By Rick Figurin
pigskinpress.com

It's rare to find a candid player these days. Let's face it, most athletic departments spend time and energy training athletes to say the right thing as to keep their players from providing the other team with bulletin board material. While not malicious, Arkansas State Safety Tyrell Johnson doesn't subscribe to that point of view. The All-Sun Belt Conference standout makes it clear right away that he plays with confidence, conviction, and most importantly, he plays for keeps. The junior standout took a few minutes from his busy summer schedule to share his thoughts with pigskinpress.com about last year's conference championship, the future of ASU football and keeping it "real" on the football field.

Pigskinpress.com: “You guys had a good year in 2005 and you pull out the Sun Belt Conference title. How important and needed was that for the confidence of the ASU program?"

Tyrell Johnson : “It gave us confidence that we can play at a high level. And it also got the fans excited. It really has done wonders for our program, and the fans are really excited again.”

PP: “The Sun Belt is generally seen as an easy win by conferences like the Big Ten and the SEC. How does the talent level in the Sun Belt compare now to when you were a freshman?”

Johnson: “It's gotten much better. I know for a fact it has. When I first came, guys were running 4.6 or 4.7 at skill positions. Now, everyone's running 4.3 or 4.4 and guys are bigger and stronger. There was a lot of talent in the conference when I showed up but not as much as now. There is no difference in talent between the Sun Belt and any other conference for the most part, the biggest difference is depth.”

PP: “You racked up 25 tackles last season to clinch the conference title against North Texas. What did that game mean to you?”

Johnson: “To me, I knew we had to go out and step it up. I went out there and did what I could do. During the game I had no clue I'd racked up 25 tackles, but when I finished and found out, it was really exciting.”

PP: “Last seasons success seemed to give you guys a little momentum. How crucial is it to the ASU fan base to have back-to-back winning seasons?”

Johnson: “That would do wonders. If we win, fans increase and we get more attention on a national level. Like North Texas, they were getting a lot of attention when they were winning.”

PP: “You chose ASU over several teams including Tulsa. Why did you pick Arkansas State?”

Johnson: “I had a lot of offers, but it was one of those things where Arkansas State kept their word. They showed interest and they kept interest. Everyone said I was too small or a late bloomer, but Arkansas State kept their faith in me. ”

PP: “You've been selected by several publications as first team all-conference. How much pressure do you feel to match, or top, last year's numbers?" (112 tackles/2 int's).

Johnson: “As far as I'm concerned, last year's numbers were underachieving for me. I didn't do all that I could have done. I could have had 2 or 3 more interceptions, so in my eyes I underacheived. I hope to top those numbers this year.”

PP: “You guys gave Southern Mississippi all that they could handle in the New Orleans Bowl. Has that game helped increase your team's profile? ”

Johnson: “All the time now I have people coming up to me and talking to me like we won that game. Apparently, people now know that we are competitive and that we play to win.”

PP: “ASU is 0 for it's last 26 against BCS schools. This year you get Oklahoma State, Memphis(non-BCS) and Auburn. Which team do you think you have the best chance of breaking that streak against?"

Johnson: “Memphis and Oklahoma State. I think we'll beat both of those teams. I never count us out of any ball game. We don't "play for pay", we show up to win. In my head, there is nobody that we can't beat. We had Memphis against the ropes (in 2004) and we blew it in the last few minutes. We expect to win all the time!"

PP:"Let's fast forward to the 2008 NFL Draft. I'm an NFL Head Coach and I'm looking for a solid SS in the late rounds. Why should I pick Tyrell Johnson?"

Johnson: "I'm a ball hog. Where the ball is, that's where I'm gonna be. You won't see the football when I'm around it!"

Tyrell Johnson has been selected as a first team All-Sun Belt selection by several publications including Blue Ribbon, and Phil Steele's college football preview.