Oklahoma CB Johnson wants others to see him as a role model
Charles Tapper made it from Baltimore to Norman.
Will Johnson is the next to do it.
Three seasons after Tapper came to town to play for Oklahoma, Johnson got his first meaningful minutes when lined up last Saturday against Kansas State at nickel back.
And he's come a long way already.
Johnson didn't even play football until his junior year of high school and didn't even start until he was a senior, instead focusing his efforts growing up on basketball.
From Cavlert Hall High in Baltimore, Johnson spent a year at Atlanta Sports Academy and then enrolled at Monroe Junior College in New Rochelle, N.Y. But Johnson didn't even play that first season at Monroe. He concentrated on school and his grades instead.
Now, a junior, Johnson should be playing a lot in the second half of the season for Oklahoma as the Sooners face pass-heavy teams like Texas Tech, Baylor, OSU and TCU.
Meanwhile, Johnson said he just wants to be a role model for others who are growing up in Baltimore.
"Just because nobody ever really makes it," Johnson told The Oklahoman. "If you almost make it, that's still an accomplishment."
Tapper, a senior defensive lineman, has noticed that Johnson has made it.
"I was so happy to see him go out there and dominate," Tapper said to The Oklahoman. "I know I talk to guys back home and everybody was just so happy to see Will do that because coming from his situation and all the things he went through. It's like, wow. Miracles really do happen. People do prevail."
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