Calvin Johnson gets a breather during a Georgia Tech game last fall. Photo/Jamie Sheriff.

Watching ESPN’s coverage of the 2007 NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon, one could see that Calvin Johnson, a graduate of Sandy Creek High School and a standout receiver for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, had received the good news before anyone else did. His face broke out in a smile and moments later it was announced that the Detroit Lions had selected Johnson with the number two overall pick in the draft.

It was a whirlwind weekend filled with interviews, photo sessions, meetings and more. Johnson even got to throw out the first pitch at Sunday’s game between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins.

“I carry high expectations for myself,” Johnson said in a press conference over the weekend, adding “I am ready to get to work and get things started here.”

He will get to work this Thursday when the first Mini-Camp for Rookies is held and he will be joined by another Fayette County athlete and rival from the ACC, John Deraney, a graduate of Fayette County High School and former kicker/punter for NC State.

Deraney was signed by the Lions as a free agent after the second day of the draft wrapped up.
“After I got out of church on Sunday, the hours beteen 1-6 p.m. felt more like 12 hours,” Deraney said, discussing the phone calls that went back and forth between himself, his agent, the Lions and the Washington Redskins.
Deraney will get a chance to compete for the starting jobs of kicking off and punting. He is looking forward to getting to work.

Johnson and Deraney have met a few times and after a recent meeting between NC State and Georgia Tech the two realized that Johnson knew Deraney’s mother, who works as the media specialist at Sandy Creek.

“He’s just a really nice guy with great character,” Deraney said, adding that it was just crazy to have two guys from Fayette County on the same team.

Both Johnson and Deraney were impact players in the ACC.

Johnson, a two-time All-American wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets, was the team’s career leader in receiving yards (2,927) and touchdown receptions (28) and second in career receptions with 178.

In 2006, he was a unanimous first-team All-America selection and the winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver. He was also named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year while earning first-team all-ACC honors for the third straight year.
Johnson was second in the nation with 15 touchdown catches while leading the ACC in receptions (76, 5.4 pg) and receiving yards (1,202, 85.9 pg).

He set Tech season records for receiving yardage and touchdowns.

Deraney was 82 for 82 in extra point attempts over his career, scoring a total of 202 points in three plus years as the kicker for the Wolfpack.

As a punter, he accumulated 8,366 yards with an average of 40.3 yards.