Aldarius Johnson ready for his chance at Miami Pro Day

As soon as the news came out, Aldarius Johnson lost his will to do anything.

Coach Al Golden had suspended Johnson before his senior season could even begin, and the wide receiver’s football career was suddenly in jeopardy.

“For like two weeks, I didn’t do anything and I just stayed in the house,” Johnson said.

Johnson was suspended indefinitely by the Hurricanes in late August for violating team rules, and he was never reinstated.

The team rule that he broke is still in question. Multiple reports state that Johnson was suspended because of a tweet he sent out asking his Twitter followers what the best strip club in Miami was. Other reports said Johnson, who was already ruled ineligible before the season because of his alleged involvement with former booster Nevin Shapiro, was less than forthright in two interviews with NCAA investigators involving Shapiro.

“I still really don’t know [why I was suspended] and I just let it go,” Johnson said. “It’s out of my hands, so I didn’t even go back and ask why or anything. I just took it as like that’s my punishment, so I’ll go do it.”

Now, Johnson is ready to move on.

The former Miami Northwestern standout has been training for the 2012 NFL Draft. And although he was not invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine, the University of Miami welcomed Johnson back to participate in the school’s Pro Timing Day on Thursday.

“I was surprised,” Johnson said of UM’s decision to allow him back for Pro Timing Day. “It was really a surprise to me that they said yes. So I was just like, ‘OK, now I have another chance.’ I was just looking at it like I got suspended for doing a boneheaded mistake, and I just thought they weren’t going to accept me in.”

Johnson, who had 31 catches for 332 yards as a freshman at Miami, has been training in South Florida for an opportunity like this since receiving his suspension.

On some days, he goes through three separate workouts. And the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Johnson hopes that hard work results in him running a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash in front of scouts Thursday. He even caught passes from former high school and Hurricanes teammate Jacory Harris on Feb. 23 for the first time since August.

“We can’t go back in time,” Golden said. “I would have loved to have coached him last year and be a part of this. It didn’t work out that way. But we don’t want to compound his problems by now saying, ‘OK, you don’t have a Pro Day to work out.’ Hopefully he’ll do well Thursday and he’ll have an opportunity to play in the NFL.”


(orlandosentinel.com)