Hikee's Reunion
December 19, 2002 11:22 PM | General
December 20, 2002
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Hikee Johnson couldn't help but smile when he found out that West Virginia University was going to play Virginia in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl.
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| West Virginia sophomore Hikee Johnson was once a Virginia Cavalier for a couple months. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
You see Johnson was once a Virginia Cavalier for a couple of months.
A Super Prep All-American in high school, Johnson made an oral pledge to sign with the Cavaliers during his senior season at North Penn High in Lansdale, Pa., in 1999. He made good on his commitment by signing his NCAA letter-of-intent a couple of months later in February.
Former Virginia running back Arlen Harris hosted Johnson on his official visit, and Bob Price, UVa's coach recruiting Hikee and the only holdover from George Welsh's staff, was successful landing several other eastern Pennsylvania players.
Quarterback Matt Schaub came from West Chester, backup tailback Marquis Weeks is a resident of Berwyn, and linebacker Rich Bedesem is from Holland.
"Marcus and Matt were from my area, and I played in the same league with Rich," said Johnson.
To Hikee, Virginia was almost like home away from home.
"I loved everything about the campus," Johnson said. "I had a great time down there."
Anxious to get a head start on things, Johnson went down to Charlottesville for a couple of days during the summer to work out with some of the veteran players and make out his class schedule for the fall semester.
Soon after Johnson got home, he got a call from Price telling him that he wasn't going to be able to come back when fall practice started in August.
"On the day I was getting ready to leave he told me I wasn't able to come down and participate," said Johnson. "That kind of shocked me and my mother ... we were all upset. When I was down there nobody told me anything."
Although Johnson later was ruled an academic qualifier by the NCAA Clearinghouse, he had received a couple of Ds on his report card and wasn't admitted into Virginia.
Disappointed and hurt, Johnson and his family scrambled to find another college.
Remembering an unofficial visit he took to West Virginia, Johnson called his high school teammate Clay Kucklick – at the time member of the WVU baseball team.
He told Kucklick to go over to the football complex and get in touch with then-defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich, who had unsuccessfully recruited Johnson. Kucklick told Kirelawich what had happened at Virginia and the coach told Kucklick to get in touch with Hikee and tell him that they were interested in having him down for a visit.
So Johnson hastily made a trip down to Morgantown with his high school coach and a few days later he was enrolled in school. He spent the 2000 season as a redshirt.
"It wasn't like I was disappointed coming here," he admitted. "It just wasn't my initial choice."
Johnson has earned playing time this year as a sometimes-backup-running-back-sometimes-backup-fullback, rushing for a 11-yard touchdown in the season opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga and gaining 61 yards on 15 carries for the season.
The 5-foot-11, 207-pound sophomore earned the team's "Hammer Award" for his play on special teams against Cincinnati.
Even though Johnson doesn't play a prominent role in West Virginia's offense this year, he is still anxious to get out on the field to show some of his Cavalier friends what he can do.
"For me to be playing in this game kind of gives me an extra incentive because I know a lot of their guys," he said.
Johnson says the game is not Hikee Johnson versus the Virginia Cavaliers.
"No, not at all," he said. "Plus, I'm not in one of those roles where it could be that way anyway. Whether it's on special teams or whatever, I'm going to do what I can do."
Despite the disappointment of being rejected, Johnson doesn't have any ill feelings toward the University of Virginia or its former coaches. "Things just didn't work out," he shrugged.
Johnson is impressed with what Coach Al Groh has done in the short time he's been with the Virginia program.
"They've come a long way," he admitted. "Coach Groh has done a great job with those guys and they're a good, quality team.
"This is a game I'm really looking forward to. It will be a lot of fun playing them," he added.
West Virginia continues practicing Friday morning in Morgantown and will have one more workout on Saturday before departing for Charlotte Saturday afternoon.
