It’s a cold reality that not every talented prep athlete will play professional sports.
Poor grades hamper some, and others reach their peak in college.
Sadly, others are derailed by crime, gangs, and the lure of drugs.
Keyshawn Johnson was nearly one of those athletes.
HBD to #19 WR Keyshawn Johnson! 48 today! Drafted 1st overall by the #Jets in ‘96. He stayed with the Jets until ‘99, making 2 Pro Bowls, under Parcells. He was traded to Tampa Bay for two first round draft choices (13th John Abraham – and 27th Anthony Becht) in the 2000 Draft. pic.twitter.com/j1Nlk6lmti
— NYJetsStan (@jets_stan) July 22, 2020
After a few years of selling drugs and stolen merchandise set him back, Johnson took advantage of a second chance.
He played football at the junior college level, then at USC.
After starring for the Trojans, Johnson was a highlight reel receiver in the pros and won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.
This is the story of Keyshawn Johnson.
Growing Up in Los Angeles
Joseph Keyshawn Johnson was born in Los Angeles, California on July 22, 1972.
Happy Birthday to former #Bucs receiver Keyshawn Johnson (@keyshawn.) pic.twitter.com/TwSz1CHYFT
— riley auman (@rileyauman) July 22, 2016
He was one of six children raised by a single mother in the inner city of South Central Los Angeles.
With no father figure in his life, Keyshawn’s saving grace was the University of Southern California football team.
The head coach at the time, John Robinson, kept a side gate to the Trojans’ practice facility open.
That way, kids from the nearby neighborhoods could stop by and watch practice.
“I think in the normal course of events, during school, I think it’s great when students come by and watch practice and people come by,” Robinson said. “That’s how we recruited Keyshawn Johnson, so we kind of like that idea.”
That recruitment would take years to develop because of Johnson’s age at the time as well as his future issues with the law.
By the time he was seven, Johnson was a regular at USC’s practices.
He spent hours with several of the Trojans’ players as well as members of the support staff.
Johnson made himself useful by doing odd jobs and becoming a ball boy during USC football games.
“He would carry my bags to the car, and the bags were bigger than he was,” says former assistant football coach Artie Gigantino.
Johnson’s time spent with the Trojans helped his mother tremendously as she didn’t have to stress about where he was.
“I worried, but at least I always knew where he was,” says Keyshawn’s mother, Vivian Jessie. “The city was going bad back then. Kids were getting into terrible things.”
The Wrong Crowd
Those terrible things Johnson’s mother described would eventually catch up with Keyshawn.
Spending time with the Trojans players was infectious and Johnson loved being on the USC campus.
“You could see he had the magic then. He had charisma,” USC Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen said. “The kid (Johnson) had a presence at an early age, and I think he knew exactly what he wanted to do. I think he sort of emulated the guys who were there around him and he certainly worked at it. I don’t think it was by mistake.”
Unfortunately, by the time he was in middle school, Robinson was no longer USC’s head coach, and Johnson had gravitated toward a different lifestyle.
“I wasn’t in a gang, but I was affiliated,” he said. “They all knew me. They accepted me. I associated with them, but I didn’t do drive-bys, because I didn’t want to kill anybody.”
Although Johnson did not participate in drive-by shootings, he did sell drugs and organized home burglaries.
When he was in eighth grade, Johnson was caught with drugs and a concealed weapon, resulting in a nine-month stay at a juvenile detention facility.
“The reason I sold drugs is that everybody I knew was doing it,” said Johnson. “Everybody. I know lots of kids who were robbing people and doing drive-bys.”
High School Star Undone by Poor Grades
When he finally reached high school, Johnson never stayed in one place for very long.
He was at one school, followed by another stint in juvenile detention, and then went to Palisades High School for two years.
When he was a senior, Johnson attended Dorsey High School and played receiver for the Dorsey Dons.
SI Daily Cover: In L.A., the City Section used to firehose the pros with future all-stars, from Don Drysdale to Keyshawn Johnson. Today, the likes of Crenshaw and Dorsey High are fighting for survival. Can they be saved?@joshthegoat__ has some ideas: https://t.co/i2VeJfEF6n pic.twitter.com/SCyJPSEBTz
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 9, 2021
By that time, he was well over 6’0” tall and had speed and hands for days.
Johnson was extremely talented and several powerhouse programs recruited him after he earned All-CIF First Team honors.
The University of Miami offered him a scholarship, and it looked like the world was at his fingertips.
Regrettably, while Johnson was starring on the gridiron, he wasn’t applying himself in school.
When he took the SAT, he failed to achieve the minimum score required by the NCAA.
That scared off most schools, including Miami.
“Deep down, I knew I wanted to go to college and be a superstar and all that,” said Johnson. “But there was too much catching up to do in school. I didn’t prepare myself.”
JuCo
Johnson could have given up after the football factories stopped recruiting him.
However, he began attending West Los Angeles Junior College to play football.
He was also continuing his life of crime and associations with the wrong crowd until an incident changed him permanently.
While returning home from a movie one night, a car rolled close to Johnson, and a person inside the car shot at him.
After diving inside his house, he noticed that he had been shot in the leg.
“It changed my life in this sense,” Johnson said. “I knew I had to get out of this crap and start playing some ball.”
That change in attitude lasted eight games, and then Johnson stopped attending classes or practice.
Months later, he returned as if nothing happened.
The coaches at West Los Angeles told him to sit out the following season and concentrate only on his classes.
Ex @westlcollege #Jucoproduct Keyshawn Johnson Keyshawn speaking about the importance of #JUCO sports. Click on the link 2 watch https://t.co/xR3Vo0eFYz pic.twitter.com/fBKdKqXiz0
— jucomadefootball (@jucomadefb) June 18, 2020
Johnson did so and returned in 1993, ready to light up the scoreboard.
“He came back strong, mature, focused, tremendous in a variety of ways,” said former coach Rob Hager.
Now devoted to academics and football, Johnson caught 55 passes in 1993.
He was also entertaining.
During one particular game, Johnson caught a pass, ran for a score, and continued running to the top of an adjacent hill until he stopped, looking out at the Pacific Ocean beyond.
“I was just admiring the view,” he said.
That same season, Johnson took a kickoff return to the house and then continued running to the nearest concession stand where he found a cold soda to drink.
USC
Now that Johnson had his academics in order and had proven himself at the JuCo level, the big schools began recruiting him again.
It just so happened that John Robinson had returned to coach USC after spending time in the NFL.
The two reconnected when Johnson accepted a scholarship offer from his former friend and mentor.
Johnson was now 6’4” and 210 pounds with a drive to succeed.
He was named a starter in 1994 and promptly got to work by hauling in 66 receptions for 1,362 yards and nine touchdowns.
Johnson had quickly become one of the best college receivers in the nation, and he let opponents know it.
“We’re calling a play and he’s 10 yards away, talking to their defensive backs, saying, ‘You’re too short to cover me, I’m coming back.’ You looked at their faces, and you knew they just wanted the game to be over,” said USC teammate, Jeremy Hogue.
The Trojans went 8-3-1 that season and beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders handily in the Cotton Bowl, 55-14.
1⃣9⃣9⃣4⃣: USC set Cotton Bowl records for points (55), total offense (578) and passing yards (435). Trojan receiver Keyshawn Johnson caught eight passes for 222 yards and five touchdowns. USC wins 55-14 over Texas Tech.
📰: https://t.co/LKbg9FZScT pic.twitter.com/EujuE499Vj
— Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (@CottonBowlGame) December 6, 2019
During the contest, Johnson caught eight passes for 222 yards and three touchdown passes from quarterback Rob Johnson.
He was a co-MVP of the game.
For his efforts that year, Johnson was named a first-team All-Pac-10.
1995
In 1995, Johnson only got better as he corralled a conference and program-best 102 passes for 1,343 yards and seven scores.
https://twitter.com/items_sport/status/1512716218439925767
USC went 9-2-1 and played the Northwestern Wildcats for the Rose Bowl.
The week before the game, he was giddy about the opportunity to play in the showcase bowl.
“This is something that is really, really special,” Johnson said. “Everybody doesn’t get the chance to play in the Rose Bowl. Guys go through five years of college and don’t even go to bowl games. This is something I’ve cherished for a while.”
He also had to answer questions regarding an NCAA investigation into whether he took money from an agent.
“Those people do not scare me at all,” Johnson remarked about the investigation. “I’m not even worried about them. I have another week of college football, and the NCAA can kiss my {butt} goodbye. Do they expect for me to be down because they come in with their guns loaded and they think they’re going to put them on the table and scare me because of what they hear? Prove it. If they can’t prove it, then get out of my backyard.”
During the game, Johnson had a Rose Bowl record 216 yards along with a 56-yard touchdown reception and the Trojans won 41-32.
3 | WR Keyshawn Johnson | All-American 1995 | Rose Bowl MVP 1996 pic.twitter.com/fWiHWM5gat
— Anthony Nelson (@TrojanEmpire) August 26, 2013
That season, Johnson was named first-team All-Pac-10 for the second time, received the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award, and was a unanimous All-American.
