FRISCO, Texas — Jon’Vea Johnson has been in Dallas for only a short time, but already the former University of Toledo receiver has made a strong first impression.
None bigger than on his new receivers coach, Sanjay Lal.
“Playmaking ability, true speed,” Lal said. “He’s unaffected by changes in the route stem, so the defense, he just runs through it like you’re supposed to. Bottom line is he’s making plays.”
And Lal, in his second season with the Cowboys after previously holding similar roles with the Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Indianapolis Colts, also sees Johnson distancing himself from other rookies in one major way.
“It’s surprised me that he’s translating it,” Lal said. “Everything we saw on tape, he’s doing here, which is a surprise because usually rookies don’t do it right away. So he’s doing it much sooner than I would have expected.”
Johnson went undrafted in April. But he has earned high marks for his work ethic through rookie minicamp, organized team activities, and the current mandatory minicamp, the last on-field workouts before a small break before the start of training camp in Oxnard, Calif., in late July.
But the former Rockets receiver, who earned third-team All-Mid-American Conference honors as a senior, feels his success also is because he is comfortable in his new surroundings.
“It’s been a really good experience,” Johnson said. “I got a chance to come here for a pre-draft visit, so I got a real good feel for the staff, the facility, and just the city. I trained out here pre-draft for three months. I was already accustomed to the whole area and the organization, so the experience was exactly what I thought it would be just because I’d been out here so much. Really enjoying it.”
That familiarity also extends to his coaches, especially Lal, with whom he has developed great rapport quickly.
“When I came down here on the pre-draft visit, he really was a stickler for perfection as a route runner, as a total receiver. I kind of like that about him,” Johnson said. “I was telling him how I was being coached in Toledo, and it was pretty similar to how he coaches. I feel like the way he coaches is going to correlate to me playing the best I can play. When I finally made a decision [about where to sign], it was pretty easy, because I love the way that he coaches, and I just love the ballclub, how they operate, and do things around here.”
Johnson also has been learning all he can from veteran teammates like Tavon Austin, Randall Cobb, and Amari Cooper.
Cobb and Cooper have four Pro Bowl appearances between them, making them a great resource for young pass catchers like Johnson to watch and ask for advice.
“These guys have been really influential,” Johnson said. “I’ve been watching Randall Cobb since high school. Tavon [Austin] I’ve been watching since high school. It’s just been a pleasure to be around them. I get a lot of feedback from Amari and Tavon. I’m just soaking it all in.”
Like most rookies, Johnson has been doing his best impression of a sponge as he attempts to absorb the multitude of new information being thrown at him, learning all he can from watching veteran teammates and asking plenty of questions.
One thing he’s avoided thus far is rookie rites of passage, but he knows if those are to come, like singing in front of the entire team or his position group during a meeting, it will come at training camp.
Besides the obvious difference of the NFL being a quicker game than college, he’s also noticed one major difference between life in the pros and that of a student-athlete at Toledo.
“There’s a lot more leisure time,” he said. “Everything is on schedule in college, and you got be here and you got to be there. But now it’s like you’re really grown. For example, in college in the weight room, you had to wear a specific shirt and specific shorts. Now, it’s like you’re a pro. You can do whatever you want as long as you do it. You’re in charge of everything. Everything you put in, you’re going to get out. It’s just going to be you in control of that.”
Something else Johnson has been aware of every day he’s been with the Cowboys is he continues to represent Toledo football each time he steps on the practice field or in the weight room.
Considering how much he enjoyed his time with the Rockets, representing Toledo is another responsibility he doesn’t brush aside.
“I thought it was pretty fun. I had a great time,” Johnson said. “It started out slow, but once I got in the groove of things it picked up for me really fast. The coaching staff, the teammates, the culture of winning, I felt like that was the best part about being a Rocket, was winning seven, nine, 10 games a season and going to a bowl game.
“I have friends that play ball, and they’re on losing squads, like 0-12, 1-11, and they’re like how trash it is to be there. I’m winning eight, nine, 10 games a season, so I just felt like that was the best situation for me coming out of high school. I loved every second of it.”
First Published June 12, 2019, 12:15 a.m.
