Latest Johnson Enjoying Turn in the Spotlight

His mom says “he’s giggled his way through life,” which should tell you something about Rob Johnson and his continuing efforts to put as little distance as possible between himself and his locally famous last name.

If there are two phrases Johnson has heard time and time again, they are, “brother of Bret” and “son of Bob.” Bret is the former El Toro High School quarterback and two-time Orange County player of the year who now starts for UCLA. Bob is the head coach of an El Toro football program that has won three CIF titles and six league championships in this decade alone. And he still has this season left to add to the total.

So it isn’t altogether surprising to learn that the youngest Johnson is fond of his family’s sporting legacy. But what is amazing, considering the resumes Bret and Bob have compiled, is that Rob might surpass both of them in the number of accomplishments.

Rather than ignore the Johnson athletic tradition, Rob has embraced it. He could care less that his name is linked always with the successes of his brother and father. The way he sees it, there are worse fates than being part of a family tree made strong by football.

“He’s always saying, ‘Bret did it this way, Bret did it that way,’ ” said Debbie Johnson. “He likes to do things, perhaps not consciously, the same way Bret does them.”

An example: Bret never chose to wore his well-decorated El Toro letter jacket. So guess who doesn’t wear his letter jacket?

For the moment, introductions involving Rob are a melting pot of qualifiers and adjectives. After all, it’s difficult not to mention his name without attaching all the luggage that goes with it. Suddenly it becomes, “ThisIsRobJohnson, YouKnow,WhoseBigBrotherIsBret, TheQuarterbackAtUCLA, AndHisDad,Bob,CoachesAt

ElToro.”

But like it or not, change is on the way, led, of course, by the size-12 or so feet of Rob himself. As unlikely as it might seem, Rob is faced with more possibilities than brother Bret or father Bob. Through some sort of genetic quirk, Rob is 6-foot-4, 190 pounds . . . and growing. And all at the wonderful age of 16. Bret and Bob are 6-foot, tops.

Rob can run the 40-yard dash in 4.75, which isn’t speed-of-sound fast, but it’s not bad, either.

Rob can shoot three-point shots as if he’s tossing wads of paper into a nearby wastebasket. A flick of the wrist and it’s in.

Rob can throw a baseball across the outer reaches of the plate.

Rob, it turns out, can do just about anything he wants when it comes to football, basketball and baseball. And, alarmingly enough, he potentially can do any of them better than the aforementioned Bret, who owns a trophy store’s worth of awards.

“Rob will be in a position that I have not known,” said his father humbly. “I’m not sure that there’s a county athlete that I know of who will have the opportunity like Rob will have as a three-sport, Division I player.”

Bob Johnson, who has watched 28 of his El Toro players receive Division I athletic scholarships in the past seven years, said this carefully, making sure to separate fact from fatherly pride. But talent is talent, and there is little doubt that Rob was dipped in ability long ago.

Watch him during an El Toro football practice. He is constantly in motion, either as the Chargers’ starting wide receiver (a position he had never played until this season) or as the team’s backup quarterback (first-string status comes next year) to Steve Stenstrom, the county’s leading passer.

“He’s probably the best quarterback in the county,” Rob said, smiling. “My luck.”

And adaptable? Johnson appears at ease at both positions. In fact, at last look, he ranked third among the county’s receivers.

“I just didn’t want to sit on the bench,” he said.

Not to worry there. Johnson won’t feel wood for years, what with a schedule that includes football by fall, basketball by winter and baseball by spring. But in one departure from the road taken by his brother, Rob said he remains happily unsure of his future plans. Bret, who also played baseball and basketball during his years at El Toro, knew by his junior year that football would be the sport he would seriously pursue.

“But he also knew that 6-foot guards don’t make it that far,” Rob said.

Rob is under no such constraints. According to the tape measure, he’s four inches over that mark, with more room to grow.

Already he is being asked to whittle down his choices. Most recently, UCLA basketball coach Jim Harrick asked Bob Johnson where that sport rated on his son’s list of priorities. Johnson told him the same thing he tells everybody: he doesn’t know.

Even Rob himself doesn’t have a clue, which is the way it should be. What’s the fun of high school if the adult world keeps barging in?

“I wish I could say, but I really can’t,” Rob said. “I guess I’ll pick the position I’m best suited for.”

And who knows what might happen after that? Perhaps a reversal in introductions, where it becomes, “ThisIsBret,YouKnow,BrotherOfRob . . . “