Alabama Football: Get to Know Nico Johnson, Linebacker or Criminal Investigator?

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) Nico Johnson is a 6'3'', 245 pound junior linebacker for Alabama and he's a great guy on and off the field.

Nico is from Andalusia, Alabama, played for Andalusia High School where he was a top 25 player as a high school senior in all the scouting reports. He played much of his senior season with a broken thumb, but it never seemed to affect his play.

A five-star recruit, he helped Alabama snatch another top class when he joined in 2009.

He considered LSU and Auburn, but almost always had his eye as well as his heart on going to Alabama.

He was pushed into service as a freshman, filling in for Dont`a Hightower when he went down to injury, and learned a lot playing next to Rolando McClain.That relationship has never gone away.

Johnson said when Dont'a went down and he came in, McClain took him "under his wing" and taught him much, maybe more than the coaches have, about how to improve.

He said that McClain still calls and talks to Hightower and him almost every day and that he's much like one of his older brothers. He said McClain is still teaching, coaching and critiquing him after every game and it helps.

In returning the favor that McClain and Hightower have given to him, Johnson now watches a lot of film with C.J. Mosely and he has taken him under his wing the same way he was taken in. The two are very close despite fighting one another for playing time.

Nico says that physical practice is where you prepare your body and film is where you prepare your mind. He says he learned that from McClain, who was a film-watching freak.

As a junior now, he's becoming more of a leader, and he is no long afraid of making calls when he recognizes something on defense.

Next year, with Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw gone, Johnson could be the vocal leader of the linebackers and it's a role he would feel comfortable taking over.

When I asked him if he was going to be the leader of the line backing corp next season, he modestly said that he thought there are a lot a good players that would be back next year and while he might be one of the leaders, there would be many.

The first-team offensive linemen who work against Johnson every week in practice all rave over how much improvement he's made since just last year. They say he recognizes the plays and blocking schemes before the ball is snapped, and that his explosive off-the-ball speed makes him hard to contain.

Since starting three games as a freshman, Johnson was never redshirted and played in all 13 games in 2010 with six starts at middle linebacker.

This year he is at Will linebacker and he has proven to be one of the nation's best run stoppers in Nick Saban's 3-4 defense. He was always projected to be a star football player, but Johnson knows that nothing in football is guaranteed.

If football doesn't work out, Johnson says he'd like to use degree in criminal justice and work for the FBI or as a crime scene investigator.

I guess besides his brain, Johnson does bring some valuable assets to bear in that area—no perp would dare try to outrun or overpower him.

"It's a totally different technique" said Johnson about taking down a perp as opposed to taking down a running back, "But I think I could master that too."

I'm sure he could.