GIVING CHASE
Johnson
tracks
down Indiana
quarterback
Zander Dia-
mont during a
game earlier
this season.
ammy Johnson refused to let her son play video
games all day.
Austin Johnson Jr., a big, laid-back kid growing
up just outside Atlantic City, N.J., wasn't exactly
pleased with the ruling. Many of his friends were
spending their summers on the couch doing exactly that.
And really, what teenager would prefer early-morning
workouts to a late wakeup and a few rounds of PlaySta-
tion?
But Austin didn't resist. He would wake up as early as 6
a.m., grab a bite to eat, make his bed and take o8 for a 3-
mile run with his younger sister Kennedy. He knew his
mother wasn't going to back down, and he also knew that
she was only looking out for him.
"That's when I kind of got the hang of it," he said. "The
7rst time it wasn't that bad. The second time wasn't that
bad. The third time I got used to it, because I didn't think;
I just ran. That's where I got the understanding that there
are no days o8 in anything. Ever."
Tammy doesn't remember it exactly the same way. "But
if he says that, I probably did," she said, laughing. "I made
THE
RIGHT
STUFF
Austin Johnson plugs gaps
and brings down runners
to help PSU's defense
rank with the nation's best
T
