Confidence catches on for receiver Ronald Johnson

USC wide receiver Ronald Johnson looked anything but scared when he sprinted into the open and looked up at a long, arching pass heading toward the end zone in their season opener against Virginia.

But USC’s speedy sophomore acknowledged stadium-sized anxiety as the ball thrown by quarterback Mark Sanchez hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity before descending toward him.

“I was like, ‘Wow … If I don’t catch this I’m going to get heckled the rest of my life,’ ” Johnson said.

Johnson hauled in the pass, double-clutching the ball before he secured it, completing a 49-yard scoring play. The touchdown fueled USC’s rout and signaled perhaps the return of a deep threat that was absent from the Trojans’ offense most of the last two seasons.

But for all the attention the third-quarter play received during and after the game, two earlier catches by Johnson also raised eyebrows.

In the first series of the second half, Johnson caught a ball over the middle for 12 yards. Later, on the first play of the drive that ended with his touchdown, Johnson leaped for the ball along the sideline and came down with it for a 17-yard gain.

Both plays marked huge steps for a player who caught only seven passes and scored one touchdown last season.

“That catch over the middle gave me more courage,” Johnson said. “I want to make it so that to go over the middle is like second nature.

“On the sideline play, that was a hard ball and Mark put it out there for me to get it. I want to be a playmaker, and I came through.”

Johnson’s three catches were among 17 made by Trojans receivers in the game, a group that came under criticism for its performance in 2007. After the Virginia game, USC Coach Pete Carroll said, “We’re much different from where we were at last season at this time.”

Johnson would not disagree.

“Last year, it was not really in my mind set,” he said of making tough catches. “I am now. I got involved more in the middle and that opened my eyes that I can catch it.”

 gary.klein@latimes.com