Todd Edward Johnson (born December 18, 1978) is an American former college and professional football player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

in 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) for seven seasons during the 2000s. Johnson played college football for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Bears,

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

, and Buffalo Bills.

Early years

Johnson was born in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

in 1978.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Todd Johnson
Retrieved October 9, 2010. He attended Riverview High School in Sarasota,databaseFootball.com, Players
Todd Johnson
Retrieved October 9, 2010. where he was a standout defensive back for the Riverview Rams high school football team.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2002 Roster

. Retrieved October 9, 2010. Johnson was an all-state selection and a ''SuperPrep'' All-American as a senior, and set the school record for the 110-yard intermediate hurdles in track & field.

College career

Johnson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier and coach

Ron Zook Ronald Andrew Zook (; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the Defensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

teams from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

to 2002.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 97, 99, 125, 153–154, 182 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011. The Gators coaching staff decided to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

him as a true freshman in 1998, and he spent the season practicing with the scout team; subsequently, Johnson became a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and started in thirty-three out of forty-nine games in which he played.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2002 Roster
Todd Johnson
. Retrieved October 9, 2010. As a redshirt freshman in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, he had twenty-four tackles, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. During his sophomore season in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, he started all thirteen games, led the team with a career-high 102 tackles, and had five interceptions, three passes defensed, one forced fumble, and four fumble recoveries, including one returned seventy-six yards for a touchdown, and received first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) honors. Johnson started all eleven games as junior in 2001, tallying seventy-two tackles, three passes defensed, and two interceptions and again received first-team All-SEC honors. As a senior team captain in 2002, he started all thirteen games, and compiled eighty-eight tackles and two interceptions and was a second-team All-SEC selection. Johnson finished his Gator career with a total of 284 tackles and nine interceptions. Johnson graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in applied physiology and

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human healt ...

in 2009.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Chicago Bears

Johnson was selected by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round (100th pick overall) in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. T ...

. He played for the Bears for four seasons from to .National Football League, Historical Players
Todd Johnson
Retrieved October 9, 2010. He did not appear in any regular season games in 2003, after suffering a broken jaw in a preseason game. He returned in , playing in sixteen games including ten starts, and finished the season with seventy-five tackles. Johnson was Mike Brown's immediate backup during his time with the Bears, and saw extended playing time following Brown's season-ending injury in 2004. The following year, , Johnson saw action in fourteen games, totaling thirty-five tackles. Johnson made thirty-two tackles during , and was released following the season.

St. Louis Rams

Johnson signed a four-year $4 million contract to play with the

on March 12, 2007. In his first season with the Rams, he finished the campaign with 29 tackles. In 2008 Johnson made 23 tackles in a backup safety role. He was waived by the Rams on September 5, 2009.

Buffalo Bills

On October 13, 2009, Johnson signed a one-year free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills. Johnson was placed on injured reserve on January 2, 2010 due to a hamstring injury.

Coaching career

Johnson became the head football coach of his alma mater, Riverview High School, in 2011.Scott Dennis,
Todd Johnson named new Riverview football coach
" WWSB ABC-7 News (April 6, 2011). Retrieved January 15, 2012. He has also been a fill-in substitute teacher since 2012.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Todd 1978 births Living people American football safeties Buffalo Bills players Chicago Bears players Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Sarasota, Florida St. Louis Rams players Riverview High School (Sarasota, Florida) alumni