By DOUG TUCKER

The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Given Derrick Johnson's sweet, humble nature, it's a wonder he ever went out for football, let alone became an All-American linebacker and first-round draft choice.

He speaks softly and smiles warmly and never forgets to call his mom. But he's also 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds of lean, bulging muscle. An unusually gifted athlete, he set an NCAA record his senior season at Texas with nine forced fumbles and won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the top defensive player in the land.

But the instant NFL stardom many predicted has not arrived. And if he doesn't win his starting job back, it never will. For about six weeks Johnson's been riding the Kansas City bench, jerked out of the lineup for reasons that have never been made public.

A player with Johnson's talent can't crack the starting lineup for a team that's 1-6? He wouldn't help a defense ranked 30th out of 32 teams?

First-year head coach Todd Haley says he's satisfied that Johnson is working hard. Johnson says he's doing everything he can to get back.

But in the meantime, Demorrio Williams keeps playing well and giving no indication he's ready to return the job to the man who not so long ago was once hailed as the best defensive player in college football.

To keep his emotions flowing in a positive direction, Johnson has called upon friends, family and faith. Still, this isn't easy.

"It stinks," Johnson said. "It stinks to not be starting or not be playing, or not be playing like I should. Not being out there on the field like I usually am. But it's made my mind stronger."

Chiefs fans, especially those who watched Johnson and the Longhorns beat Kansas his senior season, thought they'd grabbed the next great linebacker when he fell to them in the 2005 draft.

Texas, a school that's produced more than a few good players at his position, had never before had one who totaled 65 tackles for losses.

Johnson was an instant starter with the Chiefs. Yet, plagued by little nagging injuries, he never seemed to fulfill the great expectations so many people had draped around his muscular physique. Some said he was too passive. Some said he lacked that fire in the belly that great defensive players carry around like business cards.

In Johnson's limited role, he's made plays this year. His interception and 70-yard return against Baltimore remains the outstanding moment the Kansas City defense has had all year.

At 27, he ought to be coming into his prime. Instead, he sits and in a quiet, make-no-waves sort of way, he fumes.

"I should be out there playing. I should be starting, helping this team win," he said. "I've never played second string. I've always been the first guy up. But that's life. You go through stuff sometimes where you don't expect it.

"All I can do is keep working, try to work my way back."

Haley's been known to snap at reporters who ask about Johnson's status. He took a softer tone on Wednesday.

"I have no problem with how Derrick is preparing, practicing, playing," Haley said. "He's continuing to get himself ready so when the opportunity, or the bigger opportunity, presents itself, he's ready for that. Again, right now, Demorrio Williams is not why we're where we are at. He's played as good a football as anybody on this team."

Johnson, in the meantime, is determined to turn a negative into a positive.

"I don't want to get caught up into the whole 'anger thing,"' he said. "When I first wasn't starting, I was mad. But I'm not a guy who's going to be complaining. I'm just going to go to work.

"This is going to make me a better player. This is going to make me a better person and a better player on the field. That's how you've got to look at situations in life. Things happen. You have to bend it and mold it to better yourself."

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