Johnson poised for breakout season?

John Shinn

Manuel Johnson tried to bulk up this summer. The weights, the diet, you name it, the Oklahoma receiver wanted to get bigger. Or at least as big as his 6-foot frame would hold without losing speed.

“I wanted to get stronger and make sure I could take the hits when they came this season,” he said.

This is a big season for the Gilmer, Texas, native. He’s been a big part of the Sooners’ offense the last three seasons, but he was more of an appetizer than the main course. In 2006 and 2007, he was in the slot and served as a solid compliment to Juaquin Iglesias and Malcolm Kelly.

But Kelly’s in the NFL and a receiver who’s capable of playing anywhere is in need. It requires versatility, which might be Johnson’s biggest asset.

Take last Saturday 57-2 victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga. Johnson snagged a career-high nine catches for 120 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass from Sam Bradford.

It was the kind of performance most would consider to be of the breakout variety.

OU coach Bob Stoops was more than pleased with the wide receiver’s performance, but saw no reason to label it as a breakout game.

“I’ve said it but you guys all seem to forget. He was our offensive player of the game four or five times last year. And, for whatever reasons, he didn’t get as much notoriety as some of the other guys,” the OU coach said. “This is not unusual to us; Manny has been a mainstay in everything we’ve done for four years.”

Johnson caught 67 balls for 826 yards and seven touchdowns since 2006. But coaches, teammates, even Johnson knew he was capable of more.

The only thing Johnson lacked was good health. He dealt with nagging knee and ankle injuries and even a bad concussion over the previous two seasons. They were never enough to cause him to miss a significant amount of games, but enough to keep him from being 100 percent.

“I’d do just about anything to have a healthy season,” Johnson said.

He might finally get his chance.

The offseason provided some extra bulk and Johnson made it through the rigors of preseason camp unscathed. Johnson said he doesn’t feel any bigger, but coaches have noticed a difference.

“I do feel he’s a little stronger and a little bigger and a year’s more mature,” Stoops said.

Receivers coach Jay Norvell sees a difference, too.

“He’s comfortable. He knows what we want to do, but you have to be able to take that attitude to the field,” Norvell said. “To be a good receiver you have to be hungry. You have to be hungry to make plays. You have to get after the defense, beat defenders. When you’re out there in space by yourself, you have to have a lot of confidence. He played with a lot of confidence Saturday.”

There’s going to be opportunities to do a lot more, starting at 2:30 p.m. Saturday when Cincinnati (1-0) comes to Owen Field to face the fourth-ranked Sooners.

It’s too early to tell if defenses zero in on a receiver like they did on Kelly last season. Iglesias has shown he can torch a secondary unless special attention is paid. Tight end Jermaine Gresham can also cause defensive coordinators some sleepless nights.

Someone has to be open under those circumstances.

“We have so many good wide receivers and they can’t cover them all,” Bradford said. “Manny got open a lot Saturday and I found him.”

Could happen a lot this season.

John Shinn

366-3536

jshinn@normantranscript.com