Sept. 4, 2002

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Phoenix may be a vacation paradise, but few tourists visit during the triple-digit heat of July.

Western Washington University cornerback Martez Johnson was there in July and he was hardly taking a break.

"I'm very pleased with the approach he's taken to his senior season. (Those workouts) clearly made him not only better, but more confident, and that will be displayed over the course of the season." Head Coach Rob Smith

Johnson spent a month of his summer in Phoenix, living with friends and rising early each morning to work out in a speed camp attended by a number of Phoenix Cardinals. He'll get to test the results Thursday night, as Western visits the University of Central Oklahoma and Johnson and fellow senior corner Anthony Dalton face the challenge of Broncho all-America wide receiver Dee Dee Carter, who led NCAA Division II in receiving yards per game last year.

"It's helped tremendously," said Johnson, who said the daytime highs during his month in Arizona never dropped below 107. "I was a 4-speed before, now I'm a 5-speed. I'm coming in and out of breaks faster now. I can definitely feel it."

Western head coach Rob Smith says he's seen the difference in the senior from Rainier Beach, who has started 22 straight games and had a team-high 15 passes defensed last year.

"I'm very pleased with the approach he's taken to his senior season," said Smith. "(Those workouts) clearly made him not only better, but more confident, and that will be displayed over the course of the season."

Smith also has great confidence in Dalton, who had a team-high four interceptions last season and was named Newcomer of the Year in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

"It's going to be fun to watch the match-up of Dee Dee Carter against both our corners," Smith said.

Carter, who had just five catches in all of 2000, opened the 2001 season with 10 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown as Central Oklahoma upset Western, 28-24, on a last-second touchdown. It turned out to be an average night for the receiver, who finished the year with 76 receptions for 1,469 yards and eight scores.

"He led the nation in receiving yardage and you can't take that away from him, but we aren't going to change the way we do things," Johnson said. "He's considered the best and I like that challenge. I think anybody who is really competitive looks at it that way."