D'Ernest Johnson Jr. (born February 27, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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)#Offense ...

who last played for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

Early life

Johnson attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Immokalee High School. He helped lead the team to the Class 5A regional semifinals where they lost 49–34 to Plantation-American Heritage. Johnson ran for 143 yards, a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, and a 99-yard kickoff return in a game against American Heritage School that included

Sony Michel Sony Michel (born February 17, 1995) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Ge ...

and Isaiah McKenzie. A four-star running back recruit, Johnson committed to play college football at

College career

Johnson played four years (2014–2017) at

, where he rushed 421 times for 1,796 yards and 16 touchdowns. He finished as USF's career leader in all-purpose yards (4,186), receptions by a running back (73), and receiving yards by a running back (909). He also excelled at returning kicks. Johnson spent three of his four years behind

Marlon Mack Marlon Devon Mack (born March 7, 1996) is an American professional American football, football running back. He played college football for the South Florida Bulls football, South Florida Bulls and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the f ...

. Johnson saw limited playing time as a true freshman, then earned a bigger role as a sophomore, scoring five touchdowns on 653 yards from scrimmage and averaging nearly 27 yards per kickoff return. Johnson earned second-team American Athletic Conference honors as a returner in 2016, averaging 28.9 yards per kickoff return and 11.8 yards per punt return, including one score. Johnson's return responsibilities decreased in 2017, playing a bigger role in the Bulls' run-oriented offense, as he rushed for a career high 796 yards and added nine offensive scores.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

, Johnson was invited to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

rookie

minicamp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

but was not signed. Johnson spent the rest of 2018 fishing for mahi mahi in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

with a friend.

Orlando Apollos

Johnson signed with the

Orlando Apollos The Orlando Apollos were a professional American football franchise based in Orlando, Florida, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The team played its home games at Spectr ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

for its inaugural 2019 season. In eight games with the Apollos, he rushed for 372 yards and added 22 receptions for 220 yards.

Cleveland Browns

After the AAF ceased operations in April 2019, Johnson signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

on May 16, 2019. After an impressive training camp, Johnson made the Browns' initial 53-man roster for the 2019 season. Johnson showed off his versatility during the preseason, leading the Browns with 86 rushing yards on 20 carries. He also added seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, while also proving value in the return game. The 5-foot-10, 208-pounder returned six kickoffs for 127 yards and 10 punts for 63 yards. He made his regular season debut with one carry for 13 yards in the Browns' 2019 season-opening loss to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. He finished the 2019 season with four carries for 21 rushing yards and six receptions for 71 receiving yards. In Week 4 of the 2020 season, he had 13 carries for 95 rushing yards in a 49–38 victory over the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. On October 21, 2021, he made his first career start against the Denver Broncos, as

Nick Chubb Nicholas Jamaal Chubb (born December 27, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Cleveland ...

and Kareem Hunt were both ruled out due to injury. Johnson ran for 146 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown, and was named Player of the Game and FedEx Ground Player of the Week. On June 4, 2022, Johnson re-signed with Cleveland on a one-year, $2.43 million contract.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 23, 2023, Johnson signed with the

. He served as the backup to Travis Etienne and as a kick returner. On March 13, 2024, Johnson re-signed with the Jaguars.

Regular season statistics

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bio

USF Bulls bio

Slow Grind Apparel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnnson, D'Ernest 1996 births Living people American football running backs South Florida Bulls football players Cleveland Browns players Jacksonville Jaguars players Orlando Apollos players People from Immokalee, Florida Players of American football from Florida