MIAMI — One of the biggest reasons Duke Johnson chose to play at Miami was staying in his hometown allowed his friends and family to see him play. Saturday, he gave them a show.
The freshman, one of the nation's top recruits in the spring, scored four touchdowns and recorded 246 all-purpose yards in his first home game to lead the Hurricanes past Bethune-Cookman 38-10.
"I'm just waiting for him to do a backflip sometime in the middle of a play," Miami quarterback Stephen Morris said. "He can do it."
Johnson scored on a 95-yard kickoff return, 50-yard catch and runs of 1 and 28 yards. He's the first Hurricane to score four since Tyrone Moss in 2005. And he has six in Miami's three games this season, four of at least 50 yards.
Is he surprised?
"Not really," Johnson said.
Not even a little?
"Nah," he said with a grin.
Miami has raved about Johnson since his two-touchdown opener at Boston College. Saturday, he had 94 yards on 14 carries and caught three passes for 57.
"He's very mature in his work ethic, his approach, his preparation," coach Al Golden said. "You can ask him to do some things, and he accepts it. He accepts that challenge and then goes out and executes it."
Isidore Jackson's 1-yard run gave I-AA Bethune-Cookman a 7-0 lead on Miami for the second straight year. Last year, the lead lasted for much of the first half before a 45-14 loss. Saturday, it lasted 12 seconds.
Johnson took the ensuing kickoff, found gaping holes and ran untouched to the end zone. It was Miami's first kickoff return for a touchdown since Lamar Miller against Ohio State in 2010 and its longest since Devin Hester's 100-yarder against N.C State in 2004.
Miami took the lead after going 50 yards in nine plays in the second quarter, Johnson getting the last yard after taking a pitch. Up 17-7 in the third, Johnson caught a short pass, waited for blocking to develop and sprinted 50 yards for his third score. His fourth came with 8:25 left, a 28-yard run that made it 31-10.
The Wildcats' quarterbacks combined to go 10-of-25 for 122 yards. They lost a fumble, and a fake punt was intercepted.
"We just made too many mistakes, bottom line," coach Brian Jenkins said. "I don't care who we played. We could have played the mighty midgets. With the execution errors we made, they would have beaten us."
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