Tech’s Johnson chosen by the Bengals in third round

A day after the disappointment of not being selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson’s uncertainty ended quickly Sunday.

The Cincinnati Bengals made Johnson the sixth pick of the third round Sunday morning, just minutes into the second day of the draft.

“I thought I’d be gone on Saturday, but you play the cards you’re dealt,” Johnson said by phone from his home in Selma, Ala. “I look forward to going in there and proving myself. I’m going to go earn my money.”

The selection halted a precipitous slide for Johnson, whom many projected last fall and even this spring to be a first-round choice. However, Johnson, an all-American for the Jackets last fall, was hounded by questions about his consistency and desire.

Even his new employers made note of it Sunday at a press conference in Cincinnati.

“This kid is a tremendous, tremendous athlete,” said defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. “He just doesn’t play hard all the time. That’s our job, to make sure that he does that.”

Eager to start, Johnson said he’ll go up to Cincinnati in the middle of this week in advance of the Bengals’ rookie camp next weekend.

“The negatives, to me, any complain that anyone might have is what I’m going to focus on more now until it becomes a strength,” Johnson said. “I look forward to the opportunity and I’m ready. I’m so ready.”

Johnson said he was surprised that he wasn’t chosen in the first two rounds. He had dozens of family and friends at his family’s home Saturday in anticipation of his selection. In the second round, Johnson said, the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals called before their picks and told him they would try to take him.

Johnson spent most of Saturday in his room, hanging out with former Tech teammate Colin Peek, now at Alabama, and a friend of Peek’s. After not being chosen, Johnson stayed in his room and then went out cruising around Selma.

“I just wanted to get away from everybody,” said Johnson. “You have everyone saying, ‘Are you O.K.? Are you alright?’ It’s like, I’m good. (But) you keep asking me that and I’m not going to be O.K. and I’m going to be mad at you.”

The Bengals run a 4-3 defense and will consider Johnson at both defensive end and linebacker. He’ll likely have the chance to play immediately as a third-down pass rusher.

Johnson said he didn’t know much about Cincinnati, but there will be one familiar face - former Jacket defensive end Eric Henderson.

Said Johnson, “I’m looking forward to going up there and learning from him the same way I did when I came to Tech.”