Huskies freshman James Johnson catching on quickly

The Washington Huskies put on shoulder pads for the first time during fall camp Wednesday — full pads won't come until Friday — and did some actual hitting. At least from the midsection on up.

And what often happens when the hitting commences is that the true freshmen and other newcomers — who had a couple days to frolic with the knowledge that there wouldn't be much potential risk to their bodies — learn some hard lessons about the rigors of big-time college football.

But Wednesday, the best player on offense for the Huskies might have been one of the 10 active scholarship true freshmen on the roster, receiver James Johnson of Valley Center, Calif., near San Diego.

Johnson caught three TD passes during team drills, one a highlight reel-worthy, one-handed grab in traffic of a pass from Jake Locker.

"When the bullets were flying today, he stepped his game up," said receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty. "He's not afraid. He's not afraid of the challenge or the spotlight."

Coach Steve Sarkisian is keeping his newcomers off-limits to the media for the time being, saying he wants to give them time to get acclimated before they start garnering too much attention. But through three practices, Johnson has looked ready for whatever may come his way this season.

"He continues to impress us," Sarkisian said of the 6-foot, 193-pounder. "We obviously have a long way to go. But if we were playing [a game] Saturday, he would play, that's for sure."

Johnson was one of the last members of UW's class to commit and was among the highest-rated recruits in a group that was rated last in the Pac-10 by most observers.

He hadn't been considering UW until after Sarkisian got the job. Sarkisian first saw Johnson at a camp while an assistant at USC. The Trojans didn't offer Johnson a scholarship, but Sarkisian remembered him and offered him quickly once he got the UW job.

Cal and Oregon were also interested, but envisioned Johnson more as a defensive back. He wanted to be a receiver, and told the North County Times of Escondido, Calif., in February, "Washington wanted me as a receiver and that's what did it."

No one was happier than Dougherty, who was hired at Washington shortly after signing day but was well aware of Johnson. Dougherty coached the last five years at the University of San Diego, where he saw Johnson a couple of times in a camp and in games.

Dougherty also saw Johnson play a few basketball games — he was named player of the year in his league — and said that was a further tipoff of the kind of athlete UW was getting.

"I'd seen his competitive nature coming out, and obviously his physical ability and all of that," Dougherty said. "So I knew what he was bringing to the table before he got here, and he's proving it now."

Johnson, in fact, came to UW early this summer to participate in voluntary workouts with the rest of the team, and seems to have established an early rapport with Locker and the other QBs.

Sarkisian said he's not surprised by what he's seen so far.

"We had high hopes for him," Sarkisian said. "He was obviously a highly recruited kid and we had to hold off a lot of the other schools in our conference to keep him. Once we got into him, he really showed a work ethic in the classroom and he wanted to be great, and that's what the great ones have, and it's showing for us. He's making plays right now."

Locker, Angels

still talking

Locker has until Aug. 17 to sign a baseball contract with the Angels, who drafted him in the 10th round in June.

A report in The Orange County Register on Wednesday said the Angels would want Locker to give up football after this season. He has said he will undoubtedly finish his football career at UW and wants to pursue that sport professionally, as well, but is interested in signing with the Angels to give him a long-term option in that sport.

If he signs, the Angels would hold his rights for six years. Locker's father, Scott, who is handling negotiations, said the two sides are still talking and that if something does happen, it could be in the next few days. But he reiterated that any signing would be just to give Jake Locker some future options.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com