CLINTON —
Former Clinton running back David Johnson and his Northern Iowa teammates are excited to play Iowa in Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.
"It's really big," Johnson said. "It's a good opportunity to see a lot of friends who go to Iowa and to play the team that everyone grew up watching."
Though a Football Championship Subdivision school — a step lower than Iowa — the Panthers have a lot of confidence heading into the game, and with good reason.
Northern Iowa fell just short of upsetting Wisconsin in Week 1, losing 26-21.
"It lifts the team up," Johnson said. "It gives us motivation to play another Big Ten school. We want to show we have the talent and athletes to compete with them.
"Playing big teams pumps us up.”
The last time the two intrastate schools met, Iowa emerged with a 17-16 victory in 2009.
“They are a team that's very well coached,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said during his weekly news conference. “They play with great toughness, great effort and it's going to be a big challenge for us on Saturday.”
Playing against Division I schools also helps the Panthers prepare for their FCS competition, according to Johnson.
"It gets us ready to play other (FCS) teams and the teams in our conference,"he said. "There are some teams in our conference that are really good, and they play other big schools, too. It helps all the (FCS) teams get ready."
Last year as a redshirt freshman, Johnson was thrust into the lineup when Carlos Anderson was hampered by an injury.
"I was a little nervous," Johnson said. "I wasn't quite ready to play that much. But when Carlos got hurt, I was ready to step up and do my best for the team. I was able to use my abilities as a running back — I've been a running back all my life. I was really glad I could help my team out."
He helped his team out quite a bit. Johnson rushed for 822 yards and nine touchdowns. He also caught 33 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns.
Johnson and Anderson are expected to split most of the carries this season, including Saturday against the Hawkeyes.
"I'm a downhill runner, and I just try to get as many yards as I can," Johnson said. "Carlos is more of the speedy, agile guy. I just pound the A, B gaps. Hopefully I can keep doing that and get a lot of yards."
Against Wisconsin, Johnson had a lot of receiving success. He caught four passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
"It disrupts the defense," Johnson said. "They usually put a linebacker against me. That's the matchup I like to have. That's usually a slower, bigger guy who can't keep up with my speed and agility. Plus, it gives the quarterback another option."
Johnson said his time at Clinton helped prepare him for life as a college football player.
"I learned to run and not to quit," he said. "Clinton is not known to have a good team, but we never quit. That was like against Wisconsin. We got down early, but we fought back. It helped bring the team back. I never give up."
As a senior at Clinton, Johnson was the main offensive threat for a River Kings team that went 11-1 and advanced to the Class 4A state quarterfinals. He rushed for 1,304 yards and 22 touchdowns and had 512 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.
"It definitely helped my confidence, knowing what being on a winning team feels like," Johnson said. "We made something great happen in the community and school. It got me more motivated to keep winning."
Johnson and teammates are certainly motivated to win against Iowa.
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David Johnson has made a nearly seamless transition from his days as a standout football player at Clinton High School to a key contributor at the University of Northern Iowa. He and his Panthers teammates travel to Iowa City on Saturday to face Iowa. Clinton Herald file photo
Discussion
September 13, 2012
Bring on the Hawks
Clinton grad Johnson excited to play at Iowa City
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