Minnesota receiver mulls early departure

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Ron Johnson is hoping Saturday isn't his final game at Minnesota.

In his perfect world, he would break the Golden Gophers' single-season receiving record against Iowa, play in a bowl game and then face the weighty decision whether to skip his senior season for the NFL.

"I wouldn't want to say I'm definitely coming back," Johnson said Tuesday. "I just say I don't know."

Johnson meets the NFL's size requirement for a wide receiver, at 6-foot-3-inches and 216 pounds. He needs 66 yards to break Ryan Thelwell's school-record 1,051 receiving yards, set in 1996, and 11 receptions to break Tutu Atwell's record 62 receptions in 1996.

Coach Glen Mason said he would give his consent to any underclassman who might be a first-round pick but would offer a warning to any player who might be drafted lower than that. If asked, Mason said he would help Johnson find those answers.

The Sporting News' Web site (http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/draft/wr.html) projects Johnson among the top five juniors at wide receiver.

Johnson said he hasn't explored any information about how high he might be drafted.

"My parents say the decision is all up to me," said Johnson, whose father is ex-Pittsburgh Steeler Ron Johnson Sr. "If I have any doubt, I don't think I will. I want to be content. I don't know what I'll do. I'm in limbo right now. I have no idea.

"I don't want to be leaving before my time. It's college. Live it up. They say you can never get that back. I don't want to say I missed out on this or that."

On the other hand, Johnson said he believes he is ready for the NFL and would have to consider leaving if it meant he could be financially set for life.

"Whenever it's too much for me," Johnson said, "then I pray on it."

Defensive end Karon Riley, Johnson's friend and cousin, said he thought Johnson was committed to returning to the Gophers but wasn't surprised that he might have flip-flopped.

"Ron acts like a fish out of water sometimes," Riley said.