Micah Johnson operates smack-dab inside the belly of the beast.

Down in the dark, angry recesses of pro football’s front line.

Claustrophobic. Chaotic. Congested.

“There’s a very good reason an interior guy hasn’t led the league in … forever,’’ says Stampeders’ D-line coach Corey Mace.

“Because it’s hard.

“There’s not much space to work with. There are double-teams. You’re usually in the sight-line of the quarterback.

“There’s an awful lot going against you being on the inside.

“But he’s finding a way to get back there. It’s a question of how serious does somebody want to take it.

“He takes his job very seriously.”

Twenty-eight years ago, the Berlin Wall fell. Twenty-eight years ago, the first episode of Seinfeld aired and the world-wide web came to the forefront.

Twenty-eight years ago, Johnson was only a year old, a toddler still in his nappies back in Columbus, Georgia.

And 28 years ago, James Curry of the Saskatchewan Roughriders was the last interior lineman to tie atop the CFL quarterback-sacks charts, alongside teammate Bobby Jurasin.

Only tied, mind you.

“That,’’ whistles Johnson, “is a long time ago.”

Johnson takes down Mike Reilly during the 2017 Labour Day rematch (Photo by David Moll)

In fact, since the stat officially started being tracked back in 1982, no inside lineman has ever claimed the sack title outright.

Johnson may be just the man to change that.

The sack leadership is, or at least has been, the exclusive domain of the rush ends, pinning back their ears and barreling off the edge to apply WWF-style takedowns on the game’s glamour boys.

Play word association with ‘sack’ and the names of Charleston Hughes, John Chick, Odell Willis or John Bowman pop immediately to mind for current CFL aficionados.

Yet as the Stampeders take their table-topping 10-1-1 record into the new Mosaic Stadium out yonder in the flatlands for a Sunday skirmish, Johnson – an interior lineman – holds a slender lead in the sack race with eight QB takedowns, one more than the now-injured Jamaal Westerman of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and a pair of Toronto Argonauts, Victor Butler and former Stamp Shawn Lemon.

“It’s a totally different game inside, man,’’ says Johnson. “So much going on. Such limited space. I think it’s easier for an offence to game-plan getting an interior lineman off his game.

“This is definitely a league for the ends. We’re doing the dirty work, not posting all those stats. But that’s our job, comes with the territory.

“So to be having this kind of success is crazy-fun.”

The impact of the big man from the University of Kentucky has been far-reaching on the country’s runaway No. 1 defensive unit. His towering presence up front is every bit as vital to collective success as Alex Singleton’s marauding play at middle linebacker or the blanket forcefield coverage provided by a truly remarkable defensive secondary.

“I’d say it’s a combination of opportunity and health,’’ Johnson reckons. “Health, to me, is the big thing. I’ve always had belief in myself and everywhere I go I feel I can play at a high level.

“But now I’m finally back at the point where I’m not thinking about my knee, where it’s not hurting at all.

“Everything’s coming together. And what I don’t think people realize is that last year was really my first full year of D-line in my life.

“So there’s still so much stuff I’m learning, little things, every day. Coach Mace is doing such a great job of coaching me, showing me things to look for on film.”

As his numbers swell and his influence continues to grow, Johnson’s drawing more and more attention from opposition blocking schemes.

“It’s getting to the point where they’re going to just going to have to put two people on him, automatically,’’ predicts Mace, a former inside lineman himself.

“But he takes a lot of pride in his craft, in wanting to get better. Yesterday, today, tomorrow. He feels things that are missing in his game.”

Six games remain on the docket. Can Johnson hold off the assault of all those familiar names coming off the edge, taking dead aim at him as they do at quarterbacks?

“Oh, I think it’s very do-able, given the calibre of football he’s playing,’’ replies Mace. “With us, it’s kind of a pick-your-poison thing right now.

“There’s only so many guys you can double-team. That means someone’s going to be free and that guy is probably going to have the game everyone’s talking about afterwards.

“They’ve sent two at Hughes over the years and he finds a way. They’re sending two at Micah right now and he’s finding a way. So it’s just about building off that foundation.”

Johnson insists winning the sack title and striking a blow for interior worker-bees everywhere won’t make or break his season.

“It’d be nice. Don’t get me wrong. And I’ll see how long I can keep it going.

“But a guy like Charleston, for instance, he can go for three, four sacks in a game. And he can do that back-to-back-to-back.

“So things can change in a hurry.

“I’m not overly excited right now. Sacks are the kind of a thing where a couple weeks, they’ll be coming your way and a couple weeks where it’s not.

“We’re just going to have to stay patient, stay grounded and see how it all shakes out.”