Johnson was also the recipient of the 1995 Pop Warner Award given to the most valuable senior player on the West Coast.
First Overall Pick
The New York Jets were in desperate need of help.
In their first year under new head coach Rich Kotite in 1995, the team had gone 3-13.
New York had some good players on both sides of the ball, but they needed an infusion of talent.
With the first overall pick of the 1996 NFL Draft, the Jets selected Johnson.
In 1996, the @nyjets made Keyshawn Johnson the 1st WR taken No. 1 overall in 12 years #NFLDraftCountdown pic.twitter.com/LMUyZ6PhA7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 28, 2016
It was a miracle that only a few short years before, Johnson had been sleeping on a friend’s couch and was being shot at.
Now he was the first pick in the NFL, and he had millions of dollars in endorsem*nt deals at his disposal.
Of course, his first year as a pro might not have been what he envisioned.
The 1996 Jets had Neil O’Donnell and Frank Reich at quarterback and trotted out second-year receiver Wayne Chrebet along with Johnson.
New York’s offense was ranked 27th in the NFL, even though Johnson started 14 games and had 63 catches for 844 yards and eight scores.
The Jets went 1-15 and Kotite was fired after the season.
Parcells Arrives
During his rookie year, Johnson became frustrated with the constant losing and wrote a book titled Just Give Me the Damn Ball! that chronicled his life and first year in the NFL.
I can see @JPokechop writing a book like Keyshawn Johnson tho pic.twitter.com/g6f4xM5985
— 10. (@Kenton2x) December 31, 2013
Thankfully, things would turn around quickly when the Jets hired former New York Giants coach Bill Parcells.
Parcells had won two Super Bowls during his years with the Giants, and his coaching style demanded results.
The coach suffered no fools, and he hated losing.
https://twitter.com/eRadioUS/status/1409202637686423555
That was perfect for Johnson as he took advantage of Parcells’s offense to snag 70 passes for 963 yards and five touchdowns in 1997.
His play helped the Jets improve to 9-7.
Johnson’s Big Day
In 1998, veteran quarterback Vinny Testaverde arrived to help the Jets get to the playoffs.
He connected with Johnson for 83 passes, 1,131 yards, and 10 scores, which helped Johnson get to his first Pro Bowl as New York won 12 games.
That total marked an 11-win turnaround from just two seasons earlier.
In the Divisional round against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnson had a day to remember.
The first score of the game involved a 21-yard touchdown reception from Testaverde to Johnson.
In the second quarter, Johnson ran 10 yards for another score.
He later pounced on a fumble recovery and corralled an interception while playing defense to stop a Jags scoring threat.
“I would hope this is one of the top games I’ve ever played,” said Johnson after the game.
His pick sealed a 34-24 win that sent the Jets to the AFC Championship Game.
#19 Keyshawn Johnson.
Vs.
Jacksonville Jaguars.
Playoffs (2nd Round).
1998-1999.
• 12 Targets.
• 9 Receptions.
• 1 TD Reception.
• 1 Rushing TD.
• 1 Fumble Recovery.
• 1 Defensive INT.Keyshawn Johnson vs. Jacksonville was absolutely, magical. pic.twitter.com/n04VE3YhQD
— Defense Wins Championships (@DWC_1985) June 7, 2022
Johnson’s touchdown reception, rushing touchdown, fumble recovery, and interception were a first for an NFL playoff game in modern history.
His feat brought kudos from his teammates.
“I expected Keyshawn to come out and play well,” said Jets fullback Keith Byers. “I got here at 9:15 a.m., and he was already here. It told me, this guy is committed.”
Unfortunately, the Denver Broncos ended New York’s Super Bowl run the following week with a 23-10 win.
1999
During Johnson’s fourth year as a pro, he caught 89 passes for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns.
That brought another Pro Bowl invitation for the receiver, but that didn’t matter.
In the first game of the 1999 season, Testaverde sustained a season-ending injury, and New York went 8-8 with a combination of Rick Mirer and Ray Lucas.
11/7/99 – Although in a 12-7 loss at the New York Jets, outside linebacker @Rfredrickson59 recorded 22 tackles, a modern day Cardinals franchise-record. Jets QB Rick Mirer hit WR Keyshawn Johnson in triple coverage for a 43yrd TD w/5:29 remaining to give NYJ the victory. #RedSea pic.twitter.com/2aMXB9Dz2l
— Arizona Sports History (@AZSportsHistory) November 7, 2020
The loss of Testaverde was too much for Johnson as the Jets had been favorites to go to the Super Bowl that year.
