NATCHEZ — As a seventh grader, Kenan Johnson had big aspirations to be a skill player making game-changing plays on the football field. His middle school coach didn’t see receiver potential in him, but instead saw him making an impact at defensive end.

Six years later, that same coach, Henry Garner, is Johnson’s high school head coach at Natchez, and Johnson is changing the game at defensive end on Friday nights.

“He wanted to play receiver, and I didn’t see hands for one thing,” Garner said, laughing. “I saw aggressiveness though. At the time, he was tall and slim, and he was quick coming off the ball.”

Johnson, the 6’0” 226-pound senior, remembers wanting to play offense vividly. However, it didn’t take him long to fall in love with playing defensive end.

“It was easy and simple to catch on to,” Johnson said. “Watching the NFL, defensive ends like Dwight Freeney did spin moves to get to the quarterback, and so I would try that out.”

Three games into the 2015 season, Johnson is making it look easy at defensive end. He’s already recorded more forced fumbles (three) than he did in 2014 (two). He has three sacks to his credit, and he’s been one of the main contributors on the Bulldogs defense.

When it comes to stripping the football, Johnson said there’s no secret technique he implores.

“If I hit them hard, I hope the ball comes out,” Johnson said. “If I can’t make the tackle, I can strip the ball easily, if I can reach out.”

All of Johnson’s forced fumbles and sacks have come in the last two games the Bulldogs played in. Against Jefferson County and Warren Central, Garner said Johnson brought more intensity.

“Really, he brings a lot of fire into each game,” Garner said. “He was getting down in the first game because he wasn’t firing off the way he should. But something turned on since. I don’t know what it was, but when it turned on, he turned up. The last several weeks, he’s been a totally different person.”

And though Natchez is known for its speed on offense, so far this season, the Bulldogs defense has been grabbing most of the headlines. Against Jefferson County, Natchez held the Tigers to 152 yards before the Bulldog defense held 6A Warren Central to under 300 yards of total offense. Johnson said Natchez High’s success on defense isn’t a surprise to him at all, as he’s formed a tight bond with his teammates on that side of the football.

“Our defense is way better than what it used to be,” Johnson said. “We’re more comfortable with each other now.”

As a senior, Johnson is doing everything he can to be vocal, enjoy the moment and make game-altering plays. He does it because he loves the game, but he also does it for the future Bulldogs watching on the sidelines on Friday nights.

“There’s always somebody watching you, it may be a younger person,” Johnson said. “If they see you doing it, they’ll want to do it. That’s why I play so hard.”