I told coach all week, 'This play is going to work.' We practiced it a lot and it was real exciting,” Johnson said. “In the game, I knew it was going to (work) because I felt like the corner was going to back off. Then I threw it up to Rodney and he made an incredible catch.”
Wearing a lot of different hats for a football team is nothing new for Johnson. The former four-star recruit scored 28 touchdowns in his career at Immokalee High School as a running back, receiver and return man in addition to playing linebacker.
Oh, and Johnson also punted for nearly 1,000 yards before becoming a Bull.
“I played a little bit of everything in high school,” he said.
Fans can see what Johnson does next during USF's home game against SMU 4 p.m. Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
“It's fun having him and it's fun calling the plays for him because you know you've got a high percentage that he's going to make it happen,” Taggart said.
'Bull Sharks' Preparing for Dangerous SMU Offense
Former Tulsa and Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris has helped jumpstart the Mustangs' offense in his first season as head coach.
SMU has racked up 185 points through six games, 52 more than its entire 2014 total, and the Mustangs are averaging 423.8 yards per outing.
“They've really kind of changed the whole culture of that place offensively,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said.
Dual-threat quarterback Matt Davis has thrown for 238 yards per game with 11 TD passes in addition to leading SMU with 426 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Allen said Courtland Sutton is best receiver USF has seen this season and the redshirt freshman has gotten off to a great start with 498 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
“It's the most talented group of skill guys collectively that we've seen, from receivers to running backs to quarterback,” Allen said. “The whole combined group, to me, has really stood out.”
Averaging 30.8 points per game, SMU had a bye week to prepare for the Bulls and Allen said his group will be tested Saturday.
“It's going to be a tremendous challenge. They do a lot of things schematically, they stretch you,” Allen said. “The eye discipline is going to be big. It creates some unique challenges for us, but we're going to be ready.”
Bulls Joining the Fight Against Breast Cancer
The Bulls will be wearing specially designed Under Armour uniforms that feature pink accents during the program's Breast Cancer Awareness Game on Saturday. The uniforms will be auctioned off in the future by game sponsor Moffitt Cancer Center with all proceeds going to the fight against cancer.
USF and Moffitt Cancer Center have teamed up for four Bulls Against Cancer games this season in various sports to raise awareness for breast, lung, brain and colon cancer. Check out the event schedule HERE. Support the campaign by ordering limited edition Bulls Against Cancer Under Armour gear HERE.
Bulls Bits
- A victory over the Mustangs would give USF its first three-game winning streak since 2011. “We've got a bunch of hungry guys out here working hard,” linebacker Auggie Sanchez said. “These two wins can really propel this season and let us take off.”
- Ray Guy Award candidate Mattias Ciabatti ranks 12th nationally with 45.5 yards per punt this season. Ciabatti tied his career long with a 68-yard punt last week at UConn.
- Saturday's game will feature two teams that score in a hurry. USF has posted 15 scoring drives that have taken less than 2 minutes to produce. SMU has scored a touchdown on 10 drives in less than 2 minutes.
The USF Football program is in its 19th season overall and 16th at the FBS level. The Bulls have made six bowl appearances, including every season between 2005-10, and have four bowl game victories. USF has produced 14 All-America selections, 25 NFL Draft picks and reached the No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Poll in 2007.
