During the Volunteers’ contest against the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, A.J. Johnson recorded eight tackles to move into third place on Tennessee’s all-time career tackles list.
On Tuesday, the senior linebacker garnered another accomplishment when he was named as one of the 15 semifinalists for the 2014 Butkus Award, which is given to the nation’s best linebacker.
“I’m proud of him because he’s worked extremely hard, and he deserves to be mentioned in that light,” Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said. “He’s earned that right. But now, there’s a standard and expectation along with that honor of being named a semifinalist through your style of play.”
Johnson is the first Vol to be represented since Kevin Burnett was named a semifinalist back in 2004 and the sixth UT linebacker all-time.
In 2014, the Gainesville, Georgia, native has amassed 86 total tackles – a team-high – 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. When the Vols traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, to play Ole Miss on Oct. 18, Johnson broke the Tennessee record for most career assisted tackles, which he has 199 of in his four years at UT.
Currently sitting 23 tackles ahead of fellow linebacker Jalen-Reeves Maybin as the Vols’ leading tackler this season, Johnson has the opportunity to be the first player in Tennessee history to lead UT in tackles for three straight seasons.
“We always talk about making impactful plays, and A.J. is one of those individuals, whether he is on kickoff or whether he’s on defense, he always seems to be around the football,” Jones said. “He is very instinctual, and he impacts the game when he is out there.”
The Butkus, however, isn’t the only award that the 6-foot-2, 245-pound linebacker has been placed in the running for.
Last week, Johnson was also named a quarterfinalist for the 2014 Lott IMPACT Trophy.
For redshirt junior linebacker Curt Maggitt, Johnson’s recognition as one of the nation’s best defenders has been long overdue.
“Personally, I feel like A.J. should’ve been in the Heisman watch a few years ago when he was running the Wildcat and getting six touchdowns and over 100 tackles,” Maggitt said. “A.J. is a guy I got a lot of respect. I know what he is capable of, and I feel like he is the best linebacker in the country.”
Quarterback quandary: During Tuesday’s practice, all three potential starting quarterbacks trotted onto Haslam Field to continue the ongoing competition to determine who will start under center for the Vols come Saturday against South Carolina.
Jones did say, however, that senior signal caller Justin Worley’s injured throwing shoulder was still being evaluated.
“He is still a work in progress,” Jones said. “He threw the ball a little bit today, but not the velocity he is going to need yet. But he took all the mental reps, didn’t miss any reps in terms of overall but it is just the velocity right now. We still have until the end of the week, but if we were to play the game right now he wouldn’t be able to play.”
As for sophomore quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who relieved Saturday’s starter Nathan Peterman and played the final three quarters, Jones said that his preparation during practice was “business as usual.”
The coin toss dilemma: When it comes to the flip of a coin, Tennessee’s luck has been far from good, as they have lost 13 of their last 14 coin tosses.
The one win came against Chattanooga on Oct. 11, and the man who made that call? Curt Maggitt.
“I always call heads,” Maggitt said. “I’ve been told to always call heads when I was young. My rec league coach always said to call heads.
“When I hear people call tails, I’m like ‘yeah.'”
The West Palm Beach, Fla., native has since delegated the coin calling duties to Johnson, who has had no success. Since that matchup against the Mocs, the Vols are 0-2 on the coin toss.
Maggitt, however, stated he will retake the responsibility of making the call on the toss.
