Robert Randall Johnson (born January 2, 1953) is a former

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 wi ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

who played two seasons with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft. He played college football at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and attended Pepperell High School in Lindale, Georgia. Johnson was a consensus All-American in 1975. He was also a member of the Edmonton Eskimos 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 ...

Early years

Johnson participated in

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 ...

, wrestling, basketball, baseball and track at Pepperell High School. He was an All-area fullback and middle guard in football. The football team was 9-1 his senior year. He won the unlimited weight division in the Northwest Georgia High School wrestling tournament in 1970 and 1971. Johnson was the Region 7AA Champion in the unlimited weight division in 1970 as well. In 1971, he was the state champion of Georgia High School wrestling in the unlimited division. He was the runner-up in the state his junior year. Johnson participated in the State Track and Field competition in discus and shot put in 1971. He was also a letterman in basketball and baseball. He was inducted into the Rome-Floyd Sports Hall of Fame in 1977.

College career

Johnson played for the Georgia Bulldogs from 1971 to 1975. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1972. He was a three-year starter and letterman from 1973 to 1975. Johnson was named to the Gridiron News All- SEC team and played in the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially ...

in 1973. He was named to the Pre-Season All-American Team, played in the Tangerine Bowl and earned

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

All-SEC honors in 1974. He was named to the Pre-Season All-American Team, earned AP and UPI All-SEC honors and garnered consensus All-American recognition his senior season in 1975. Johnson was also named Offensive Lineman of the Year by the Atlanta Touchdown Club, Southeastern Conference Lineman of the Year by the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club and College Offensive Lineman of the Year by the 100% Wrong Club. He was awarded the

Jacobs Blocking Trophy The Jacobs Blocking Trophy is the name of several similar annual college football awards bestowed by a conference upon their best blocker. The awards are named in honor of William P. Jacobs, founder and president of Presbyterian College from 1935 t ...

for being the best blocker in the SEC, the William K. Jenkins Award as Georgia's best lineman and the Whitworth Memorial Trophy by the

Muscogee County Muscogee County is a county located on the central western border of the U.S. state of Georgia; its western border with the state of Alabama is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 206,922. Its county se ...

Bulldog Club for being Georgia's outstanding lineman in 1975. He was the offensive captain of the 1975 Bulldogs team. Johnson also played in the Cotton Bowl,

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

, the first

Japan Bowl The Japan Bowl (in Japanese, ジャパンボウル) was a post-season college football all-star game played in Japan each January from 1976 to 1993, which showcased East and West all-star teams made up of college football players from the United S ...

and the

Coaches All-America Game The Coaches All-America Game was a postseason college football all-star game that served as the concluding game of the college football season, held from 1961 to 1976. The all-star game was sponsored by the American Football Coaches Association (A ...

in 1975. He took classes at Floyd Junior College and then finished his degree at Georgia in 1984.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Johnson was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the 122nd pick in the 1976 NFL Draft. He was released by the Seahawks in September 1976 before the start of the 1976 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Johnson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1977. He played in 22 games, starting one, for the Buccaneers from 1977 to 1978. He suffered a back injury and was later released by the Buccaneers in 1979.

Edmonton Eskimos

Johnson spent a month with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1980 before retiring from football.

Coaching career

Johnson spent time as an assistant football coach at Coosa High School in Rome, Georgia. He also coached at Pepperell High School where the team won the State championship in 1990. He then was head coach at Model High School and then returned to Pepperell. He ended his career at Cartersville where he retired.

Impostor

An impostor claiming to be Johnson played for the Orlando Americans of the American Football Association in 1981. The impostor was Robert Lee Johnson, who stole Randy Johnson's identity in an effort to improve his odds of making the Americans squad.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Randy Living people 1953 births American football offensive guards Players of Canadian football from Georgia (U.S. state) Canadian football offensive linemen Edmonton Elks players Georgia Bulldogs football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players All-American college football players High school football coaches in Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Rome, Georgia Identity theft victims