Tulsa World: Johnson provides big plays

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Johnson provides big plays

OU wide receiver Manuel Johnson pulls in a pass in the first quarter of Saturday's game in Norman. Johnson caught five passes for 206 yards, setting a new single-game school receiving record. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

By GUERIN EMIG World sports writer
Published: 9/28/2008 2:16 AM
Last Modified: 9/28/2008 2:40 AM

Senior sets Sooner record for single-game receiving yards

NORMAN — The last time Mark Clayton spoke to Manuel Johnson was right before two-a-days started last July.

"He was like, 'Go out and have fun,'" Johnson said. "'It's your senior year.'"

Johnson took those words to heart on Saturday, and Clayton's single-game OU receiving record fell as a result. Johnson caught five passes for 206 yards, 16 more than Clayton gained against Texas in 2003, and 194 of which came on three catch-and-sprint touchdowns that sparked the Sooners' 35-10 rout of TCU.

"I told him, 'That's one of the best performances by a wide receiver we've had here in 10 years,' " said OU coach Bob Stoops. "A pretty special night."

It came at the Horned Frogs' expense when they overcrowded the line of scrimmage to stop the run, and blitzed Sam Bradford to try to drop him before he could complete passes. The strategy worked occasionally; OU rushed for 25 yards on 36 attempts.

But on three plays in particular, the Frogs' aggression blew up in their faces.

A rush on Bradford left Johnson single-covered by cornerback Rafael Priest with a minute left in the first quarter, the Sooners already up 14-3. Priest stumbled just enough to clear Johnson at the TCU 35-yard line, and when the senior wideout settled under Bradford's rainbow, he had clear sailing to the end zone to complete a 76-yard touchdown.

The Horned Frogs sold out with a seven-man blitz of Bradford with a minute remaining in the first half, leaving cornerback Nick Sanders by himself opposite Johnson on third-and-six. Bradford hit his target for a first down and when Sanders fell at the TCU 40, Johnson outran safety Tejay Johnson to finish a 55-yard TD play. That made it 28-3.

The Frogs would pay for one more third-down blitz in the third quarter, when, from his own 30-yard line, Bradford slipped a screen past the rush. Running back Mossis Madu rubbed off TCU's line-of-scrimmage defender, guard Brian Simmons took out one more, and Johnson raced untouched 63 yards to make it 35-3.

Guerin Emig 581-8394
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com By GUERIN EMIG World sports writer

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