ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 14, 1996 TAG: 9611140032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
LOREN JOHNSON NEVER realized the impact he had on Virginia Tech football - until he thought about it.
Before his Virginia Tech career is done, sophomore cornerback Loren Johnson will make hundreds of plays on a football field.
Routine plays. Key plays. Good plays. Not-so-good plays.
However, there's one play Johnson won't ever make, according to Tech coach Frank Beamer.
``I don't think a kid can ever make a more significant play than the one Loren Johnson made for us at the end of the game last year against Miami,'' Beamer said.
``Biggest play of the year? I think without question. You're talking about a play that kind of set the tone for a couple years now, really.''
If Johnson doesn't prevent Miami receiver Yatil Green from catching a fourth-down pass at the Tech goal line with 17 seconds left, the Hokies don't beat Miami for the first time ever, don't win their first Big East title, don't get a chance to win a Sugar Bowl, don't get a whiff of a final top-10 ranking.
``I've never really thought about it like that,'' Johnson said. ``Looking back now, that is a big what-if, that's a pretty big fall. We're 0-3, we don't go to the Sugar Bowl, we probably lose a couple more games. Hey, anything could have happened from that point.''
It did and it has. Since Johnson's critical save, the Hokies have won 17 of 18 games, and generally speaking, have taken their program to a new level.
To think, it all was kick-started by a true freshman, making his first college start, against a school that refused to recruit him in high school.
``The best part of the whole deal was it came against Miami,'' said Johnson, who grew up in Miramar, Fla., about a 15-minute drive from the Orange Bowl.
``I know it's a big rivalry here between UVa and Virginia Tech. But if it was me, and this was my team, we could go 0-9 as long as we beat Miami. If we went 1-10, Miami would have to be that win.
``That's just me personally. Not getting recruited by them, that upset me.''
Miami's loss proved to be Tech's gain. After taking official visits to West Virginia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Indiana and Tech, Johnson eventually chose Tech over Indiana.
``Man, I'm glad I didn't go to Indiana now,'' Johnson said. `` They're losing, firing their coach [Bill Mallory] and everything. I made the right decision. Tech was the one on the rise. And it's still rising.''
Thanks, in large part, to players like Johnson. He's just one of a long line of ``undersized'' kids who have come to Tech and gotten bigger and better.
``I was 148 pounds when I reported,'' said Johnson, who stands 5 feet 10. ``I'm a solid 180 now. That's what three meals a day and [Tech strength coach] Mike Gentry can do for you. Now, when I go back home, my parents have to buy a little more food for the fridge.''
Out on his cornerback island home, Johnson has to settle for munching on receivers. As he quickly noted, a fellow can go hungry there real quick, especially if he can't play.
``That's what I love about my island,'' Johnson said. ``It's a survival test there. You get burned or you make a big play. It's 50-50 and it goes either way. Either way, good or bad, people remember you well. Out there on the island, you'd better make some plays.''
Johnson said he thrives in Tech's eight-man front defensive scheme, which places premium pressure on the two corners. ``I love to play man-to-man it's the ultimate challenge,'' he said.
That certainly will be the case Saturday at 3:30 p.m., when the 21st-ranked Hokies (7-1) storm into the Orange Bowl to face No.18 Miami. The outgoing Johnson said this is one homecoming he's been waiting for a long time.
``All the people back home said the Hokies were lucky last year,'' Johnson said. ``A couple even asked me why didn't I let Green catch the ball on the last play.''
Some, including the Miami coaching staff and Green, complained vehemently that Johnson interfered on the play.
``We did make some contact,'' Johnson said. ``All I remember about the play was looking at the ref afterward to see if it was pass interference. Then all I know is [teammates] Torrian Gray and William Yarborough jumped in my face.
``The Hurricanes will always say it was interference, believe me. That just the way they are down there. They'll never forget about it.''
Neither will Hokies everywhere. Ask Beamer.
``You know, I woke up the other night in a cold sweat. I kept thinking what if that official had thrown a flag on that play,'' Beamer said.
Or what if Loren Johnson hadn't been there?
``Things sure would be a lot different around here right now,'' Beamer said. ``I don't think there's much doubt about that.''
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON\Staff. Virginia Tech cornerback Lorenby CNBJohnson (12) wants to let Miami know it made a big mistake by not
recruiting him. color.