The Leading Authority of the NFL Draft

08/28/11 INTERVIEW: Player Spotlight: Trumaine Johnson, a major talent and begins the 2011 college football season on the Buck Buchanan Watch List the award given out to the best defensive player in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision).  Earning 2010 All-Big Sky honor at defensive back Johnson looks to build on the success of last season and also improving the overall 7-4 record posted by the Montana Grizzlies.  This episode of All Access Football is hosted by Bo Marchionte. LISTEN HERE

LATEST NEWS

07/06/11 - At 6-foot-3, 198 pounds, Johnson has intriguing size for a corner. The former high school QB also has displayed some uncanny playmaking skills as evidenced by his 13 career INTs. In 2010, he had four INTs and took two of those back for touchdowns. Source: ESPN

05/19/11 - The accolades and awards will be there for Montana cornerback Trumaine Johnson this year. An NFL career awaits him next year. "Tru," as Johnson often goes by, has his significant individual achievements on the backburner. "Going to the national championship (game) my freshman and sophomore years, I'm on top of cloud nine," he remembered about Montana's superb 2008 and '09 squads. "My junior campaign, not even to make the playoffs, that was heartbreaking. That hurt the most. Me and my teammates are starving, trying to get back to the top." Johnson is there in one aspect. Ranked at the top of the Top 10 FCS Defensive Backs, he might be the first FCS defensive player selected in the 2012 NFL Draft. Last year's Sports Network/Fathead.com FCS All-America first-team selection has an athletic body at 6-foot-3, 197 pounds, and is physical at the point of attack and catlike in his ability to pounce in coverage. His tall build doesn't allow him to move his hips or feet like a shorter cornerback, but Johnson is instinctive. The fourth-year starter has 13 career interceptions. "I like to lead by example. I'm not really a yeller and this and that. I like to lead by example, I like to shut down my side of the field - just make big plays for my team," Johnson, a native of Stockton, Calif., said. "I like to get my hands on a receiver, just own 'em. That might sound funny, but I like going out there with the mindset that you're not going to catch a ball on me. Just own 'em the whole game." Johnson totaled 44 tackles and had four interceptions and seven other pass breakups for 11 passes defended last year. He returned two of his picks for touchdowns, showcasing his 4.48-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He's looking forward to Montana's season opener at Tennessee on Sept. 3 - the Grizzlies' first game against an FBS school in five years. NFL scouts will get a better look at why Johnson could be a mid-round draft choice next year. Source: The Sports Network

08/28/10 - Trumaine might be the best athlete on the Griz roster, and if he can stay healthy - he's been rehabbing a hamstring - the defense will be formidable. Add an offense that will likely take a step forward under coach Pflugrad - with help from Johnson once in a while - and you might just have something special. We already know Johnson is talented and tough. The kind of player the opposition tries to avoid. The kind that would take the field with a broken bone in his forearm and never use it as an excuse on a bone-chilling 2009 run to Chattanooga. But how many people knew this California kid stayed in Missoula this summer? That he re-dedicated himself in the classroom and devoted most of his spare time to football? Johnson, an NFL prospect clocked at 4.48 in the 40-yard dash who has embraced a place 1,100 miles from home. A player so good he can make college receivers look like high-schoolers. Source: Griz Sports

SCHOOL BIO

Montana: Trumaine is a major talent, and this season may be used on offense and on special teams to better utilize his skills. He begins his junior year ranked tied for 17th in school history with nine career interceptions.

2009: He had team-highs of five interceptions and 12 pass deflections in 11 games (he missed four contests due to injury). He would be ranked first (tie) in the league in pass deflections (1.09 pg) and second in interceptions (0.45 pg), but because he did not play in the NCAA-required 75 percent (he played in 11 of 15, or 73.3%) of UM’s games, he did not qualify for the national rankings.

“Tru” was fourth on the team with 31 solo tackles a year ago. He is the team’s fourth leading returning tackler in 2010 with 54 stops last season.

He was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection. He was named the Sports Network’s co-National Player of the Week on defense on Sept. 12th because of his outstanding play (six tackles and two interceptions) in a 17-10 victory at UC Davis. He was also named the Big Sky’s “POW” on defense that week.

2008: He was a rare starter as a “true” freshman, which is especially unique at the cornerback position. He started in Montana’s first 11 games and was a Big Sky honorable mention selection.

Johnson tied for the team lead with four interceptions and tied for sixth in the Big Sky with .36 picks a game. He suffered an injury against Idaho State on Nov. 15th and was unable to play after that.

High School: He had an outstanding season at quarterback as a senior, passing for 1,800 yards (with just 5 interceptions), rushing for 500 yards, and scoring 22 total touchdowns. He was named first team allleague at quarterback and at defensive back following his senior year. He was voted to his high school’s football “Hall of Fame” at defensive back.

As a junior he was first team all-league at wide receiver with 750 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. He was also chosen his team’s MVP as a junior in football. His high school football coach was Elliot Burke. He also earned three letters in basketball. As a senior in hoops he was team captain, team MVP, and an all-conference pick.

Career Highs: He had a career-high eight tackles and tied a career mark with two interceptions in a 31-10 home win over 19th-ranked Weber State last season. He also had two interceptions against Southern Utah in 2008.

Personal: Parents: Lynn Stallworth and Curtis Johnson of Stockton. His major is sociology. Birth date: January 1, 1990.

Quoting Coach Pflugrad: “He really is a talented athlete. The one thing that ‘Tru’ really needs to work on is just his consistency in practices, which obviously leads to the games. I don’t think ‘Tru” was challenged enough this spring as a defensive back. It gets to the point that sometimes things are just too easy for him, and that’s not good. We have to do a better job coaching him and make it tougher on him.

“We cannot let him have any lapses in the physical or mental part of his game. If he doesn’t have any lapses he will be as good of a player who has ever been here. And that’s on him. That is totally up to ‘Tru.’

“Playing him offensively, there is no question we will do that. How much he can handle, physically and mentally, we are still sifting through that process. He can do some things with the football that not a lot of players in the Big Sky Conference can do. He has not played on special teams here at Montana, and he needs to. He could become a great special teams player. If you wrap all that up that’s a pretty impressive player.”