“The season was f_-ing over with,” Johnson said. “There’s no reason to act like that s_- helped. If Vinny hadn’t gotten hurt, we would’ve won the Super Bowl. I really believe that.”
Although 1999 was a disappointment, Johnson believed the Jets would be back to contend in 2000.
That dream ended when Parcells decided to step down as coach and work in New York’s front office.
Assistant Bill Belichick didn’t want the job and linebackers coach Al Groh was elevated to the top spot.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Johnson was ready to leave New York.
Trade to Tampa
Early in 2000, Johnson asked Jets management to restructure his contract to make him one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL.
The team chose not to and looked for trade partners.
In April of 2000, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ponied up and traded two first-round picks to New York to get Johnson.
In turn, the Bucs signed him to an eight-year deal worth more than $50 million along with a $13 million signing bonus.
#SICoverOTD: April 24, 2000: Keyshawn Johnson is traded from the Jets to the Buccaneers: "Just give me the damn . . . eye patch?" pic.twitter.com/dIua5SRC9o
— SI Vault (@si_vault) April 24, 2017
That made him the highest-paid receiver in the league.
“It’s refreshing that Tampa Bay wanted to give up two first-rounders to get me and open up a checkbook to take care of a small fee,” Johnson joked. “I just definitely want to do my part and that’s to contribute to a football team that made it to the NFC championship game last year.”
Although he was traded to a competitive team, Johnson was sad to leave his New York teammates.
“It probably took a few days,” Johnson said. “Once I got to L.A., I realized after seeing my (Jets) teammates at my golf tournament that, damn, I’m not going back there. I didn’t even go back for the house. My wife did all that.”
Regarding his departure from the Big Apple, Johnson harbored bitterness for Groh and team owner Woody Johnson.
“In the conversations we had, he (Groh) wasn’t at all appealing to me. He was questioning me, asking me if I can be a star for him, saying, ‘I need you to be a star on this team next year.’ What the f— did he think? Who the f— did he think I was, some nobody? He acted like I hadn’t done a f—— thing for the last four years, like I haven’t been in the league at all. I’m not a kid, begging for money.”
2000 & 2001
During his first two seasons with Tampa Bay, Johnson played for coach Tony Dungy.
The Bucs were talented, but couldn’t make it past the Wild Card round in 2000 and 2001.
Meanwhile, Johnson caught 177 passes (including a career-best 106 passes in 2001) and nine touchdowns combined during the two-year stretch and was named to his third Pro Bowl after the 2001 season.
After the 2001 season ended, the Buccaneers fired Dungy and traded for Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden.
Super Bowl XXXVII
In Gruden’s first year, the team added veteran receivers Joe Jurevicius and Keenan McCardell.
The floodgates opened and Tampa Bay went 12-4, humiliated San Francisco in the Divisional round, and knocked off Philadelphia in the NFC title game.
Johnson connected with quarterback Brad Johnson 76 times for 1,088 yards and five scores.
Super Bowl XXXVII was a match-up with Gruden’s former team, the Raiders, and the game wasn’t even close.
It was obvious to Bucs coaches during their game prep that the Raiders hadn’t changed much in the year since Gruden left.
In fact, many of the audibles quarterback Rich Gannon used were left over from the previous season.
Tampa Bay took advantage and hammered Oakland 48-21.
Happy 49th Birthday To Former Wide Receiver And Super Bowl Champion Keyshawn Johnson 🏈.
*Super Bowl champion (XXXVII)
*3× Pro Bowl (1998, 1999, 2001)@keyshawn pic.twitter.com/lCswzVFdw6— TimeoutSPORTS__ (@TimeoutSPORTS3) July 22, 2021
The contest featured the Bucs’ dominant defense, which sacked Gannon five times and hounded him into throwing a Super Bowl-record five picks, three of which were returned for scores.
During the game, Johnson had six catches for 69 yards.
Trade to Dallas
Despite their first championship, all was not well in Tampa.
Johnson did not particularly like Gruden and was caught on television yelling at the coach on the sideline during a game.
"I always tried to tell people 'Man, that dude's a bad guy. Y'all don't seem to get it.'"
Keyshawn Johnson didn't hold back when talking about his former head coach Jon Gruden after Gruden resigned as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
➡️https://t.co/XLpnCIJ2lL pic.twitter.com/VnoV0FNxTq
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) October 12, 2021
The relationship got so bad that the team benched Johnson for the final seven games of the 2003 season.
