Steven Johnson (American football)
.JPG) Johnson with the Denver Broncos | |||||||||||||
| No. 51 Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | March 28, 1988 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Media, Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 237 lb (108 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Wallingford (PA) Strath Haven | ||||||||||||
| College: | Kansas | ||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2016 | |||||||||||||
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Steven Johnson (born March 28, 1988) is an American football linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Johnson signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and played three seasons there. He played with the Tennessee Titans, mostly on special teams, in 2015. He played college football at the University of Kansas.
High school career
Johnson attended Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, where he played linebacker; however, he struggled to impress coaches the way some of his teammates did. After one year on the freshman team and two years of junior varsity, Johnson became a starter for his varsity team during his senior year. That year, he posted impressive numbers, leading the state of Pennsylvania with 114 tackles and being selected for all-state 2nd team. Despite his successful senior year, Johnson did not receive an offer to play collegiate football at any level.
Before college
Without any collegiate offers, Johnson enrolled at Wyoming Seminary preparatory school in 2006 to continue his education and play football. After only five games, Steven recorded 62 tackles, two interceptions, and four rushing touchdowns. Steven’s performance began to earn the attention of college scouts until he tore his ACL, LCL, and capsule in his left knee. Johnson's football career appeared to be over.
Despite this setback, Johnson's Faith gave him the motivation to put in the work necessary to recover from his injury and get back into football shape. After a long period of recovery, Johnson started contacting colleges about playing football. Johnson only received an invitation to walk-on at the University of Kansas, after contacting several colleges.[1]
College career
Johnson played college football at the University of Kansas after walking on to the team. Johnson did not receive a scholarship until just before his junior season at KU when he impressed coaches at practice.
Johnson finished college with 225 tackles, 3 sacks, 6 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and an interception.[2] In January 2012, he played in the 2012 East-West Shrine game.[3]
In his senior season, Johnson had 120 tackles, 3 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and an interception.[2] In 2011, he was selected to the Phil Steele's Midseason All-Big 12 Third Team.[4] On September 3, 2011, in the season opener, he recorded 15 tackles and a forced fumble against McNeese State.[5] On September 17, 2011, he had 11 tackles in a blowout loss to Georgia Tech.[6] On October 15, 2011, he had 13 tackles, 1 interception and 2 pass deflections against the No.3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.[7]
In his junior season, Johnson had 95 tackles, 2 sacks and 3 pass deflections.[2] On September 4, 2010, In the season opener, Johnson had 9 tackles against North Dakota State.[8] On September 25, 2010, he had 8 tackles and a sack in a game against New Mexico State.[9]
Johnson recorded 9 tackles and a sack during this sophomore season, and 1 tackle during his freshman season.[2]
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in | 239 lb | 32 3/8 in | 9 3/8 in | 4.78 s | 4.38 s | 7.32 s | 36.0 in | 113 ft 0 in | 16.0 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from the NFL Combine [10] | |||||||||||||||||||
Denver Broncos
On April 29, 2012, Johnson signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent.[11] On August 31, 2012, he made the 53-man roster.[12] Johnson played three seasons with the Broncos, starting in seven games for the team.
During the 2013 season, in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Johnson blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown. In week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Johnson came in for a defensive play where he stuffed Jamaal Charles at the goal line and denied him a touchdown on third down.[13]
Tennessee Titans
Johnson played in all 16 games, mostly on special teams, with the Tennessee Titans where he recorded seven tackles during the 2015 season.[14]
Pittsburgh Steelers
Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 25, 2016.[15][16] On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Steelers as part of final roster cuts.[17] Two days later, Johnson was re-signed after Bud Dupree was placed on injured reserve.[18] He was placed on injured reserve on November 15, 2016 after suffering an ankle injury in Week 10.[19]
Personal life
In 2014, Johnson started the Faith Motivated Foundation to help kids and adults to set and achieve goals, take care of their health and rely on their faith.[20]
References
- ↑ "A LONG, HARD CLIMB FOR BRONCOS' STEVEN JOHNSON". espn.go.com.
- 1 2 3 4 "Steven Johnson Statistics". sports-reference.com.
- ↑ "Steven Johnson Accepts Invitation To Play In East-West Shrine Game". kuathletics.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ↑ "2011 Phil Steele's Midseason All-Big 12 Third Team". philsteele.com.
- ↑ "McNeese State 24, Kansas 42 Box score". sports-reference.com.
- ↑ "Kansas 24, Georgia Tech 66 Box score". sports-reference.com.
- ↑ "(3) Oklahoma 47, Kansas 17 Box score". sports-reference.com.
- ↑ "North Dakota State 6, Kansas 3 Box score". sports-reference.com.
- ↑ "New Mexico State 16, Kansas 42 Box score". sports-reference.com.
- ↑ Steven Johnson NFL Combine profile
- ↑ "Broncos announce acquisition of 12 free agents". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Rookie Steven Johnson makes Denver Broncos' 53-man roster". kusports.com.
- ↑ "Steven Johnson Goal Line Stop Against Jamaal Charles". YouTube.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ↑ Alper, Josh. "Steelers sign Steven Johnson". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ↑ Varley, Teresa. "Steelers add LB Steven Johnson". steelers.com. Pittsburgh Steelers. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ↑ Bouchette, Ed. "Steelers sign former Broncos, Titans linebacker Steven Johnson". post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ↑ Labriola, Bob. "Steelers cut to 53, trade for CB". Steelers.com.
- ↑ Varley, Teresa. "Roster moves continue, Dupree on IR". Steelers.com.
- ↑ "Steelers Place Johnson on IR; Re-Sign Fort". Steelers.com. November 15, 2016.
- ↑ Jhabvala, Nicki. "Steven Johnson proving his worth at linebacker for Broncos". denverpost.com. Denver Post. Retrieved 25 March 2016.