Athlete of the week

Eric Johnson, JE '01 Football flanker and punter Height: 6'3" Hometown: Needham, Mass. Favorite movie: Happy Gilmore Favorite professional football team: New England Patriots Favorite food: Mexican On the result of The Game: "Lots of people I wouldn't expect to have been coming up to me, congratulating me."

The latest episode of The Game on Sat., Nov. 20 was anything but ordinary. From the first quarter field goal that put Yale on the board to the dramatic last-minute touchdown, this matchup will always be remembered for the spectacular offensive effort that the Bulldogs put forth. And at the heart of this effort was the performance of wideout Eric Johnson, JE '01.

Johnson finished with 21 catches, an Ivy League record that also launched him into second place behind Jerry Rice for the most single-game receptions in Division I-AA, and racked up 244 receiving yards, a Yale record. The Game marked the high point of a remarkable season, as is evidenced by his position on the All-Ivy second team as both a punter and a wide receiver. Johnson didn't even know how many catches he had against the Crimson until someone told him on his way into the locker room. He credits his success to perfect timing on quarterback Joe Walland's, TD '00, part—Walland had 42 completions for an astounding 437 yards, both records—and to Harvard's decision not to double-team him. "A lot of times I was the inside receiver and they had a linebacker on me and a safety on top, but I was surprised they didn't even bring in a defensive back to cover me," he said. Johnson believes this would have been futile. "We have really good receivers and Walland knows how to spread the ball out, so if Harvard had used an extra guy to get me out of the game, they'd have had another guy open," he said.

Still, the story throughout The Game was the Walland-Johnson connection. The completions to Johnson led to the first-quarter field goal, set up the critical second-down play in the fourth quarter, and resulted in the game-winning touchdown. "I think in the beginning of the year I was getting open a little more often so [head coach Jack Siedlecki] was running the plays to my side," he said. "I don't think [Walland] favors me. But for the last play [of The Game] he did call me to have that route because I was having a good game."

The final touchdown was the most controversial play, a diving catch by Johnson that was made less than an inch from the ground. Some thought he trapped the ball as it hit the grass, but Johnson insisted the catch was legitimate, not a lucky fluke. "I outstretched my arms and caught the ball. If anything, it was luck that the [Harvard] defensive lineman tapped it towards me."

For Johnson, who joined the team when it was at its lowest point two years ago, winning both The Game and the Ivy League Championship meant a lot. "Coming in my freshman year the team went 1-9 and I felt like I couldn't take four more years of this," he said. "But this year was a turn around—we went from 1-9 to 9-1. To take advantage of our chance to win—it all felt really good."

Though many doubt the Bulldogs can repeat their success next year, Johnson thinks it's still possible. "Though it's tough to repeat in this league, we've got the guys who can step up and do it," he said. "I think [the championship] is definitely within reach."

Photo by Sheela V. Pai.

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