Jovon Johnson (born November 2, 1983) 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 ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He was the winner of the

CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award The Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award is annually awarded to the best defensive player in the Canadian football League. The winner of the award is selected by members of the Football Reporters of Canada along with the head coaches in the CFL. ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

while with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

, becoming the first defensive back to win the award in the league. He is also a two-time CFL All-Star and five-time CFL East Division All-Star. In addition, he was a member of the 2007 Saskatchewan Roughriders that won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

, though he spent little time on the active roster and finished the last game on the practice roster. He has also been a member of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Erie RiverRats The Erie Explosion was a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the ...

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

, and

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 ...

High school and collegiate career

Johnson played his high school ball (and basketball) at Mercyhurst Prep in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, graduating in 2002. He attended the University of Iowa, a 4-year starter in the Hawkeyes secondary. Johnson is currently the head coach for North East High School’s football team in

North East, Pennsylvania North East is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States, northeast of Erie. Located in the county's northeastern corner, the name comes from the geographical location. The population was 4,114 at the 2020 census, down from 4,294 ...

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

He was signed by the

after

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Chidi Iwuoma Chidi Francis Iwuoma (born February 19, 1978) is a former American football cornerback who is currently a scout for BLESTO. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football at California. Iwuom ...

and

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 ...

Richard Seigler were placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He spent all of his playing time on the Steelers'

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 ...

recording 1 tackle and 1 assist. He was released from the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 27, 2007.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

signed Johnson on October 5, 2007, to a contract with and placed on their Developmental Squad. He made his CFL debut October 21, 2007, against 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 total, he dressed in eight games while playing in two. He was a member of the

95th Grey Cup The 95th Grey Cup was held in Toronto at the Rogers Centre on November 25, 2007. The Grey Cup, first awarded in 1909, is the championship game of the Canadian Football League. It was played between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg ...

championship team, although he did not play in the game itself.

Erie RiverRats

At the end of February in 2008, he was signed by his hometown

of the AIFA. In early 2007 he had signed to play with the city's previous AIFA franchise, the now defunct

Erie Freeze The Erie Freeze was an American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They were an original member of the American Indoor Football League in 2005, and advanced to the first AIFL Championship Game. When the league was reorganized into ...

, but did not play for the Freeze and decided to play for the Steelers instead.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Johnson was signed by the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

in April 2008 and started 17 of 18 games during the

2008 CFL season The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 51st season for the Canadian Football League. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup ...

. He led the Bombers in defensive tackles with 57 and added 3 INTs. He then returned to RiverRats for the 2009 AIFA season following a contract signing in January 2009. He was still under contract in the CFL however the season starts later in the year which would allow him to play in the AIFA. After only one game, it was found out that there was a clause in Johnson's contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that prevents him from playing with any other team. With that, he returned to Winnipeg. The

2011 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season The 2011 Winnipeg Blue Bombers was the 54th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 79th overall. The Blue Bombers finished in 1st place in the East Division with a 10–8 record. The team clinched their first playoff berth s ...

proved to be a successful one for Johnson, helping to lead the Bombers to their first division title in ten years. He was part of a noteworthy Bombers' defence that had self-titled itself 'Swaggerville' and was named the

CFL East Division The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

's most outstanding defensive player. Following this, Johnson was named a CFL East Division all-star for the third consecutive time, as well as being named to his second CFL All-Star team a short time later. Johnson followed this up with an appearance as the first defensive back to win the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. He won the award as the standout player on a team full of talented defensive backs who led the league in fewest passing yards allowed, holding opponents to the lowest pass completion percentage, and led the league with most team interceptions. Johnson accomplished this with teammates such as

Jonathan Hefney Jonathan Jerrod Hefney (born February 27, 1985 in Rock Hill, South Carolina) is a former Canadian Football defensive back. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Tennessee. H ...

Alex Suber Alex Suber (born December 1, 1986) is a gridiron football coach and former professional Canadian Football League player. He is currently the Wide receivers coach, receivers coach for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He ...

, and Brandon Stewart. Johnson continued to play at a high level for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Through 6 seasons with the Blue Bombers, Johnson amassed 363 tackles, 8 special teams tackles, 23 interceptions, 8 fumble recoveries and 7 defensive touchdowns. Following the 2013 Johnson, age 30, was not re-signed by the Bombers, becoming a

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 ...

on February 11, 2014.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 12, 2014, Johnson signed with the

of the

. He recorded the first two sacks of his career during a forgettable 2014 season that saw the expansion club finish 2-16. The next year, however, the Redblacks finished first in the

and Johnson was named an Eastern All-Star for the fifth time in his career.

Montreal Alouettes

Johnson was signed by the

on February 10, 2016. Johnson played in all 18 games during his first season with the Alouettes. Johnson was released by the Alouettes on June 17, 2017 as teams trimmed their rosters down to 46 players for the start of the season.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (II)

On June 19, 2017 the Roughriders announced that Johnson had been added to the team's practice roster. Johnson dressed for all 18 games for the Riders and contributed with 39 defensive tackles, two interceptions and one forced fumble. Following the season Johnson and the Riders agreed to a contract extension. Johnson signed a one-day contract with the

on March 2, 2020, to retire with the team.