Shaquille Johnson (born May 2, 1993) is a

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 ...

wide receiver for 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 ...

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 ...

(CFL).

University and junior football

Johnson began his university football career with the

McGill Redmen The McGill Redbirds (formerly the McGill Redmen) and McGill Martlets are the varsity athletic teams that represent McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Team name According to Suzanne Morton, a professor of history at McGill, the name ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and was awarded the

Peter Gorman Trophy The Peter Gorman Trophy is awarded to the Rookie of the Year in U Sports Football. The Trophy acknowledges the great contribution Peter Gorman has made to the development of Canadian University Football. As founder of the Canadian College Bowl, his ...

as the rookie of the year. He sat out for a year to help his mother, who was raising three other children on her own, during which time he played for the

GTA Grizzlies The GTA Grizzlies are a Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) team located in Etobicoke, Ontario and representing the Greater Toronto Area. They play in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) which is part of the CJFL and compete annually for the ...

of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Major Junior Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to profess ...

(CJFL). He then went on to play for the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. and the school colours are purple and white. ...

of the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

and the

London Beefeaters The London Beefeaters are a Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) team located in London, Ontario. They play in the Ontario Football Conference (OFC) which is part of the CJFL, and compete annually for the national title known as the Canadian Bo ...

of the CJFL. Johnson, who started playing competitive football in grade 10, credits a football camp at the University of Pittsburgh in his senior year of high school with helping him to realize he had the skills to succeed in the sport.

Professional career

BC Lions

Johnson ran a 4.39 time at the 40-yard dash at a regional

CFL combine The CFL Combine (formerly known as the Evaluation Camp or E-Camp) is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities and Canadians in the NCAA are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League (C ...

before being drafted by the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

in the fourth round of the

2016 CFL Draft The 2016 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN2 and RDS2. 70 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The draft wa ...

. He spent most of the 2016 season, on the

practice roster In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

before playing in two games with no receptions. Through 15 games in the 2017 season, Johnson had 27 catches with 501 yards and two touchdowns, placing him third on the team in receiving yardage. On January 21, 2021, Johnson signed an extension with the Lions. He played in all 14 regular season games in 2021 where he had 30 catches for 295 yards. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 8, 2022.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 9, 2022, it was announced that Johnson had signed with the

Personal life

Johnson's brother, Hakeem Johnson, also plays professional football, but as a

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 ...

. The two brothers played together for the Lions from 2019 to 2021 and were the fifth set of brothers to play for the Lions, but the first to play on opposite sides of the ball.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Shaq 1993 births Living people Players of Canadian football from Ontario Canadian football wide receivers Sportspeople from Brampton BC Lions players Ottawa Redblacks players Canadian Junior Football League players McGill Redbirds football players Western Mustangs football players