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STEVE DeSHAZO: Stafford's Johnson refocuses, rededicates himself on football field Date published: 11/15/2009 By Steve DeShazo COLLEGE PARK, Md.-- Along with his usual study of Virginia Tech's defensive game plan, Jake Johnson spent part of last week reading a text that has nothing to do with football."Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living" was a gift from Bob Strand, a friend of Johnson's family. Strand offered the late martial arts master's book after Johnson had lost his starting job at linebacker and was feeling pretty down about it. "It was tough at first," Johnson said yesterday. "My dad was in town, and I didn't want to tell him, because I didn't want him to get upset. He read it on the Internet. "It was a matter of pushing through and doing whatever it took to play better. But it was in the past; I couldn't dwell on that." Instead, inspired by Lee's philosophy, Johnson vowed to improve his play. He didn't set foot on the field during the Hokies' win over East Carolina last Thursday, but the sophomore from Stafford High School got his chance yesterday against Maryland--and made the most of it. Playing extensively in the second half, Johnson led the Hokies with seven tackles--including the first two sacks of his college career--in Tech's 36-9 victory. "It feels good to get back out there," Johnson said. "It was tough not playing. I had a lot of built-up stuff to deal with." Johnson's plight and his team's were intertwined. The Hokies opened the season ranked in the Top 10. And even after an opening loss to Alabama--a game in which Johnson made a game-high 13 tackles--they rose to No. 4 in the nation by reeling off five straight victories. Then came consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina that erased any hope Tech had of winning not only the national title, but a third straight Atlantic Coast Conference crown. And Johnson was one of the culprits. Citing repeated mental mistakes, defensive coordinator Bud Foster replaced Johnson with redshirt freshman Lyndell Gibson for the second half of the UNC game and the entire ECU contest.
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