Christopher Johnson (born April 18, 1991) is a former professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and is the

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

for the

Toronto Varsity Blues football The Toronto Varsity Blues football team represents the University of Toronto in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. Dating back to 1877, the Toronto Varsity Blues football program initially competed for the Canadian Dominion Football Cham ...

team of

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

Early career

Johnson played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Pickering High School, where he was an all-star in 2009. From 2010 to 2013, he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues is the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues traces its founding to ...

. During his time with the Varsity Blues, he recorded 91 tackles, five sacks, and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

returned for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. He also played in the

CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...

East-West Bowl in 2013.

Professional career

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

At the CFL Regional Combine in Toronto, Johnson impressed scouts by recording a time of 4.74 seconds in the 40-yard dash, a vertical jump of 36 inches, and a broad jump of 118 inches. All three statistics were bests among the linebackers at the Toronto Combine. Johnson was selected by the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

in the fifth round of the

2014 CFL Draft The 2014 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN. 65 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 19 trades ...

with the 44th overall pick. He was placed on the practice squad before the start of the regular season. Making his CFL debut against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

on September 20, Johnson eventually played in two games with the Tiger-Cats in their 2014 season and recorded two special teams tackles. He was re-signed by the Tiger-Cats on March 11, 2015. However, he was released during training camp on June 14, 2015.

Calgary Stampeders

Two days after being released, the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

expressed immediate interest and signed Johnson on June 16, 2015. He was placed on the practice roster before the beginning of the regular season. He was released from the practice roster on August 10, 2015.

Montreal Alouettes

On December 21, 2016, Johnson signed with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

. However, he was released on May 1, 2017 and did not play in 2017.

Coaching career

Johnson joined the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

to serve as the team's

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Christopher 1991 births Living people Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football linebackers Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Montreal Alouettes players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Toronto Toronto Varsity Blues football players Toronto Varsity Blues football coaches