Johnson helps Arkansas stay as one

FAYETTEVILLE — Taver Johnson likely won’t be the University of Arkansas’ next head football coach and as an assistant who was hired just last January, he shouldn’t be.

But the University of Arkansas and its Razorbacks are the better for Johnson’s acting head coach stint since the April 10 firing of Bobby Petrino.

For the experience, Johnson will be a better Arkansas assistant head coach/linebackers coach and, whether down the road at Arkansas or somewhere else, eventually a better head coach or coordinator.

Certainly Johnson experienced plenty from Petrino’s firing through Saturday’s Red-White game closing spring drills into the forthcoming step of Athletic Director Jeff Long naming a new head coach.

Johnson coached Ohio State cornerbacks for the past five years , four years under Jim Tressel, and in 2011 under interim coach Luke Fickell after Tressel was ousted.

With Urban Meyer hired in December to be Ohio State’s head coach effective on the field after Fickell coached the 6-7 Buckeyes in their 24-17 Gator Bowl loss to Florida, Johnson was among the Fickell staff retained by the new coach.

However with Petrino offering the assistant head coach title as a resume builder with more money and more administrative experience, Johnson January followed Ohio State defensive coordinator Paul Haynes to Arkansas to become as linebackers coach.

Petrino hired Haynes in December to be the defensive coordinator immediately as the Razorbacks readied for their January Cotton Bowl victory over Kansas State.

Petrino’s tenure abruptly unraveled from his April 1 motorcycle accident to his April 10 firing.

Johnson’s largely ceremonial assistant head coach title suddenly crowned him acting head coach.

Of course Haynes remained in charge of the defense and offensive coordinator Paul Petrino in charge of the offense while senior leaders Tyler Wilson, Knile Davis and Tenarius Wright led their teammates from within.

Nevertheless, Johnson became the program’s temporary face. He addressed the overall issues including suspending linebacker Tyler Gilbert following Gilbert’s arrest on charges of burglary and theft of property.

Johnson was in on the wise call to make the spring game best against the rest rather than dividing the squad by draft after dividing the staff.

Bobby Petrino divided it last year. It made for a more entertaining game. But the last thing this current team needed Saturday was even a hint of divisiveness with players, and especially assistant coaches, doing more personal auditioning than working together.

They had none of it and haven’t since Petrino was placed on administrative leave April 5 before he was fired.

The staff and players have done an admirable job sticking together,and Johnson deserves his share for that.

While the newest to Arkansas, he’s already embraced Arkansas more than some who have lived here for years.

Running through the A, “I’ll never forget,” Johnson said of leading the team into Saturday’s game.

Nor, as he hits the recruiting road today, has he forgotten that the UA is bigger than its football coaches.

“The thing we have to sell as usual is the University of Arkansas,” Johnson said. “I have a 6 o’clock flight Monday morning and I will be on it.”