Andre Johnson's future, outlook as sunny as South Florida

As the years passed, Andre Johnson never forgot the promise he made his mom.

That's why he's back at the University of Miami this semester. Working toward a degree. Making good on a promise.

“I told my mom I'd finish,” he said Saturday morning from South Florida. “I just never said when.”

He laughs when he thinks about how much time has passed. Has it really been seven years? Will he really celebrate his 29th birthday this summer?

“I was sitting around one day this season thinking about what I'd told my mom,” he said. “Why not do it now? I've been out seven years and just felt it was time.”

He's 30 hours away from a liberal arts degree and is taking three sociology classes worth 12 hours this spring. To be back in a classroom setting after so long is, well, a shock to the system.

“It's different,” he said. “Like I said, it has been 6½ years since I'd taken a class. The thing that helped me is I did know what to expect. It's just that I hadn't done it in so long.”

Has he enjoyed it?

“Yes,” he said. “It's so different, but I'm dedicated to doing this. Hopefully, I can finish.”

Big men on campus
He's thinking of switching to sociology as he looks ahead to life after football. He has made millions and established himself as one of the NFL's best players, a rare combination of size and strength, speed and smarts.

Rookies Brian Cushing and James Casey are also back in school this semester. But they're less than a year removed from school, so it surely is easier.

“Your world gets flipped,” Casey said. “In a week, you go from playing the New England Patriots in front of 70,000 to sitting in a classroom discussing King Lear.”

Johnson is the Texan against whom every other is measured in terms of production, character, work ethic, you name it. He'll play in his fourth Pro Bowl tonight after a season in which he led the NFL in receiving yards (1,569) for a second straight season and was third with 101 catches.

He's 15th among active receivers in catches and yardage, but every player in front of him is older. He and Jerry Rice are the only receivers to lead the NFL in yardage in back-to-back seasons.

But he believes he has a more substantive contribution to make and thinks his second career will be coaching high school football. Thus another reason to get a degree.

“These kids are going through a lot of the same things I went through,” he said. “I think someone that has been down the road might help others avoid the same mistake. Maybe I can make things easier for them.”

Hurricanes pride
This has been a week of celebrating a great career where it started. He attended Miami High before The U., and if the Pro Bowl was going to be any place other than Hawaii, it's in the right place for Johnson and 10 other former Hurricanes in the game.

“I've been here two weeks taking classes,” he said, “so I've had some time to visit with families and coaches. It's great being here this week. I'm getting a lot of love.

“I think guys look forward to Hawaii, but it's the Pro Bowl and guys are having fun.”

Eleven former Hurricanes in this Pro Bowl is a record for players from one school, breaking the mark of nine by USC in the 1986 game.
“It's a tremendous honor,” Johnson said. “It shows what we represent.”

Which will come first?

He represents what every professional athlete should represent. All that's missing on his résumé is a trip to the playoffs … and a degree.

For a time, it seemed his magnificent talents might be wasted because the Texans didn't put enough other good players around him. They're coming off their first winning season and missed the playoffs by the thinnest of margins. They'll begin 2010 cautiously confident their time is now.

“I feel good about where we're at,” he said. “I'm disappointed we didn't make it, but we‘re headed in the right direction. I truly believe that.”

Click here to order Andre Johnson’s proCane Rookie Card.



(chron.com)