Content available exclusively for subscribers
The New York Jets have expressed interest in Montana CB/S prospect Trumaine Johnson. He has a really nice size-speed ratio, loose hips . . .
Q)How do you feel about all the questions about your level of competition?
Johnson: Coaches like to see players from better competition, I can’t do nothing about that now.
Q)How do you answer the questions about playing at a I-AA school?
Johnson: If anything, turn the tape on against Tennessee. They’re an SEC team, the only D-1 team we played my senior year. Turn that tape on.
Q)What are your strengths?
Johnson: I’m big, I’m fast. My technique is nice, being as big as I am.
Q)Do you have a preference where you play?
Johnson: I’ll go anywhere. I played in Montana. I’ve played in every weather. Weather’s not a factor.
Q)Do you think of yourself strictly as a corner, or a safety too?
Johnson: I can play any position the coach wants me to play.
Q)When you look at cornerback class, what stands out to you?
Johnson: I believe myself. Myself, Trumaine Johnson.
I believe I’m a shutdown corner.
Q)Why did you go to Montana out of high school when you were on the radar of ASU, Cal and some Pac-10 schools?
Johnson: It was ASU, it was Cal, it was USC. I went to the USC camp, I went to the Cal camp, full contact. They said they were going to offer me. They never called me back. USC never called me back, either. ASU was supposed to take me on a visit, usually when they take you on a visit, they call you. They never called me back, either. I didn’t want to go to a junior college, so I went to Montana.
Q)Have teams addressed possibility of playing safety?
Johnson: Yes sir, safety and corner.
Q)You were a quarterback in high school. How did you end up at corner at Montana?
Johnson: I’ll tell you a little story, I got to Montana. Second day, I didn’t even get to practice, Coach Hauck, asked if I could play corner, we were playing Ramses Barden (Cal-Poly, now with the Football Giants), first game, I didn’t know who he was. At the time, I took it in, I told my parents, they were a little upset, but I told ‘em, it’s for the team. They switched me over to corner the second day.
Q)How did game go against Barden?
Johnson: Barden, oh, first half, he torched me. He’s a great player, he’s a great player. Second half, I clamped down and we won the game by one.
Q)What position were you playing when they switched you?
Johnson: A receiver. I got recruited as a receiver.
Q)How tough is it for you, as a tall corner (he’s 6-1 7/8, 204), to cover short quick receivers?
Johnson: Quickness, yes, of course, shorter guys are a little more quick – I have no problems covering big guys or short guys.
Q)You seem to really love football . . .
Johnson: I love the game, I love competition. I feed off it. I believe I belong in the NFL.
I love the sport. I love what I do and I love being a corner.
Q)What was your health like in college?
Johnson: In 2008, I slightly tore my PCL, the eighth game, I missed six games, I had to wear a knee brace.
My sophomore year, I fractured my right ulna bone and had to play with a cast the rest of the season.
Q)You played with the broken arm?
Johnson: I played six games with a broken ulna.
Q)How much did that affect you?
Johnson: I tended not to think about it in the game and just go out there and play ball.