Johnson chasing history at ECU

It took a lot of looking to see anything really memorable during East Carolina's 2004 football season.

Most Pirates fans recall that 2-9 team as the flash point for John Thompson's exit and Skip Holtz's arrival as coach.

But late in the third quarter of the season's second game - a 31-17 loss in Greenville to Wake Forest - something very important happened.

Freshman running back Chris Johnson, whose college debut had produced 7 yards on two carries a week earlier in a 56-23 loss at West Virginia, bolted 86 yards for a touchdown before any of the Wake linebackers and most of its defensive backs could so much as even react.

In a program that had produced more than its share of speedsters over the years, Johnson's quickness soon became unrivaled.

Shortly thereafter, the Pirates completed their first round of offseason drills under Holtz, whose impression of Johnson couldn't have been more prophetic.

"That guy," Holtz said at the time, "has an absolutely unlimited ceiling."

All these years later, the most amazing thing about Johnson is that he almost slipped through the elaborate football talent nets twice.

As a high school player in Orlando, Fla., he was aggressively recruited by only ECU.

Then, even after four productive years in college, it wasn't until Johnson erupted for 223 yards in a Hawaii Bowl win over Boise State in his final game and later ran a 4.24-second 40-yard dash at NFL workouts that pro teams got seriously interested.

"All I need is just one chance, and I'll make it my job to do the rest," Johnson said before the 2008 draft.

The Titans used the 24th pick of the first round to give Johnson that chance. It'll go down as one of the all-time draft steals.

With three games left this season, Johnson is 374 yards short of becoming the sixth 2,000-yard single-season NFL rusher. He has a chance to break Eric Dickerson's league record of 2,105 yards. Even on a 6-7 team that may miss the playoffs, Johnson is in the discussion for player of the year.

Against the Dolphins at Miami this week, Johnson will try to rush for 100 yards for the ninth straight game.

"He's arguably the best in the league right now," Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said Monday at his weekly news conference. "He not only can run it, but he can catch it."

The ultimate description of Johnson's quickness and cutting ability came from teammate Kenny Britt after Sunday's 47-7 win over the St. Louis Rams.

"I'm done blocking down the field," the wide receiver told reporters. "I'm done chasing him."

In a bigger media market, Johnson would be a national story. But he's happy living in Nashville, Tenn., and recently signed five-year extension for $12 million, which is probably no more than a third of his market value as a free agent.

Always soft-spoken, Johnson has a team-first commitment that made him a popular figure in Greenville and now with the Titans. He's endorsing a T-shirt that advises young players to be "Every Coach's Dream."

When the NFL recently began a campaign to support breast cancer research, several players wore pink shoes during a few games. Johnson not only wore the shoes, he had his new BMW painted pink.

As for the record, Johnson understands the long odds.

"But I don't expect it be easy for me," he said.

It never has been.