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UK Football: Johnson says Auburn win means more than SEC honor

October 20, 2009|By LARRY VAUGHT

LEXINGTON — Being named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week was "flattering" for Micah Johnson. However, he insisted Monday that beating Auburn 21-14 meant a lot more to him than the 14 tackles he made.

"I did not expect the award, but the win is what really counts," said Johnson, a senior linebacker. "It was huge for us to go down there and get a win. We have been so close and got no breaks. This time we made our breaks and got a win that we really needed."

Sophomore linebacker Danny Trevathan also had 14 tackles in the game and Sam Maxwell, a senior linebacker, had 10 stops.

"We have great linebackers," Johnson said.

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks echoed that sentiment by not only praising Johnson's play, but also noting how well Trevathan played.

"This was Danny's biggest chance to show because we were in regular defense most of the game. They (Auburn) were in more conventional personnel even when they spread the field. That gave Danny a greater opportunity to record some stats," Brooks said. "In a lot of games, he probably only played a third of the snaps.

"He was spectacular. We have never had a linebacker as fast. Wesley (Woodyard) was close to being as fast, but not as big as Danny is, particularly in his sophomore season. He is very instinctive. Other than kickoff coverage against South Carolina, he is very good tackler, too."

"Danny just had a great game," Johnson said. "We all knew how good he was. He just got a chance to show it more."

Johnson says the win at Auburn did help the team's confidence. However, UK is not overconfident going into Saturday's game with Louisiana-Monroe because the Cats had to stop a two-point conversion to win in a high-scoring game in 2006.

"I remember that game vividly. We were in a dogfight and barely won. I am going to remind our team of that," Johnson said. "I remember how they ran up and down the field on us that game.

"The win at Auburn does raise our level of confidence. We deserved that. But we still have six games left and we want to continue to win. As a team leader, I have to do all I can to keep our team ready to play."

Johnson says he never lost faith even when UK lost to Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.

"Three losses were against some of the nation's best team, but that's no excuse because we still could have won," said Johnson, UK's leading tackler this season. "We believed what coach Brooks was telling us about being a good team. He still said we were one of the best teams he's had and we kept believing and it finally paid off."

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