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.
The burning question was whether the Hokies would mail it in after their high hopes were dashed. And for his part, Johnson could have pouted as well.
Instead, he came home for a couple of days after Tech beat the Pirates, and that's when Strand gave him Lee's book.
"The stuff [Lee] wrote made so much sense," Johnson said. "He was a philosophy major, and he wrote about staying motivated from day to day, and not thinking about the past."
It obviously helped Johnson. So did facing a struggling Maryland offense that lost its starters at quarterback and tailback. Johnson nailed Maryland backup quarterback Jamarr Robinson as he tried to pass on consecutive plays in the second quarter.
"It was fairly simple today," Foster said. "It's not like they ran a lot of motion.
"Jake's a good football player. We want him to be consistently good. I'm happy for him. The best thing you can do for a football team is to have competition, and that's what we have right now."
Gibson missed most of spring practice for a still-undisclosed violation of team rules, allowing Johnson to get a leg up on the starting job. Gibson will probably remain the starter for Tech's next game, at home against N.C. State next Saturday, but chances are, Johnson has earned his way back into Foster's good graces.
"He's a Stafford boy. We know he's going to work hard," said Maryland receiver Torrey Smith, who stays in regular touch with his former high school teammate. "There's no way he's going to pack it in."
Smith has been a rare bright spot in Maryland's dismal 3-7 season, Yesterday, he set the school's single-season record for all-purpose yardage (1,921) in the Terrapins' fifth straight defeat. Still, he felt good for his friend, because they're both undergoing different types of adversity.
"I want him to have a good game, but I want us to win," Smith said with a smile. "I don't know if he'd want me to have a good game against them, either."
Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443
Email: sdeshazo@freelancestar.com