Several minutes after Tennessee opened its 2020 football season with a 31-27 win at South Carolina last Saturday night, Volunteers coach Jeremy Pruitt praised the dedication of senior edge rusher Deandre Johnson.
Pruitt said Johnson chose to move into a campus dorm this past summer, and the 6-foot-3, 255-pound senior from Miami explained this week the several reasons why.
“Well, the biggest thing was I didn’t have to pay rent, so that was a big lift off my shoulders,” a smiling Johnson said on a Zoom call. “I was just able to focus on myself and just kind of dial in and settle down. I had a lot of things going on around me, so it just helped me settle down.
“I’m just more focused. Now that I’m back off (campus), I kind of used some of the things that I learned in the summer, and they’re helping me now. I’m just even-keeled right now and focused on the things that I need to be focused on.”
Not exactly the first Tennessee defender who rolled off the tongue before the season, Johnson erupted inside Williams-Brice Stadium for a career-high six tackles, a career-best 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. The forced fumble was the fourth of his career, but his 2.5 sacks matched last year’s total, which was a single-season best.