The Journey Continues
So many stories of athletes start out the same way. “I have been playing football since pee-wee”. Well Brandon Johnson has the same story except he has a twist. Brandon has been overlooked and undervalued every step of the way. “I like being the underdog.” Johnson said.
Brandon was a Junior at Liberty High School in Peoria, Arizona where he played Defensive Back on JV despite his desire to play Wide Receiver. Johnson used this position change as fuel to elevate his game. Brandon worked tirelessly in the off-season catching balls, running routes and improving his overall spread and agility. Entering his Senior Year, Johnson was low on the Wide Receiver depth chart and was hardly ever thrown to but Brandon had no quit in him.
Ottawa University held a camp at the end of Johnson’s Senior Year in which several schools were in attendance. Johnson put on a show at this camp, finishing Tops in every category! Johnson was able to secure offers from both the University of LaVerne and Ottawa University. Johnson said “This was a proud moment for me being able to become a collegiate athlete after all of my hard work”.
Unfortunately, COVID changed Johnson’s plans and his departure to LaVerne. The school announced all classes were to be held online with the cancellation of the football season. When I asked Brandon how he felt, he said “I’m not going to let it stop me.” Johnson kept working out and getting better everyday. In search of a new home, Brandon attended the Arizona Christian University Camp where he scored a 39 inch vertical and ran a 4.2 pro-agility. It was at this time Coach Cooper decided to offer Brandon a scholarship.
Upon joining the ACU Team, Johnson had his sights set to crack the travel roster. Brandon began working out with Starting QB, Tyler Duncan and gradually began his rise up the depth chart. Not only had Brandon made the Travel Squad but was also a starter on Punt and Kick Return. Johnson knew he would have to be a versatile Wide Receiver and worked on learning every position and play in the ACU Offense.
About half way into the season, ACU was hit hard by injury at the Wide Receiver position and Johnson got his first start versus Texas College where he caught his first college pass. “There was no looking back for me at this point.” Johnson went onto catch passes in every game including his first college touchdown. “My time at ACU was amazing. The coaches, the players and all of the support staff were simply amazing.” Johnson put together a pretty impressive resume in his time at Arizona Christian. He was Academic All-SAC, made the commissioner’s honor roll and was named 2021 SAC Scholar Athlete. In addition, he received ACU Outstanding Freshman Player Honors and the Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athlete Award. Johnson totaled 16 catches for 247 yards with a 15.4 AVG and 4 touch downs. this was 51% of the x production for the team. Brandon has decided to continue to pursue his dream of playing Division 1 Football. He continues to work on his speed, route running and brings 3 years of eligibility to Arizona State where he plans to try and walk on this Spring.
Keep your eyes on Brandon Johnson!
