By Harry King

LITTLE ROCK — Scary small, the preemie’s first home was a tubular container of glass and her first bed a small mattress snug inside a frame elevated to keep her head raised.

The tilt helped with breathing and digestion of the nutrition that flowed through the tube in her nose and into her stomach. For the first two weeks of her thirtysomething-day hospital stay, the only contact for family was reaching through a couple of arm holes.

Now 10, she occasionally pulls out photos of the receptacle, including the ones where a blanket is covering and there is nothing to see. Even after she was moved to another area in the neonatal ICU, the times for holding were designated and brief.

Hours before she left the hospital, a professional explained CPR to the parents and grandparents with a terrifying warning that broken ribs could result from such an emergency procedure. For months, she was attached to a heart monitor.

I understand why Derek Johnson left the football glamour at Texas to return to Northeast Arkansas.

He is the father of a son born too soon. A premature child comes with demands and expenses, and Johnson believes both can best be dealt with near his home in Hoxie. In the process, he is giving up a dream.

Johnson went to school in El Paso, Texas, for eight years and it was then that he became enamored with the Longhorns.

“There’s where he wanted to go from the get-go,” said Tom Sears, who coached Johnson at Hoxie High School. In May of 2008, Johnson was the Longhorns’ 19th commitment and their first from outside Texas.

No matter how Arkies feel about the Burnt Orange, a scholarship from Texas is primo.

Johnson’s signing was significant enough for something called Burnt Orange Beat to dispatch a reporter to Hoxie to produce three lengthy articles about the 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive lineman.

“They took pictures of the town and all kinds of things,” Sears said.

That same fan-friendly source reported in mid-July that Johnson had returned to Arkansas, but was expected in Austin when the Longhorns check in Aug. 8.

A few days later, Johnson issued a statement through UT saying that it was a difficult decision, but that he was transferring.

That night, he told the Jonesboro Sun: “Basically, it’s a family issue. I recently had a little boy who was born premature and basically it’s for financial reasons. I’m moving back home where my family can help.”

Johnson said he would enroll at Arkansas State University even if the NCAA refused to grant a waiver that would make him eligible to play this fall. Johnson’s dad, Bill, was a running back at ASU and played three years with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Sears said Johnson’s son was born in the middle of spring practice and that Johnson was trying to attend class, be at the hospital and play football. In addition, housing for married students is off-campus and expensive at UT. At ASU, such housing is on-campus.

Although Johnson’s son comes first and a possible pro career is a few years down the road, he should be encouraged that ASU defensive end Alex Carrington, a third-round draft choice of Buffalo, recently signed a four-year, $2.65 million deal.

The NFL keeps up with big defensive linemen who can run.

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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.