Grantham details keys to stopping Miami RB

The first time I watched Duke Johnson play, he shredded one of the best high school defenses in Florida for 265 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the state high school football playoffs.

That, of course, was a whole different ballgame. It was high school.

But first impressions are important, and in my last job covering high school football and recruiting in Florida, I saw at least 100 Division I football players in person over three-plus years, including NFL rookies Tre Mason and Kelvin Benjamin and big college names like Nick O'Leary, Kelvin Taylor and Tarean Folston.

Johnson was the most impressive.

So with that in mind, we come back to Thursday's post-practice media scrum with Louisville defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who said Johnson, now the star running back for Miami, is the focus of the Cardinals' defensive game plan ahead of Monday's primetime, season-opening showdown with Miami at 8 p.m. at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

"No matter who you're playing or what you're doing, you have to stop the run," Grantham said. "Obviously if you have a guy as talented as him back there, you'll want to run it, so we have to make sure we play team defense and know ... we have to set the edges on the defense and build a wall on the outside."

Johnson's role only increases in importance with a freshman quarterback, Brad Kaaya, starting for Miami. But Johnson was one of the best backs in the country last year even with a more established starter in Stephen Morris.

He was averaging 6.3 yards a carry before injuring his ankle and missing Miami's final five games. The Hurricanes have built their 2014 offense around him, and they're hoping for more of the same.

"He's a tremendous back," Grantham said. "He can make the first guy miss. He can get double-digit runs. He can also take it to the house, so wrapping up tackles is important. Pursuit to the guy is important to where you can close off those seams and those running lanes to not give him the space where he can make guys miss. Those things go hand-in-hand."

Facing a freshman at quarterback presents another challenge.

There's limited film on Kaaya, a former four-star prospect from California, and he's obviously never taken a college snap.

But Louisville coaches have praised the young signal caller this week, saying he has a strong arm and a lot of talent. Kaaya, at 6-4, 206 pounds, picked Miami over USC, UCLA, Maryland and Boise State, among others.

"A guy who's been recruited like him and as talented as he is, you're going to know a little about him," Grantham said. "You can see his stuff on Hudl and those kind of things. Talented player, probably going to have a bright future at the University of Miami. We really have to worry about ourselves and play as a team."