I could have gone [Saturday]. I even asked them if I could."
Johnson was the starting center in the first scrimmage, which came as a shock to the 305-pounder from Jordan High.
"Never played there before," he said. "I think I had practiced it once at one practice during the spring. Coach [Garett] Tujague was nice enough to tell me I was starting at center the day before the scrimmage. Very kind of him. And so I just got in some snaps. Just went out there and did what I could."
Another player who was held out of Saturday's scrimmage, running back Algie Brown, also appeared in the interview room and talked about his health.