Stanford two-sport star Johnson to enter NFL draft

Thursday December 12, 2002

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) Stanford wide receiver and former basketball forward Teyo Johnson will skip his final two seasons of football eligibility to enter the NFL draft.

``It's time for me to advance to the next level,'' Johnson said Thursday. ``I think I'm ready.''

Johnson led the Cardinal this season with 41 catches for 467 yards and eight touchdowns. The 6-foot-7 receiver's departure was somewhat surprising and another blow to Stanford, which went 2-9 under first-year coach Buddy Teevens.

``This year prepared me for the NFL more than any other previous season because I had to face a lot of adversity,'' Johnson said. ``For the first time I will be able to focus on one position and one sport.''

Johnson, projected as a tight end in the NFL, is just the second Stanford football player to leave school early, following Bob Whitfield in 1991. Last summer, Curtis Borchardt and Casey Jacobsen became the first Cardinal basketball players to leave early.

``Teyo is a tremendous athlete with the size, skills and ability to have an outstanding career in the NFL,'' Teevens said. ``We will certainly miss him as a member of our football team in 2003, but we wish him the best of luck in the next phase of his life.''

Johnson, assessed as a late first-round or early second-round pick before the season, finalized his decision just as he completed his last exam for the fall quarter Wednesday. He officially withdrew from school to begin training.

Johnson has been a role player in two seasons on the Stanford basketball team, and there was talk that he would skip this season anyway. Johnson sprained his knee late in the Cardinal's loss to California in the Big Game last month, and won't be ready to train for another week.

His older brother, former Stanford linebacker Riall Johnson, plays for the Cincinnati Bengals.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)