Tyler Johnson facing challenge to be 'great every day' from OC Kirk Ciarrocca
Tyler Johnson has improved each year as a Gopher, but it will be tough for him to top last season’s numbers.
For his career, Johnson has 127 catches for 1,987 yards and 20 TDs. But what is really remarkable is that Johnson more than doubled his catches and nearly doubled his yardage and touchdowns from his sophomore to junior years. As a junior, Johnson recorded 78 catches for 1,169 yards and 12 TDs.
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Now entering his senior season, Johnson is facing the challenge of becoming a consistently great player. There’s no doubt he has had a remarkable career and will move on to the NFL following this season, but can he become even more dominant in 2019?
For Minnesota OC Kirk Ciarrocca, that’s the challenge he is giving Johnson this season. According to Ryan Burns with Gopher Illustrated, Ciarrocca is challenging Johnson to become great every single day:
“Great players are great every day. That’s Tyler’s challenge. To continue to be as dominant on every Saturday and every play. It doesn’t mean he makes every single play. But he certainly attacks his work as if he’s going to make every single play and is dominant out there.
“You know, and that’s really the next step for him is to be dominant, every single play of every single game and every single practice as it doesn’t matter what he’s doing. He just accepts the challenge. And I’m really pleased with his development.”
Based on his track record, look for Johnson to maintain his same great results this season. Hopefully, his work leads the Gophers to an even bigger season.