KNOXVILLE - Zach Azzanni had one Blinn College wide receiver in his recruiting crosshairs when another caught his attention two years ago.
That other receiver was the one whose praises Tennessee's receivers coach was singing after Thursday's practice.
In only four games at the Texas junior college the previous fall, Johnathon Johnson showed enough that Azzanni, with Tennessee badly in need of anybody it could find to help at wideout, took a chance and offered him a scholarship.
Azzanni chuckled at the notion that the player he essentially stumbled across while targeting another ultimately became the one who panned out for the Volunteers.
"No doubt," he said, "but he's a guy that showed up there. He just, 'Who is that guy? Who is that guy? Who is that guy?' I think people come now and they still do that. We have high school coaches and visiting coaches from colleges that come out and say, 'Hey, who is 81?'
"He's got a great skill set. He's just not a towering presence like maybe Jason Croom or Marquez (North). But he is a good football player. He's quick, he's quick-twitched, he's tough - he's all those things you want.
"If he was 6-foot-5, he'd probably be a first-round draft pick. He's got those kind of skills."
But Johnson isn't 6-5; he's listed at 5-9. He doesn't have the imposing physical frame the 6-5 Croom and 6-4 North do. He didn't come to Tennessee with a five-star recruiting rating like Josh Malone, or Von Pearson's gaudy junior college highlight video, or Josh Smith's eye-popping high school career. His production can't match Pig Howard's resume.
During his career at Friendswood High School outside of Houston, Johnson totaled more than 4,000 rushing yards and almost 2,000 receiving yards, ran for 34 touchdowns and caught 23 touchdown passes.
The former three-star prospect signed with Air Force, but that didn't pan out, though he was a full qualifier academically, and he wound up at Blinn.
In four games in 2013, Johnson returned kickoffs and punts and recorded 69 receiving yards in one game.
"I was planning on going back another season," he said, "but then Tennessee came upon me, and I ran with it."
Tennessee's primary target at Blinn was Kameel Jackson, who had a solid freshman year at Oklahoma in 2011, sat out the 2012 season after transferring to Louisiana-Monroe when the Sooners dismissed him and wound up at Blinn.
A four-star recruit out of high school, Jackson was committed to the Vols' 2014 class for months, but he wouldn't have qualified academically. He played last season at Division II Grand Valley State in Michigan, where he caught three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown in nine games last season. He's no longer a part of that program.
Johnson and Jackson were roommates, and Johnson said he's still good friends with his former teammate, who had a hand in him landing at Tennessee.
"It was a blessing," Johnson said. "It hit me in the face. It was a complete surprise. I didn't come off a huge season. I really just went out there and tried to put film out there for coaches to come look at it, and that's what happened. Coach Z noticed me on film, and he gave me that opportunity."
In his second game at Tennessee, Johnson grabbed catches of 37 and 20 yards in the win against Western Kentucky, and he finished his debut year with the Vols with 13 catches for 189 yards.
Injuries limited Johnson to 11 games in 2014. He missed the opener due to an ankle injury and tore ligaments in his thumb late in the season, when the Vols' injury-ravaged receiving corps probably could have used him the most. In between, he popped up with big catches against Georgia and Florida and caught two touchdown passes against UT-Chattanooga.
With Croom and Cody Blanc out, Howard and North limited, Smith coming off a long injury layoff and Pearson up and down, Johnson is getting as many repetitions as he can get this spring.
"I feel like I'm making the most out of it," the rising senior said. "I approach practice with the mindset to get better every day. The limited guys we get out there every day gives me more reps to get better, so I try to make the most of it."
Johnson played through a minor injury last week, and Azzanni said he's taken "sixty-something" more reps across offense and special teams than any other player this spring.
"I think Johnathon has grown up a lot since he came here," he said. "I think he's grown up not only as a player, but as a person. He comes out there with a work ethic and a mentality that (is) a great example for our young guys (and) doesn't say a word. He is an absolute warrior."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.