Johnson, Whitley unlikely heroes down the stretch

Two touchdowns in fourth quarter secure Blue victory

ORLANDO - In perhaps the biggest game of the year, Michigan's most timely performances on the field came from a pair of performers who each had to deal with a large amount of time spent on the bench.

The game-winning touchdown? It wasn't caught by Tai Streets, so often the object of quarterback Tom Brady's tosses. Try DiAllo Johnson, in the only pass he caught all game.

The game-clinching interception? It came from James Whitley, who returned it 26 yards for a touchdown.

Johnson's Michigan career is one of those that is referred by many as "up-and-down," but in reality, not all that much had been on the upside until this season.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily DiAllo Johnson was bumping chests against Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl this past Friday, and for good reason. Johnson caught the game-winning touchdown pass with just 2:25 to play.

He signed, a blue-chip football and basketball recruit out of Orchard Lake St. Mary's High School, expecting to be a college quarterback.

His plans changed. He agreed to try his talents in the defensive backfield, but that didn't work out, either.

Finally, this season, he agreed to move to receiver. And the results have been encouraging.

"DiAllo Johnson is one of those players that makes coaching so much fun, and so rewarding," Lloyd Carr said. "There were times when he thought about leaving Michigan. And now, he has become one of the very best players on our football team."

Johnson also seems to have found a niche as Michigan's most reliable punt returner - he netted 31 yards on three returns against Arkansas.

But his lone catch of the game - a 21-yard touchdown reception with just 2:25 to play - was the most visible example of years of hard work coming to fruition.

"One of the most exciting plays of the season was that touchdown," Carr said. "Not only because it put us ahead, but because of who caught it."

Whitley began the season as a starting cornerback and the full-time punt returner, but several games into the season, he lost the punt-return job. His duties in the defensive backfield were reduced, as well.

Throughout the season, Carr repeatedly voiced publicly his confidence in the sophomore, saying that before long, he'd back to the form that made him a steady contributor to Michigan's 1997 national championship season.

Against Arkansas, Whitley didn't play a perfect game - there was a pass interference call that set up a touchdown, and the occasional breakdown in coverage.

But if he didn't have the tough-it-out attitude that Carr claimed he had all season long, Whitley wouldn't even have been around to clinch the game by snatching away Clint Stoerner's final pass.

It was a fitting end to a tough year - not an absolutely perfect ending, but a gratifying one, and one worth sticking around for.

"It just shows you what type of character there is on this team, and what type of character James has," fellow cover man Andre Weathers said. "At cornerback, it's always fun when you have a chance to affect the game. It's fun for the whole defense. But you have to be ready all the time."

01-06-99