“For whatever reason, he didn’t want to be here. He let me know that some time after one of our early games,” Gruden said.
In 10 starts, Johnson had 45 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns.
“Honestly, I’m very disappointed because I really wanted to win another championship with this team,” Johnson said. “I was never Gruden’s guy. He never liked me. I told him I’d rather retire than play for him in 2004. But I also told him I wouldn’t be a distraction, I wouldn’t go to the media with it and I didn’t. I don’t know why they released me. I was playing hard, I wasn’t dogging it.”
When the season ended, Tampa Bay traded Johnson to the Dallas Cowboys where he was reunited with Parcells.
A Cowboy
Parcells had arrived in Dallas the previous year with the promise of turning around a struggling Cowboys team.
In 2003, he led the franchise to a 10-6 record and a loss to the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card round.
Johnson arrived in 2004 and played in all 16 games, collecting 70 passes for 981 yards and six touchdowns.
It didn’t help much as the Cowboys regressed drastically to 6-10.
The following year, Dallas rebounded to 9-7 but missed the postseason.
Keyshawn Johnson was a solid receiver with Dallas, but couldn't get the Cowboys into the playoffs. #DecadeOfFutility pic.twitter.com/bJCiyr6VLf
— Ryan Bush (@rcbushCowboys) September 10, 2014
Johnson had 71 receptions for 839 yards and six scores.
Despite the fact that he had led the Cowboys in receiving yards in ’04, and remained steady in 2005, the team released him in the spring of ’05 in order to sign receiver Terrell Owens.
Carolina
A week later, the Carolina Panthers signed Johnson to a four-year deal with the idea that he would pair with fellow receiver Steve Smith.
In a Monday Night, Week 10 game against Tampa Bay, Johnson scored a touchdown.
Keyshawn Johnson, 2006. Carolina Panthers Vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers. #Sports #History pic.twitter.com/Ku0AZRQV4f
— Random Sports Pics (@RandomSportPics) April 4, 2022
That made him the first NFL player to score a touchdown on Monday Night Football with four different teams.
During the year, Johnson caught 70 passes for 815 yards and four touchdowns as Carolina went 8-8.
The following spring, ESPN invited Johnson to the 2007 NFL Draft as an analyst.
As the draft rolled into the second round, the Panthers selected USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett, and Johnson was excited to work with a fellow Trojan alum.
“This is a great pick. We need another wide receiver,” Johnson gushed. “This guy is much like me. I’m going to teach him how to play from the point of attack.”
He wouldn’t get the chance. Not long after the draft, the Panthers cut Johnson with three years left on his contract.
“They said they wanted to get younger,” Johnson told the St. Petersburg Times on Tuesday. “That’s fine with me. I’d like to go somewhere and help someone win another Super Bowl.”
Retirement
A number of teams were interested in Johnson for the upcoming 2007 season, especially the Tennessee Titans and their coach, Jeff Fisher.
“He still played at a high-level last year. He takes very good care of himself,” Fisher said. “He hasn’t had any injuries per se. Anytime you get a chance to bring an experienced veteran in to add to your roster then it’s a good thing.”
However, Johnson decided 11 years in the NFL was enough and retired.
In his career, Johnson had 814 receptions, 10,571 yards, and 64 touchdowns.
He also had 91 rushing yards and two more scores.
Johnson was a Super Bowl winner and three-time Pro Bowler.
Second Career at ESPN
During his time in the NFL, Johnson started a restaurant and got involved in other business ventures.
However, his next job began soon after he retired.
ESPN was so impressed with Johnson during the 2007 NFL Draft that the company hired him to be an analyst full-time.
He has been a mainstay with the network since 2007 and remains a fan favorite on several ESPN radio and television shows.
Johnson and his wife, Shikiri, have four children. In March 2021, their oldest daughter, Maia, passed away.
Former #NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson has shared an emotional tribute to his daughter, Maia. 💔 https://t.co/Dy0BvXKj2t pic.twitter.com/TT0d3R8T7r
— E! News (@enews) March 16, 2021
His son, Keyshawn Jr., played football in college and current New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas is a nephew.
References
https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2855468
https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=1664796
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1999-01-11-9901110173-story.html
https://www.upi.com/Archives/2000/04/12/Buccaneers-acquire-Keyshawn-Johnson/5002955512000/
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nfl/2007/05/23/keyshawn-johnson-retires/61776228007/
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2000/09/01/damn-ball-keyshawn-johnson/
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/keyshawn-johnson/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyshawn_Johnson
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/keyshawn-johnson-1.html
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnKe00.htm
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