Jan. 4, 2002
Dennis Johnson
Opening statement…
“I would first of all like to thank my mom and dad and my brother for everything they have done for me and thank you all for being here today. After several weeks of praying and deliberating, I have reached a decision regarding my football future. I have decided to go ahead with my lifelong dream and declare myself eligible for the NFL draft. There are no guarantees where I will be drafted, but I believe this is my time. I thank UK for the years I was here and I will miss this great staff — Coach Morriss, who has afforded me this opportunity, along with my position coach, Coach Lancaster, and my defensive coordinator, who I love dearly, Coach Goodner. They have all been there for me and let me go out and show what I can do this year. I will always be a Wildcat. I love the University of Kentucky. It is a bittersweet moment for me, but I feel now is the time for me to go and try and live a dream that I have had for so long. Whatever I can do for the program I will be happy to do, but now is my time.”
In weighing the pros and cons of going pro…
“When you think about it, it is a scary process. It was kind of like my high school decision on where to go to school. You weigh the pros and cons of coming back and maybe having a better year, or maybe getting injured. I believe God does everything for a reason and whatever is going to happen is going to happen. After I talked to several people, talked to my father and other family members, I thought now was just the best time for me to come out.”
On what round he might get drafted in…
“It is never a set thing. I talked to some of the NFL people and they said maybe as low as the third round. I believe if I go to the combine and have good workouts, I can drastically move up.”
On being invited to the combine…
“I don’t think (you can be invited) until after you declare yourself eligible. I think after this I will probably definitely get invited.”
On changing his mind…
“I have been thinking about it since after the Indiana game. I went back and forth and I talked with coach (Morriss) a few times and Coach Goodner a few times and my dad every night and my brother and some of my close friends. I went back and forth and then two nights ago I just decided. I prayed on it and I believe it is the best thing for me to do.”
On what he needs to do to make an NFL roster…
“I definitely need to get a lot stronger. That’s one of the big things Coach Morriss stressed to me. I have to hit the weight room like never before. I think going to the NFL is going to be a process like college, bigger, stronger, faster. Strength is a big area I have to get better. I think technique-wise they will teach me more things that I haven’t learned. But I think strength is the biggest thing I need to work on.”
On his current weight and his ideal playing weight…
“Right now I am about 265 pounds. I might want to gain five or 10 more pounds. I think I can carry it well. More than that, I just need to work on my strength. I think that’s the biggest thing that is going to help my game. The more I lift weights, the bigger I will get.”
On what the role of Coach Morriss’ being UK’s coach played in the decision…
“It made it very hard. I love Coach Morriss and we talked after every game. We always talked about different things. He respected me and let me go out and play this year. A lot of coaches tell you that but don’t let you. He afforded me the opportunity to go out and just play football. He let me be a leader on the team, which I wanted to do. I might have talked too much sometimes when he wanted me to be quiet, but on game day I said what I had to say because I am a very emotional player. They made it hard. Especially my new defensive coordinator, Coach Goodner. I tell everybody I love him like a father. He was always there for me and he let me go out there and play. Probably one of the hardest decisions was leaving these guys.”
On how the change in the UK staff before the past season affected him…
“I don’t ever like to talk about any coaching staff, but this coaching staff came in and, I guess more than anything, Coach Morriss taught us hard work. He told me this my freshman year, and I’m going to get a shirt made when I go back home, hard work doesn’t mean success. That’s what I went by. Coach Morriss said you can have all those accolades coming out of high school, but just because you have all of that and you work hard in the off-season, that doesn’t mean you are going to have success on the field. That is one thing he always taught me. From here on out, just because I am working hard in the weight room and I go up to the combine and do well, that doesn’t mean success in the NFL. It is going to have to be something extra. Whenever I go on, I thank them for what they have done for me and things that they told me and taught me will help me later on in life.”
On whether anyone told him to stay at UK…
“I think it was 50-50. A lot of people, especially my family, didn’t want to tell me either way, they said it was my decision. As a youngster you kind of want someone to steer you one way or the other, but a lot of people said it is your decision, you have to make it. Some people say go, some people say stay. I go to the mall and other places and people give me their opinion. But in the end it was my decision. And everyone I have talked to has supported me in my decision. I kind of wanted someone to step up and tell me, but no one would.”
On a possible position change in the NFL…
“I think I’ll stay as a defensive end. That is what I have always been and I think at the next level they will project me to be a rush end and that is where I will stay.”
On his progress in the weight room…
“When I first got here I was probably benching maybe 300 (lbs.) and squatting 400 (lbs.). Now my bench was up to 385 (lbs.) last summer and I squatted maybe 550 (lbs.), 560 (lbs.), so it was drastic improvement.”
If he has talked to pro players Jason Dunn and Craig Yeast…
“I haven’t talked to Jason Dunn, but I talked to Craig (Yeast) earlier in the year. He gave me a lot of pointers on what it is going to take to go to the NFL. When it came to the season, we talked about things that I needed to work on to be able to make it in the pros. He told me my handwork and footwork and being able to move is one of the biggest things to be a good pro. I think I improved on that a lot this year.”
On teams he might like to play for…
“I was a Dallas Cowboys fan growing up. I like the Titans, they have a good team. But anyone that takes me, I will be happy to go play for them. I am just going to be ready.”
On his four years at Kentucky…
“It was definitely a great experience. As a freshman you come in thinking everything will be roses and that you will come in and be an All-American your first year and go into the pros early, but it didn’t happen like that for me. And I think that made me grow up a lot. Through it all I kept God first and always kept a steady work ethic. I knew one day it would pay off. I think at the end of my sophomore year I made some good strides and then this year with the new coaching staff, it finally enabled me to go out and show people what I can do. I think I went out and had a productive year.”
Coach Guy Morriss
On his role in the decision…
“What I did was just try to make sure that Dennis weighed all of his options. There is a process by which the NFL will evaluate the juniors that are contemplating coming out early and I advised him to take advantage of that evaluation process. I also talked to the family and made sure they understood how this worked. I think that they went that route so that they could get the best information upon which to make this decision.”
On Dennis Johnson leaving early…
“I’m here to support Dennis Johnson – I’m a Dennis Johnson fan. Whatever he decides to do, I’m going to back him to the hilt. He’s given us four great years of his academic and football life at Kentucky. We appreciate that and we’re going to support him all the way.”
On filling his position…
“Dennis will be missed, he’s a great football player. But at the same time, as this is an opportunity for Dennis, opportunities open up for the guys that are still here. We have some players that I think will be able to step in and get the job done. This creates an opportunity for those guys to step forward and we as a team must move forward.”
