You think at some point guys are going to learn. How many cautionary tales have to take place before it’s understood that mistake plus mistake equal dismissal?
Anyone who closely follows the Miami program had a pretty good feeling would-be redshirt sophomore Eddie Johnson wouldn’t suit up for UM this fall. Johnson missed two of the Hurricanes’ final three games of 2012 and getting head coach Al Golden – or anyone within the program – to discuss Johnson’s status, proved impossible.
Today the Sun-Sentinel’s Michael Casagrande reported that Johnson has official signed a letter of intent with Hinds Community College in Jackson, Mississippi after not being enrolled at UM this spring.
Johnson played ten of twelve games last season, working his way up the depth chart and earning a role as outside starting linebacker, when not even in the three-deep last fall. His season ended with fifty-nine tackles, leading the team with 7.5. tackles-for-loss.
Johnson is remembered for a solid seven-tackle outing in a loss at Kansas State and eleven stops in a Thursday night win over Virginia Tech, but a game he missed might be the most memorable.
A week after taking down the Hokies, the Hurricanes traveled to Virginia and fell to the Cavaliers, 41-40 in a shootout where solid linebacker presence and instinct was sorely missed. Johnson returned with five tackles in a 40-9 win over South Florida, but missed the finale at Duke.
For Miami, a blow as Johnson seemed to have a nose for the ball, oft going for a strip or getting a crucial stop. Huge plays against Boston College and Georgia Tech early in the season seemed like building blocks of what could’ve been a solid legacy at The U.
Instead, another who will travel the lesser road – and one seemingly difficult to come back from as more UM transfers (not named Arthur Brown) have struggled to gain footing elsewhere.
Johnson seemed to have it all right in front of him. Three years of eligibility remained and a true bright spot within a young defense, he could’ve followed in the footsteps of many greats who walked before him.
Instead, immaturity and an inability to listen to elders has done him in.
What happened, continuously, will remain an unknown, but chances were given and change wasn’t made. For the betterment of the team, coaches are faced with a focus on the greater good, cutting out the cancer or removing the limb so that everything else isn’t infected.
When trying to get guys to go all-in with their belief and attitude, it needs to be universal and when you see kids like Sunny Odogwu doing everything right, inspiring the team daily, as a coach you would think it’d leave with you less patience for someone like Johnson, who seems to have blown chance after chance.
Fans continue hearing about The Process and sadly, moments like this are part of just that. For every step forward or quality kid added, there will be little blows and setbacks along the way.
Miami will replace #44, but will he replace UM in his walk of life? The impact of these teammates and a coach like Golden? Probably not.
As always with allCanesBlog.com, we wish these kids the best – and remembered they’re just that; kids.
Not all of these young athletes realize the size of the moment they’re in, the ramifications of their actions and how a little self clean-up could keep things from completely derailing.
In time we’re all eventually humbled and Johnson will realize he blew it, so no reason to pile on. Better to just have the hope that he turns things around sooner rather than later.