David Johnson (born June 28, 1986) is an American former

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 ...

quarterback. He played for the

Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of Tu ...

at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

, where he was the starting quarterback for the 2008 season, after several years as a backup. Johnson finished his senior season as the second-most efficient passer in the nation, behind only

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

-winner

Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the P ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Johnson himself was mentioned as a Heisman contender by several sources throughout that season.

Early life

David Johnson was born on January 15, 1986, in Portland, Oregon. He attended Southridge High School in

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon with a small portion bordering Portland in the Tualatin Valley. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at the ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as a quarterback. During his senior year in 2003, he completed 110 of 181 pass attempts for 1,640 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also rushed for 375 yards and four touchdowns. As a college prospect, he was overshadowed by Erik Ainge of nearby Glencoe High School, who eventually played as a starting quarterback at Tennessee. As such, Johnson was not recruited by any Division I schools, and so he began a campaign to promote himself as a prospect. The only school that showed an interest was the

. He was contacted by their recruiting coordinator, Matt Wells, who eventually offered Johnson a scholarship.Steve Irvine
David Johnson to start for Golden Hurricane after years of waiting, mop-up roles
'' The Birmingham News'', August 25, 2008, retrieved 6 January 2009.

College career

Johnson redshirted his freshman year in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. He then spent his first three years of eligibility as Tulsa's back-up behind

Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...

, with whom he roomed for two years. For his final remaining season of eligibility, in 2008, Johnson had to compete with anticipated recruit and

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

transfer Jacob Bower for the starting position. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he was named Tulsa's starting quarterback, and he led the Golden Hurricane to an 11–3 record. After his performance against New Mexico, in which he completed 24 of 39 passes for 469 yards and six touchdowns, he was named a

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

Co-Offensive Player of the Week. It was the first time that a C-USA quarterback had ever thrown for six touchdowns in two games in the same season. Tulsa's three losses in 2008 came in a close contest against Arkansas, a

blowout Blowout or Blow out may refer to: Film and television *''Blow Out'', a 1981 film by Brian De Palma * ''The Blow Out'', a 1936 short film * ''Blow Out'' (TV series), a TV series on Bravo * "Blow Out" (''Prison Break''), an episode of ''Prison ...

against Houston, and a close but error-filled Conference USA Championship Game against East Carolina. In the 2009 GMAC Bowl, Johnson engineered a rout, 45–13, against

Ball State Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball C ...

, which had finished the regular season with an undefeated 12–0 record. In that season, Johnson recorded 4,059 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions (five of which were in the C-USA title game), and finished as the second-most efficient quarterback in the nation, behind only the

winner,

.David Johnson Statistics
ESPN, retrieved January 6, 2009. Johnson was voted an All-Conference USA honorable mention player, and the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' named him the Conference USA Offensive MVP. Johnson was also named a semifinalist for the Draddy Award and the

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...

. During the season, '' The New York Times'', '' The News & Observer'', and CBS Sports had named Johnson as a

contender. Former Tulsa starter Paul Smith was one of seven quarterbacks in NCAA history to surpass the 5,000 passing yards benchmark. Johnson said of his predecessor, "I was always learning from him. I didn't feel any pressure. He's the one who's been on my side this whole season, just telling me to go out and break all his ecords" In contrast with Smith's

mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

style of play, Johnson is a traditional pocket passer. Tulsa head coach Todd Graham said of Johnson, "We'd like to have a guy who can run, but we've adapted to Dave's style with more drop-back passes instead of naked bootlegs">bootleg_play.html" ;"title="/nowiki>bootleg play">bootlegs/nowiki>."Eye of the Hurricane: Tulsa's high-octane offense centers around quarterback David Johnson
, ''Press-Register'' (Mobile, Alabama, Mobile), January 5, 2009, retrieved January 6, 2009. Johnson himself said that "Our expectation is score every time we have the ball." In 2009, Johnson participated in the Texas vs The Nation game for the Texas team, and threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to

Johnny Knox Johnny Otis Knox II (born November 3, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Abilene Christian University. He was selected by the Chicag ...

in the third quarter and to Dudley Guice for 22 yards in the fourth, but Texas still lost 27-24.

College statistics

Professional career

CBS Sports affiliate, The NFL Draft Scout, ranked Johnson 16th among 123 rated quarterbacks available for the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

and projected him as an undrafted free agent.David Johnson, Tulsa, QB - NFL Draft Scout Profile
NFL Draft Scout, retrieved January 6, 2009. As expected, Johnson was not selected by an NFL team, but he was invited to participate in the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

mini-camp on April 30, 2009, alongside former Utah quarterback

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

. David Johnson said, "All I've ever wanted was an opportunity, and they gave me an opportunity to try out." Both quarterbacks, however, reportedly threw erratically under duress during the mini-camp. Johnson was also invited to participate in the Kansas City Chiefs camp the following week. Johnson spent three years as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

at Sherman High School in Sherman, Texas. In 2013, he became a graduate assistant, working with quarterbacks, at Tulsa.Bill Haisten
"As a graduate assistant, David Johnson returns to TU"
'' Tulsa World'', March 26, 2013 (pay site).

References

External links

Patience Pays Off for Tulsa QB; Senior David Johnson has waited for the opportunity to start
''

Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was c ...

'', September 18, 2008.
Overlooked at Southridge, QB Johnson shines at Tulsa
'' The Oregonian'', October 30, 2008.
New QB takes charge
'' Tulsa World'', August 31, 2008.
QB question mark for Tulsa
'' The Commercial Appeal'', August 12, 2008.
Athlete Spotlight: David Johnson
'' The Collegian'', September 16, 2008.
David Johnson and Tulsa are fun to watch
ESPN, October 22, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, David 1986 births Living people American football quarterbacks Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Players of American football from Portland, Oregon People from Beaverton, Oregon Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches Central Oklahoma Bronchos football coaches Southridge High School (Beaverton, Oregon) alumni Missouri Southern Lions football coaches High school football coaches in Texas