Ex-Hurricanes see eye to eye on playing field

New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey took refuge from the heat under a canopy on the sideline, sipping from a small bottle of Gatorade, and he never saw Andre Johnson coming.

In passing, Johnson tipped Shockey's drink, causing some to trickle down Shockey's chin. Laughing, Shockey playfully chased Johnson for a few yards, but Johnson, a speedy receiver, avoided the bulky tight end.
“I'll get you back later, ‘Dre,” Shockey jokingly shouted at Johnson.

That friendly incident happened early Thursday and had nothing to do with the morning practice that became Wrestlemania.

“Did you see all these Miami guys out here getting in the fights?” Saints receivers coach Curtis Johnson said with a grin. “That's how we do it, I guess.”

Johnson was receivers coach at Miami from 1996-05 and coached Johnson and Shockey when the Hurricanes were the 2001 national champions.

Center Chris Myers and tackles Eric Winston and Rashad Butler were also on the team.

One of the best
The Saints also have former Hurricanes in linebacker Jonathan Vilma and tight end Buck Ortega, bringing the number to seven former Miami players on the Texans and Saints rosters from a team that is considered one of the best in college football history

“We already have a few guys on our team that played together at Miami,” Winston said. “But with the Saints here, there's even more guys that were on that team.

“It's always awesome to go up to those guys and reminisce about the good old days.”

Keeping Winston in line
Winston said that having several college teammates around him with the Texans keeps him grounded in his NFL career. He said Butler and Johnson were the same shy and soft-spoken players at Miami that they are with the Texans.

But when asked about reuniting with other Miami teammates, Johnson had plenty to say.

“Every time we get together, it seems like we talk more about what we did in college rather than what we're doing now on the football field,” Johnson said. “Those are the moments that you really cherish.

“We won a national championship together, and that's something you'll never ever forget, and it's a bond you'll always have. We really don't talk much about football at all.”

According to Shockey, Johnson doesn't talk much at all.

“Andre's a silent assassin, and there's not many juicy college stories about him,” Shockey said. “But he's obviously the same hard-working guy that likes to get better.”

Curtis Johnson, the receivers coach, agreed with Shockey about Johnson's work ethic and added that Andre's personality has gone largely unchanged.

“Shockey is a different story though,” Curtis Johnson said. “He never said two words at Miami and now look at him.
“But he's still a great player and an excellent playmaker, just like he was at Miami.”

Johnson said coaches were impressed with Andre at Miami Senior High School, but he was redshirted as a college freshman because he was behind two seniors in Reggie Wayne and Santana Moss.

Ortega, who was Johnson's high school teammate, was also redshirted as a freshman.

“You never think about playing with your teammates after Miami because everyone's just dreaming about playing in the NFL,” Ortega said. “We were just a bunch of kids that were given a great opportunity to make something of ourselves at Miami.”

Not everything is fair game
As far as funny tales and embarrassing moments from college, most players were unwilling to out their former teammates, even though they play on opposing teams that can't seem to get along.

“I have plenty of stories about Eric and several about Chris,” Shockey said. “But I'll have to keep those in house.”



(chron.com)