Brando19
06-13-2007, 04:07 PM
Rory Johnson wants this story to be about redemption, not tragedy.
Yes, he tested positive for marijuana twice in his college days. No, the second positive didn't surprise him.
He knew what he'd done, and he knew he was going to be caught. But weed had been a part of Johnson's life for so long, not even in-season testing at the University of Mississippi convinced him to give it up.
"I never had a problem," Johnson said last week, sitting in the rookie wing of the Green Bay Packers' locker room. "It's kind of where I come from, where I grew up. It was just something I always did. It was always my choice."
Choosing to use again could make his young NFL career go up in smoke.
Johnson confirmed he's been tabbed for Phase 1 — the evaluation phase — of the league's substance-abuse program.
Failing a test would advance him to Phase 2, in which players can be tested as many as 10 times a month and positive tests net fines and suspensions. More important, it would show his new employer that Johnson, for all his talents on the field, hasn't learned his lesson off of it.
But the Packers are giving opportunities to Johnson and Juwan Simpson, another linebacker who went undrafted because of character concerns, even as the NFL crusades to polish its image by enforcing its new, more stringent player conduct policy.
Johnson swears he's been clean since he was busted last fall at Ole Miss, which offered him a scholarship despite his positive test at Hinds Community College. He also swears he won't use again as long as he's playing.
The Packers' faith in Johnson is as much about believing in him as simply believing him.
In his only Division I season, Johnson, a Vicksburg, Miss., native, seized a starting role and made 94 tackles, second on the team behind fellow linebacker Patrick Willis, whom the San Francisco 49ers drafted 11th overall.
"The one thing that jumped off the film watching him at Ole Miss is he definitely fits our scheme," coach Mike McCarthy said. Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and assistant head coach/linebackers Winston Moss "refer to it as getting off the spot, and he has exceptional quickness and instincts."
Those skills and a 4.54 mark in the 40-yard dash made Johnson a projected Day 1 draft pick as a junior entry, but he wasn't selected. Packers assistant special teams coach Shawn Slocum, who helped recruit Johnson to Ole Miss, called shortly after the draft to extend a free-agent offer.
Undersized at 6-foot-0, 237 pounds, Johnson has worked at weakside linebacker with the Packers' second- and third-team defenses during offseason practices, increasing his repetitions. Behind starters A.J. Hawk, Nick Barnett and Brady Poppinga, only former third-round draft pick Abdul Hodge seems to be guaranteed a roster spot, leaving six other linebackers to compete for two or three jobs.
Simpson is one of them. Like Johnson, Simpson could be evaluated for substance abuse, though he never has admitted using marijuana or any other drug.
Before the draft, Simpson's representatives sent a detailed packet to all 32 teams explaining why their client entered a deferred prosecution program last summer rather than fighting a marijuana possession charge that was subsequently dismissed. The league's medical director can enter a rookie into Phase 1 of the substance-abuse program "based on alcohol and/or drug-related issues that the player had during the two years prior to entering the NFL," league spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail. However, Simpson's agent, Kirk Wood, said the league hasn't indicated Simpson will begin his career in the program.
"I'm not one of those guys who go out and cause a bunch of trouble. That's not me," said Simpson, who pleaded guilty to a charge of carrying a handgun without a license stemming from the same May 2006 traffic stop. "But I feel like it's definitely kind of good that once you get on this (NFL) level, none of that is tolerated. You can't allow yourself to slip up or be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The NFL does not comment on which players are in the program.
Simpson, who has a degree in criminal justice and has been honored in the past for community work, says he no longer owns a gun and doesn't like to speak about an incident that "embarrassed my family and my school." He has better size than Johnson at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, but his practice time has been limited mostly to playing strongside linebacker with the third unit.
"Simpson is an athletic guy, too," McCarthy said. "It's that athletic build in the range you're looking for."
Simpson sat out a game last season for his transgression, and Johnson has seen discipline up close as well. Without getting into specifics, Johnson said his second positive test stemmed from the same incident that led to the dismissal of another Ole Miss linebacker, Garry Pack, and indefinite suspensions of four defensive players for team rules violations in late October.
Eight months removed from that incident, Johnson says he's eager to begin redeeming himself off the field, a process that won't begin until he's tested the first time in Green Bay.
"I'm going to keep it real — it was (difficult) at first," Johnson said of giving up marijuana. "But now, it's just regular.
"I changed my old lifestyle. I had to put football first on the list. If I want to do this, if this is my dream, I tell you, this is my only shot to do what I want to do. I don't want to mess it up.
