For AJ Johnson Playing UGA Is Personal

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KNOXVILLE — Like any football player, A.J. Johnson wants to win every time he steps onto the field.

Yet there is one game, those close to him will tell you, the Tennessee senior linebacker wants to win more than others. And it’s the one he’s playing Saturday, when the Volunteers visit 12th-ranked Georgia.

“For him, he’s an ultimate warrior,” Tennessee linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said. “He wants to win every game. Of course he’s from Georgia, and I know deep down — he’ll never come out and say it — this game means something. “He’s going to need to dig a little bit deeper this week. I could tell right now his focus has been a lot different. The way he’s practiced has been a lot different. He’s focused, he’s into it and he knows what this week is about.

“It’s like an NFL game. It’s old school: counter, power, toss. It’s what linebackers love to play. It’s not spreading you out in space and trying to isloate you one on one. It’s, ‘Hey, the ball is going here; stop me if you can.’”

Johnson, Tennessee’s leading tackler and an All-SEC selection the past two seasons, lived about a half-hour from Georgia’s campus in Athens and starred at Gainesville High School, which is roughly 42 miles from the Bulldogs’ Sanford Stadium.

Though he didn’t attend any Georgia games until his recruitment began, Johnson said in the past he grew up wanting to play for the Bulldogs, but they did not offer him a scholarship. If that’s bothered Johnson, he’s never admitted it publicly, and earlier this week he declined to call a potential win Saturday the biggest of his career with the Vols, instead saying “any win is going to be a good win” in his mind.

“We’ve got to go down there for one thing: to get the ‘W,’” Johnson said. “I know we haven’t beat them since I’ve been here, so that’s the main goal. It’s my last time playing in their stadium, my last time to be able to play Georgia, and the biggest thing for me is I want to come out with the ‘W.’

“I know a lot of guys on the team. I’ve been in camps with them and stuff like that, but at the end of the day we’re competing. I’m trying to win.”

For Tennessee to pull that upset, Johnson will play an important role in helping the Vols defend Georgia’s star-studded backfield led by Heisman Trophy candidate Todd Gurley.

“On defense, without question, A.J. Johnson is their leader,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “He’s the catalyst of that defense and probably the catalyst of the team. You see him play with passion. You see him play with energy. You see him just making just about every tackle.

“He’s a great football player — not a good one, but a great one. Really, I thought he should have turned pro last year. I don’t know why he came back, but he’s back and doing a great job.” The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Johnson had one of the best games of his career in Tennessee’s last trip to Athens, a 51-44 shootout loss in 2012. He made 11 tackles, one for a loss, and recovered a fumble. He also scored a 1-yard touchdown out of the wildcat package into which the Vols put him in short-yardage situations that season. He made 12 stops in Tennessee’s overtime loss to Georgia last season.

“We’ve got to know where No. 45 is,” Bulldogs offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “He’s a big, imposing force in there who does a great job of attacking the runs downhill. He’s big and he’s long, and he can make plays sideline to sideline because of his length.

“I’m not going to say he’s a blazer back there, but you see him making plays sideline to sideline because he plays so hard and has length.” For that game at Georgia in 2012, Johnson was able to round up 22 tickets for family and friends to attend the game, but while he’s hoping for a similar crowd, he’s not expecting to match that number for Saturday’s noon kickoff. Johnson likely would be just fine with that if Tennessee pulled off a win.

“It’d be great for him,” said Vols linebacker and defensive end Curt Maggitt, Johnson’s close friend. “Last time we were down there we lost by a little bit, by a couple of points. I know how bad he wants it. I know how bad he wants to win every game. I told you before my goal is to give everything I’ve got every game, and not just for the team, but for him specifically.”

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