Johnson quietly stalks Mizzou receiving record

Don't feel bad if your first reaction to this was surprise. Or something stronger.

"I read it two or three times," Missouri head coach Barry Odom said.

Redshirt senior Johnathon Johnson has never had more than 745 yards receiving in a single season. He is 242 yards away from having a season that even cracks the all-time top ten at Mizzou. His 124 career receptions are just 11 more than Danario Alexander had...in 2009. And yet, here sits Johnson, just a 74 yards a game away from becoming the leading receiver in school history.

Again, it's okay if you're surprised. He sure was.

"I definitely was surprised," Johnson said. "I thought out of all the receivers that have been here, I didn’t think I was one of the guys that was like on the verge of finna getting ready to break it or get close to it."

Alexander had perhaps the best individual offensive season in school history. Jeremy Maclin was an all-American. Justin Gage, Henry Marshall, Leo Lewis and others went on to long NFL careers. Even Kellen Winslow, Chase Coffman, Martin Rucker and Michael Egnew give Mizzou a rich tight end tradition and set marks that most wide receivers fail to match. But even by matching his worst season (28 catches for 549 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2016), Johnson would move into fifth all-time, passing T.J. Moe, William Franklin, Victor Bailey, Rucker and Maclin this year.

"When I first saw the stat, it was shocking," tight ends coach (and former wide receivers coach) A.J. Ofodile said. "Part of it is he’s so consistent, there’s not like that monster 1300 yard year with a lot o the other guys have had. Some of those other guys didn't have the career, when it's all said and done, they just had a couple of years."

Maclin played just two years. He is the only receiver in Missouri history to average 1,000 yards per season. Bailey played just three seasons. Alexander played four, but was riddled by injury. Coffman and Rucker each played four, but split time, and catches, with each other. Johnson is a rarity--good enough to see significant time as a freshman, but not ready to go pro before his eligibility was up.

"When you go back to some of those guys, it’s a testament to JJ," Odom said. "Also offensively kind of the things we're doing. The yards he’s gotten after the catch has been impressive. He's determined."

That's the other obvious factor. Ten of the top 11 receivers in school history finished their careers in 2002 or later. Bailey is the only exception, playing from 1990-92. Even more telling, the last five starting quarterbacks for Missouri rank in the top six in school history in passing yards. They would be the top five if Blaine Gabbert had played one more game. Even Maty Mauk, who played just one full season as a starter, is 10th on the all-time passing chart. Teams just didn't used to throw the ball like they have in the last 20 years.

But all of this talk of mitigating factors is a bit of a disservice to Johnson. Offenses have changed and he's been here a long time, sure. But the all-time record is the all-time record. It would come without asterisks and Johnson has a puncher's chance to hold it four months from now.

"That's pretty rarified air for him to be consistent like that. That's really what earmarks him for me," Ofodile said. "That's not to take anything away from how explosive he is. If you put together a Johnathon Johnson highlight reel at the University of Missouri it ain't like he's dinking and dunking and chipping away at it. I mean he’s got some huge explosive unbelievable plays."

The record would be a big deal. Johnson, assuredly, would enjoy setting it. But he's not going to say that.

"I think I received a tweet from somebody, I’m so and so yards away," he said. "I kind of watched it and looked at it a couple times and then I tried to block it out."

"That is one of the things I sure hope he could achieve because of the type of competitor he is and what he’s done for our program," Odom said. "But team goals first and then it would be exciting for him to get that."

If Missouri is going to achieve its goals, Johnson surely will play a big part. Not only on the field, but in the locker room, where his transformation may have been more impressive than his steady production on game days. To put it simply, Johnson has grown up a lot. He missed his true freshman season after ankle surgery during fall camp. Over the next three years, he quietly averaged 632 yards per season and rarely talked about it.

"I don’t too much like to consider myself a leader because I kind of like to lead by example," he said. "I ain’t just really kind of vocal."

"In the last two years he’s really become a leader, doing stuff right all the time you know," said Andy Hill, who was the receivers coach when Johnson arrived on campus. "That's pretty cool to see."

Johnson has come out of his shell a bit over the years. Though his teammates say the shell doesn't really exist until the microphones are around.

"He speaks up. I guess like talking to the media and all that he seems like a quiet dude," quarterback Kelly Bryant said. "He’s very humble, but he’s a high energy dude. Once we’re out there on the field, when he crosses the lines, he’s a different dude. Just a high energy guy. He brings the juice."

"He just takes every day by day. It shows. He just came in year in and year out, grinding and you look up and he could be (getting) that record," his roommate of two years, DeMarkus Acy, said. "It’s been a good transition for me just watching his habits."

Johnson said he can sense the young receivers looking up to him now. He tried to take Dominic Gicinto under his wing last year and says of Jalen Knox, "I love him."

"I done grown up a lot from my first time stepping here in 2015," Johnson said. "Going to camp and just realizing what it takes to become an SEC college football player at this level. When I first got here, I really didn’t understand."

He understands now. So do a lot of other people. Even if it surprises them all.