Devon Johnson (July 28, 1993 – November 6, 2018) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and fullback. 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

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

and was signed by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in , although he did not play for the latter. Johnson died at the age of 25 on November 6, 2018.

Early life and education

Johnson was born on July 28, 1993, and grew up in

Richlands, Virginia Richlands is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578. History Located along the banks of the Clinch R ...

. He attended Richlands High School, and as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

rushed for over 1,400 yards and scored 22

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 ...

s, leading the school to the Group AA Division 3 state title game. He also played

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 ...

on defense, and as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

made 85 tackles, as well as ran for 1,376 yards and 23 touchdowns, which earned him the Virginia High School Coaches Association's Group AA state Offensive Player of the Year award. He was also named Defensive Player of the Year by the ''

Bristol Herald Courier The ''Bristol Herald Courier'' is a 39,000 circulation daily newspaper owned by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper is located in Bristol, Virginia, a small city located in Southwest Virginia on the Tennessee border. The ''Herald Courier'' is in what ...

'' and was the ''

Bluefield Daily Telegraph The ''Bluefield Daily Telegraph'' is a newspaper based in Bluefield, West Virginia, and also covering surrounding communities in McDowell, Mercer and Monroe counties, West Virginia; and Bland, Buchanan, Giles and Tazewell counties, Virginia ...

'' Player of the Year. In his high school career, Johnson made a total of 216 tackles and 16 sacks on defense, while recording offensively 457 rush attempts for 4,340 yards and 63 touchdowns. Johnson announced his commitment to

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

in January 2011 on a football scholarship, declining an offer from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

in 2012, Johnson played mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

, making 11 tackles. On offense, he recorded three catches for 21 yards. He appeared in a total of 11 games during the season, missing only their matchup with the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University, an American university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. The Moun ...

. Johnson changed his position to linebacker during the 2013 preseason camp, but switched back to tight end at the start of the season. Overall, as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, he appeared in all 14 games as a backup, making 12 receptions for 218 yards and scoring two touchdowns. His longest play of the season came on a 52-yard catch in a win over

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

. On several goal-line plays, Marshall sent in Johnson as a running back, and he scored three rushing touchdowns that way. On special teams, he recorded 13 tackles. As a junior, Johnson played running back and fullback, and was a

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football League ...

finalist and first-team All-

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 ...

selection, following a year that he placed fifth nationally in rushing. He recorded ten games with over 100 rushing yards, a school record in major-college seasons. His top performances of the season included a game against FAU with 272 yards, a game with 199 yards against

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, and a 198-yard game against

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

. Johnson totaled 1,767 rushing yards, second all-time in Marshall history, and 17 rushing touchdowns, the largest single-season total by a school member since

Ahmad Bradshaw Ahmad Bradshaw (born March 19, 1986) is a former American football running back. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He played college football at Marshall. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion, ...

posted 19 in 2006. Following the season, he was named the team's offensive

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. As a

, Johnson was plagued by injuries, and only ran for 593 yards in seven games, making five touchdowns. Known for his "bullish, bruising running style and ability to run through the opposition," Johnson was nicknamed "Rockhead."

Professional career

After going unselected in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, Johnson was signed by the

as an

. He spent the 2016 season on injured reserve and was waived by the Panthers on May 2, .

Death

Johnson died on November 6, 2018, at the Bluefield Regional Medical Center, at the age of 25. His cause of death was not reported. His coach at Marshall

Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist. A close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp, Holliday is best known for his role in the event ...

released a statement that said, "I am shocked and saddened at the news of Devon Johnson's passing. Devon was a force in our program, both literally and figuratively. Whether on the field or off, his impact was immeasurable and he will be missed by so many at Marshall. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family."

Early life and education

Professional career

Death

References

Further reading