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Johnson's Heroics Help Deliver Third Straight Win
9/16/2019 5:25:00 PM | Football
Senior Tyler Johnson totaled 10 catches for 140 yards and three touchdowns against Georgia Southern
By Emily Polglaze
Communications Assistant
Time was running out and the University of Minnesota football team needed a hero.
Enter Tyler Johnson.
The Minneapolis North native caught his third touchdown pass of the day from Tanner Morgan and lifted the Gophers to a 35-32 win last Saturday against Georgia Southern.
"It's pretty cool, being out there and working hard every play," Johnson said. "You never know when your number is going to be called, and whenever my number was called I made the best of it."
The senior tallied 10 receptions for 140 yards and scored three touchdowns. It was the third game in the Johnson's career where he scored three receiving touchdowns, which is a school record.
The season had been off to a somewhat quiet start for Johnson, who had recorded seven catches in the first two games.
When the opportunities presented themselves on Saturday, Johnson made the most of them to score his first, second and third touchdowns of the season.
"Everybody was saying, 'What's happening to Tyler, what's happening to Tyler, how are you going to get the ball to Tyler?'" head coach PJ Fleck said. "In big time moments, we've got to go to our big time playmaker. They single covered him a lot, which we haven't seen, and he caught and ran physical … I thought Tyler played way more physical, you could feel him on the field."
All three of Johnson's scores came from Morgan, who was not at all surprised at the big time performance the senior put on. He said Johnson was due for it.
"Six is the man, point blank, period. Put the ball in his area and he's going to make a play," Morgan said. "He's a lot better than he was last year, and he proved that tonight. Three huge touchdowns, a lot of huge plays, Tyler's the guy."
This season is extra special for Johnson, who decided to put the NFL on hold and come back for his senior season in Dinkytown.
Now off to a 3-0 start, Johnson's performance and leadership on and off the field will be pivotal to Minnesota's success going forward.
"People look up to me, so I want to go out there and work hard, I want to set the standard very high," Johnson said. "The hardest thing about being the standard is that you are the standard, so I got to make sure that the guys see what I'm doing and see how hard I'm working to bring them up to be better than me."
Communications Assistant
Time was running out and the University of Minnesota football team needed a hero.
Enter Tyler Johnson.
The Minneapolis North native caught his third touchdown pass of the day from Tanner Morgan and lifted the Gophers to a 35-32 win last Saturday against Georgia Southern.
"It's pretty cool, being out there and working hard every play," Johnson said. "You never know when your number is going to be called, and whenever my number was called I made the best of it."
The senior tallied 10 receptions for 140 yards and scored three touchdowns. It was the third game in the Johnson's career where he scored three receiving touchdowns, which is a school record.
The season had been off to a somewhat quiet start for Johnson, who had recorded seven catches in the first two games.
When the opportunities presented themselves on Saturday, Johnson made the most of them to score his first, second and third touchdowns of the season.
"Everybody was saying, 'What's happening to Tyler, what's happening to Tyler, how are you going to get the ball to Tyler?'" head coach PJ Fleck said. "In big time moments, we've got to go to our big time playmaker. They single covered him a lot, which we haven't seen, and he caught and ran physical … I thought Tyler played way more physical, you could feel him on the field."
All three of Johnson's scores came from Morgan, who was not at all surprised at the big time performance the senior put on. He said Johnson was due for it.
"Six is the man, point blank, period. Put the ball in his area and he's going to make a play," Morgan said. "He's a lot better than he was last year, and he proved that tonight. Three huge touchdowns, a lot of huge plays, Tyler's the guy."
This season is extra special for Johnson, who decided to put the NFL on hold and come back for his senior season in Dinkytown.
Now off to a 3-0 start, Johnson's performance and leadership on and off the field will be pivotal to Minnesota's success going forward.
"People look up to me, so I want to go out there and work hard, I want to set the standard very high," Johnson said. "The hardest thing about being the standard is that you are the standard, so I got to make sure that the guys see what I'm doing and see how hard I'm working to bring them up to be better than me."
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