Riall Johnson
By Christina Teller and Pauline
Vu
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Through eight games this season, the entire Stanford defense has
totaled 18 sacks ““ 10 of which belong to senior outside
linebacker Riall Johnson.
Johnson returned to the 2000 Cardinal defensive line as one of
two veterans from last year’s line. A member of the 1999
“trench dogs,” he played a key role in Stanford’s
romp through the Pac-10 as they earned a 7-1 conference record and
a New Year’s trip to the Rose Bowl.
Currently leading the conference in sacks, Johnson led the
conference in that category last year as well, finishing with
13.
That made him only the fourth Stanford player ever to record
more than 10 sacks in a season. If he finishes this season in the
lead, which he appears to be well on his way to doing, Johnson will
be the first Cardinal player to do so in two consecutive
seasons.
“He’s a pass-rusher, he’s a good athlete, and
he’s a big play guy,” UCLA head coach Bob Toledo said.
“You can only have so many guys block, so we’ll be
aware of where he’s at and do what we can to
protect.”
His success stems from his game mentality.
“I like to think of football as going to war,”
Johnson told The Stanford Daily.
Bruin quarterback Cory Paus will be given a run for his life
when Johnson comes to Pasadena this Saturday. Johnson has had a
sack in six out of the eight games the team has played so far this
season.
Another reason Johnson will pose such a challenge for the Bruins
is that he can play both defensive end and linebacker, depending on
the play.
“He plays over the tight end in their base defense and
when they go to their nickel package he goes over to the weak-side
tackle, so he’s always isolated one on one,” Toledo
said.
Johnson is a playmaker ““ he’s a guy who will make a
difference.
“He beings great effort and great intensity,”
linebacker Ryan Nece said. “He plays with a passion, and
anytime you have a player like that, it’s going to be really
hard to shut him down, so you’ve got to increase your
intensity and your level of play to really counter-balance the
equation.”
“He’s an explosive player and knows how to use his
pass rush moves effectively,” senior guard Brian Pollack
added. “He’s an effort guy as well. Once you combine
all those elements, it makes for a great pass rusher.”
Johnson, who has started 30 out of the last 31 games, enters
Saturday’s contest having recorded at least one
tackle-for-loss in each of the Cardinal’s games this season,
including three in last weekend’s contest against the
Huskies.
He leads his team in tackles-for-loss and is among
conference-leaders with 14 tackles for a loss of 83 total yards on
the season. Two weeks ago, when Stanford faced USC, Johnson posted
two tackles, a forced fumble, and three tackles for a loss.
But his premiere performance came when the Cardinal took on and
defeated then No. 5 Texas on Sept. 16. Not only did he post three
sacks, Johnson also recorded four tackles-for-loss and was awarded
USA Today Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week honors.
With a track record as fierce as Johnson’s, the Bruins
know they need to stop him to win.