Blue White Illustrated

Juwan Johnson knew his time would come. Like those around him, including the many Penn State fans who have been anticipating a breakthrough since he signed with the Nittany Lions in Febru- ary 2015, the wide receiver simply didn't know when it would happen. After a redshirt freshman season in which he played in 14 games but made only two catches, his moment appears to have arrived. With his close friend Chris Godwin preparing for the NFL, Johnson has been presented with an opportunity to become an impact player for the Nit- tany Lions, and by all accounts, he has seized it this spring. "I guess the advice that someone gave me before is, 'Your career will be suc- cessful, just be patient,'" Johnson said. "I've been patient for the past two years and I guess it's time for me to step up and play a role on the team." The Nittany Lions would love nothing more. At the beginning of spring practice, head coach James Franklin said that Penn State's younger wideouts would be given every opportunity to show what they can do as the team looks to replace Godwin, its leading receiver the past two seasons. Johnson was one of one of those players. Franklin called him a "very mature kid" who was "businesslike in his approach." But while the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder from Glassboro, N.J., appeared to have the physical ability and mindset he would need in order to take on a bigger role, he hadn't displayed the consistency that his coaches were seeking. Acknowledging the deficiency, Johnson said he's made a conscious effort this spring to improve what might otherwise seem like the simplest and most funda- mental of a receiver's responsibilities: catching passes. "A lot of the time, you would see me drop open passes. Even in high school I had inconsistent hands. So I would al- ways waver and say, no, that's not me, but it was obviously true," Johnson said. "I would catch incredible passes but I would drop open passes. So I really tried to work on that this off-season and try to catch everything that's in my reach." The results have been undeniable. Whether via Tweets of his performances in practice on film or through the words of receivers coach Josh Gattis, the im- provements have been impossible to miss. "I think Juwan Johnson is having an unbelievable spring camp," Gattis told GoPSUTV. "He's really improved a lot, and when you talk about most improved players on the team, he's one of those guys who comes to mind. He's a guy who's going to make a lot of plays for us this upcoming season and help us win a lot of games." Also singled out both by Franklin and by his Nittany Lion teammates as having made obvious improvements, Johnson put the pieces together in a variety of areas in order to perform at a high level. "He has just has taken a very mature approach, very aggressive approach all off-season," Franklin said. "He red- shirted as a freshman, played a little bit as a [redshirt] freshman and now he's had to figure out what he needs to do to be successful with our team, what he needs to do to have a bigger role, what are his strengths and what are his weak- nesses. He's a mature guy and a smart guy. So he's really made a significant jump from the end of the season until now." And now, he intends to be one of the people who propels the program to new heights this season. Asked by a reporter Tuesday morning to identify a goal or two he's holding individually as spring wraps and the season grows closer, John- son left no room for misinterpretation. "Win a Big Ten championship, win a national championship," he said. "Those are the two big things for me that I want, not for just me but for my teammates, because I feel like we can get that." A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 7 THE WAIT IS OVER Wideout Juwan Johnson is hoping for a breakthrough season after a big spring N A T E   B A U E R   | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Johnson, who is getting set for his sophomore season, has been one of Penn State's stand- out performers this spring. "He's a guy who's going to make a lot of plays for us this upcom- ing season and help us win a lot of games," receivers coach Josh Gattis said. Photo by Steve Manuel

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