"I'm growing up real fast."
Yes, he tested positive for marijuana twice in his college days. No, the second positive didn't surprise him.
He knew what he'd done, and he knew he was going to be caught. But weed had been a part of Johnson's life for so long, not even in-season testing at the University of Mississippi convinced him to give it up.
"I never had a problem," Johnson said last week, sitting in the rookie wing of the Green Bay Packers' locker room. "It's kind of where I come from, where I grew up. It was just something I always did. It was always my choice."
Choosing to use again could make his young NFL career go up in smoke.
Johnson confirmed he's been tabbed for Phase 1 — the evaluation phase — of the league's substance-abuse program.
Failing a test would advance him to Phase 2, in which players can be tested as many as 10 times a month and positive tests net fines and suspensions. More important, it would show his new employer that Johnson, for all his talents on the field, hasn't learned his lesson off of it.
But the Packers are giving opportunities to Johnson and Juwan Simpson, another linebacker who went undrafted because of character concerns, even as the NFL crusades to polish its image by enforcing its new, more stringent player conduct policy.
Johnson swears he's been clean since he was busted last fall at Ole Miss, which offered him a scholarship despite his positive test at Hinds Community College. He also swears he won't use again as long as he's playing.
The Packers' faith in Johnson is as much about believing in him as simply believing him.
In his only Division I season, Johnson, a Vicksburg, Miss., native, seized a starting role and made 94 tackles, second on the team behind fellow linebacker Patrick Willis, whom the San Francisco 49ers drafted 11th overall.
"The one thing that jumped off the film watching him at Ole Miss is he definitely fits our scheme," coach Mike McCarthy said. Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders and assistant head coach/linebackers Winston Moss "refer to it as getting off the spot, and he has exceptional quickness and instincts."
Those skills and a 4.54 mark in the 40-yard dash made Johnson a projected Day 1 draft pick as a junior entry, but he wasn't selected. Packers assistant special teams coach Shawn Slocum, who helped recruit Johnson to Ole Miss, called shortly after the draft to extend a free-agent offer.
Undersized at 6-foot-0, 237 pounds, Johnson has worked at weakside linebacker with the Packers' second- and third-team defenses during offseason practices, increasing his repetitions. Behind starters A.J. Hawk, Nick Barnett and Brady Poppinga, only former third-round draft pick Abdul Hodge seems to be guaranteed a roster spot, leaving six other linebackers to compete for two or three jobs.
Simpson is one of them. Like Johnson, Simpson could be evaluated for substance abuse, though he never has admitted using marijuana or any other drug.
Before the draft, Simpson's representatives sent a detailed packet to all 32 teams explaining why their client entered a deferred prosecution program last summer rather than fighting a marijuana possession charge that was subsequently dismissed. The league's medical director can enter a rookie into Phase 1 of the substance-abuse program "based on alcohol and/or drug-related issues that the player had during the two years prior to entering the NFL," league spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail. However, Simpson's agent, Kirk Wood, said the league hasn't indicated Simpson will begin his career in the program.
"I'm not one of those guys who go out and cause a bunch of trouble. That's not me," said Simpson, who pleaded guilty to a charge of carrying a handgun without a license stemming from the same May 2006 traffic stop. "But I feel like it's definitely kind of good that once you get on this (NFL) level, none of that is tolerated. You can't allow yourself to slip up or be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The NFL does not comment on which players are in the program.
Simpson, who has a degree in criminal justice and has been honored in the past for community work, says he no longer owns a gun and doesn't like to speak about an incident that "embarrassed my family and my school." He has better size than Johnson at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, but his practice time has been limited mostly to playing strongside linebacker with the third unit.
"Simpson is an athletic guy, too," McCarthy said. "It's that athletic build in the range you're looking for."
Simpson sat out a game last season for his transgression, and Johnson has seen discipline up close as well. Without getting into specifics, Johnson said his second positive test stemmed from the same incident that led to the dismissal of another Ole Miss linebacker, Garry Pack, and indefinite suspensions of four defensive players for team rules violations in late October.
Eight months removed from that incident, Johnson says he's eager to begin redeeming himself off the field, a process that won't begin until he's tested the first time in Green Bay.
"I'm going to keep it real — it was (difficult) at first," Johnson said of giving up marijuana. "But now, it's just regular.
"I changed my old lifestyle. I had to put football first on the list. If I want to do this, if this is my dream, I tell you, this is my only shot to do what I want to do. I don't want to mess it up.
"I'm growing up real fast."