Johnny Johnson
No. 39
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1968-06-11) June 11, 1968 (age 55)
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, California)
College:San Jose State
NFL draft:1990 / Round: 7 / Pick: 169
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:4,078
Average:3.9
Rushing TDs:21
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Johnny Johnson, Jr. (born June 11, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and the Phoenix Cardinals between 1990 and 1994. He played college football for the San Jose State Spartans.

High school and college

He prepped at Santa Cruz High School.[1] Johnson attended and graduated from San Jose State University. For the San Jose State Spartans basketball team, Johnson played 12 games as a basketball player after most team members walked off and refused to play under coach Bill Berry. With 1,219 yards rushing and 61 catches in receiving, Johnson was considered among the top 20 college football players in the United States in 1988.[2] After five games into his senior season, Johnson was dismissed from the team for missing practices and team meetings. Johnson's reasoning for missing practices was to help take care of his mother in the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but because telephone lines were down across the area, there wasn't much of a way for Johnson to communicate to his head coach Claude Gilbert. Gilbert however claimed that Johnson had already skipped 2 o'clock practice anyway to attend game 3 of the 1989 World Series.[3] Nevertheless, his dismissal from the Spartans football program dropped Johnson's draft stock all the way to the 169th pick in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Phoenix Cardinals.[4]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m) 		212 lb
(96 kg) 		32 in
(0.81 m) 		9+3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.64 s 1.63 s 2.75 s 4.18 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)
All values from NFL Combine[5]

Johnson played in the 1991 Pro Bowl. After playing for three seasons for the Cardinals, he was traded during the 1993 NFL Draft to the New York Jets, in exchange for the Cardinals moving from the number 4 pick in the draft to the Jets' number 3 draft position. The Cardinals badly wanted Garrison Hearst, who also played running back, so the Cardinals were willing to part with Johnson just to move up one draft spot.[6]

After arriving on the Jets, Johnny Johnson was named Jets team MVP in 1993 in a vote by his teammates. Johnson finished the season ranked second in the AFC in total yards from scrimmage. He was one of only two backs to lead his team in rushing and receptions.

He became a free agent in 1995, and the Jets made him available for the expansion draft that year.[7] Johnson considered signing with the San Francisco 49ers.[1] In April 1996, Johnson signed a two-year, $3-million contract with the 49ers; consequently, the 49ers waived Dennis Brown to make salary cap room for Johnson.[8]

NFL career statistics

Year Team GP Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1990 PHO 14 234 926 4.0 41 5 25 241 9.6 35 0
1991 PHO 15 196 666 3.4 21 4 29 225 7.8 51 2
1992 PHO 12 178 734 4.1 42 6 14 103 7.4 26 0
1993 NYJ 15 198 821 4.1 57 3 67 641 9.6 48 1
1994 NYJ 16 240 931 3.9 90 3 42 303 7.2 24 2
Career 72 1,046 4,078 3.9 90 21 177 1,513 8.5 51 5

Notes

  1. ^ a b Swan, Gary (November 7, 1995). "Johnny Johnson May Sign Soon". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Norwood, Robyn (August 28, 1989). "Big West Preview : Johnson, San Jose State Bulk Up for Challenge of Fresno State". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  3. ^ Litsky, Frank (October 19, 1990). "Cardinals Cashing In After Gamble in Draft". New York Times. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "1990 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  5. ^ "Johnny Johnson, Combine Results, FB – San Jose State". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  6. ^ "Jets Trade Down But Still Move Up", New York Times, April 26, 1993
  7. ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (February 16, 1995). "Risky, Yes, but Jets Get Back Their Man". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  8. ^ "49ers Cut a Starter". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 3, 1996. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
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