2 MORE DAYS UNTIL THE DRAFT...
Although Stafon Johnson may not be drafted, I thought he was definitely a player worth covering. He has a very compelling story.
Earlier this year, Stafon Johnson was sidelined with a very serious, life-threatening injury which occured while working out in the gym. On September 28th, 2009, Johnson's life would change forever when the 275 LB barbell fell on his throat crushing a good portion of his vocal cord and adams apple. Johnson was rushed to the hospital as he was bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose. Had this happened to an average joe, it more than likely would have claimed their life. However, being that there was so much muscle in Johnson's neck, it actually prevented the injury from being worse (or so the doctor's claimed). Johnson was able to rehabilitate and make it back in time for the 2010 Senior Bowl which in and of itself was a major accomplishment.
Johnson had a decent career in college, but fellow running back and teammate Joe McKnight stole most of the spotlight. Before the injury Johnson was considered to be a late round draft choice. Now it is uncertain if he will even be drafted at all. It is amazing that he is able to be in the position he is at this point.
The USC running back never went over 1000 yards in a season, but did have some significantly good games where he rushed for over 100 yards. He finished his career at USC with 1,552 career rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. He also did returns often when he was healthy and did fairly well at them.
With all things considered, you kind of have to be rooting for a guy like Stafon Johnson, I know I am.
Below, we will take a look at some highlights and stats and I will povide my final thoughts on Johnson.
Here are a few highlights of Stafon Johnson playing at the University of Southern California.
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||
| YEAR | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 2006 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 98 | 673 | 6.9 | 63 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 138 | 705 | 5.1 | 43 | 9 | 7 | 48 | 6.9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 32 | 157 | 4.9 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST | ||
| 9/5 | San Jose State | W 56-3 | 6 | 27 | 4.5 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 9/12 | @Ohio State | W 18-15 | 11 | 50 | 4.5 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 9/19 | @Washington | L 16-13 | 10 | 64 | 6.4 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 9/26 | Washington State | W 27-6 | 5 | 16 | 3.2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10/3 | @California | W 30-3 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 10/17 | @Notre Dame | W 34-27 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 10/24 | Oregon State | W 42-36 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 10/31 | @Oregon | L 47-20 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/7 | @Arizona State | W 14-9 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/14 | Stanford | L 55-21 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 11/28 | UCLA | W 28-7 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 12/5 | Arizona | L 21-17 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST | ||
| EMERALD BOWL | Boston College | W 24-13 | Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats. | |||||||||||||
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
Johnson is a very hard runner and has an excellent work ethic. I don't believe that he will ever be a feature back for any team but he does have a chance to be a contributor in goaline situations and short yardage scenarios. He will potentially play special teams initially if he can make a team. If he goes undrafted, I think there will be at least a few teams that invite him in to take a look. He has a decent combination of size and speed. He has good patience to let plays develop in front of him and hit the holes quickly as they open. The one thing that Johnson will have to do differently if he makes a team is not dance around so much in the back field. There were times in his career where he would do that and get caught for a loss. Out of all the events, Johnson ironically was a top-performer in the bench press. Johnson measured in at 5'11" and weighed 214 LBS at the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine.
Possibilities -- 7th Round: Picks 208-255, Undrafted Free Agent.
With just a couple days left until the draft, if you have missed any of the articles on these 90+ players, please take a look at the link below: