CFN interviews CJ

[LINK] Pete Fiutak, CFN

Calvin Johnson burst on the college football in his first big game catching eight passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns in a thrilling 28-24 win over Clemson. Ever since, his rare combination of size and athletic ability have made the NFL scouts drool. Even with 102 catches for 1,725 yards and 13 touchdowns in his first two seasons, he's still relatively raw with the potential to do far more. He could do more to use his size to his advantage. He still needs to prove he can be an unstoppable machine even when opposing defenses focus solely on taking him out of the gameplan. Yeah, he still needs work, but he'll still be one of the nation's best offensive weapons.

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CFN: Is there any plan to get the other receivers more involved this year so you’re not option one, two and three? Calvin Johnson: Exactly. We’ve got a good enough receiving corps to spread it around more and get everyone the ball. We got a lot of improvement this spring and we should get more and more in sync. We’ll be fine. CFN: Every great receiver out there makes a big deal out of wanting to get the ball all the time, but was it frustrating at all last year when everyone focused on double-teaming you? CJ: Now, it wasn’t frustrating. I’m going to still do what I have to do and not lose focus on anything like that. I’m going to still get the ball no matter what they do. I have to. CFN: With a head coach with pro experience like Chan Gailey, are you getting any specific advice on what you need to do to be a next-level receiver? CJ: A little bit. We have meetings working on what we all need to do to get better, and with a coach like Coach Gailey, we’re all getting great coaching. Nothing specific for me, though. CFN: After finishing last season with the loss like you had in the Emerald Bowl (38-10 to Utah), what can your team take from that going into this year, especially starting out against Notre Dame? CJ: We just have to put it all behind us. I mean, it just wasn’t a good day for any of us. The surface was bad, we didn’t play well, and we just can’t think about it. It just happened. CFN: When you watched the NFL Draft this year, did you imagine that being you up there next season? CJ: Everyone dreams of that, and I love it when the guys get to go through that and live their dreams. I didn’t get that much time to watch it this year; I was busy doing other stuff. CFN: Do you have a favorite NFL receiver? CJ: Nah, I do what I do. I don’t care about anyone else and what they do. I have to focus on being the best that I can be. I don’t have a specific favorite. CFN: With your relatively quiet nature, you’re certainly not like a Terrell Owens or a Chad Johnson. CJ: No I’m not. Anyone who knows me knows me knows that I’m just not that type of player. I don’t really want to bring attention to myself for anything other than making plays. CFN: Considering your status on the team as the national star, do you feel you have to be a leader? CJ: I’m not that much of a talker out there, but I want to show the guys what I do and I work, and hopefully that sets some sort of an example. I’ll certainly help anyone I can. CFN: What advice would you give to a young receiver with the talent to be a number one target? CJ: You’ve always got to work hard. You have to keep working and working to keep that status. If you have a good first year, then you have to work even harder to be better the second year because everyone will be coming at you. Everybody works hard, but you have to make sure you’re always doing what you can to be better, and then hopefully everything works out. You can only worry about yourself. CFN: When did you first realize that you had become the main target for Tech? CJ: All that happened as the first season went on. I started to realize more and more as the year went on how to handle myself. I’m still learning every game. CFN: What was the most shocking part about that first season? CJ: There was nothing truly shocking about it, but I guess it was shocking that I was able to come in, produce, and grab a hold of things. I wasn’t really expecting that. CFN: Do you enjoy the media attention?  CJ: It’s not bad. It’s not hard at all. Sometimes it can get a little bit overbearing, but there’s nothing wrong with it. It means things are going pretty well. If things get tough, then I just don’t deal with it and I focus on what I have to do that day. CFN: What was it about Georgia Tech? CJ: It’s close to home. I love Atlanta. There’s always so much to do here it’s a great place to be. We’re right in the middle of Atlanta and I love being in the big city. It feels like home here. You never run out of things to do, I haven’t been able to do everything and I’ve been here all my life. CFN: What do you like to do? CJ: Go to movies, go to restaurants, clubs, try new things; you can do all that here. It’s a fun place. It’s great.