David Chidley/CFL.ca
VANCOUVER — Jeremiah Johnson can side step, bounce, juke and hit the hole with the best of them. Off the field, though, it’s been different: one step forward, two steps back.
Before arriving in Vancouver, Johnson was only losing yards.
“I’ve been grinding all my life,” said the BC Lions’ running back. “Even in the NFL, you gain ground and they draft a back and you’re two steps back.”
After eight professional seasons, Johnson has finally found a job he can run with. The 30-year-old signed an extension with the Lions this off-season and, for the first time since college, is the undisputed starting running back.
Jeremiah Johnson finds some open space during the Western Semi-Final in November (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
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Talking to him in March during Mark’s CFL Week in Regina, it was described as an unusual feeling.
“In the NFL, I never had a chance to show my skills on a wide spectrum like I do here,” said Johnson. “Coming into free agency, you don’t have that weight of ‘OK, this guy is a capable back, he can do the job’.
“It’s one of those things where my wife always says ‘they slept on you, they missed out on you’ and I always believed it.”
After teaming up with now-NFL running back Jonathan Stewart early in his career at Oregon, Johnson became a captain with the Ducks and shouldered the load his senior season on one of the country’s premiere offences.
Undrafted south of the border in 2009, Johnson spent two seasons on practice rosters with the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers before landing with the Denver Broncos from 2010 through 2013.
The Broncos released Johnson in August of 2013, leading the 5-foot-9, 200-pound back to his first CFL team the following season, the Toronto Argonauts. But the Argos cut Johnson despite averaging 5.2 yards per carry over five games.
It was 2015 when Johnson broke out during his second season with the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Following the release of Chevon Walker, Johnson found the end zone seven times over the next three games, scoring nine rushing touchdowns over the span of six starts.
Both his season and time as a REDBLACK ended prematurely that year, however, when Johnson suffered a dislocated foot. The next off-season, Johnson joined Wally Buono and the BC Lions, where he’d compete with another veteran runner in Anthony Allen for the starting job.
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Johnson said he’s never played for a coach like Buono.
“He’s so cut and dried to a point where it’s funny,” said Johnson. “He has these glimpses of smiling and being happy but then in that same instance, you look at him and it’s like, serious.
“I like that a lot,” he continued. “You want a coach that can be a player’s coach but at the same time pull the reins back in, get everybody back on the same track.”
While he wasn’t guaranteed to play — Johnson started the first two weeks while Allen played weeks three through five — the veteran back took it upon himself to be a leader.
“Even though I wasn’t a captain, me being in my first year with the BC Lions, I kind of took it upon myself to be one of the people young guys or other veterans look up to.”
Used to a leadership role on and off the field — Johnson became a father at age 23 — the Lions’ running back let his play do the rest of the talking. And by Week 15, after some back and forth, he had taken over the reins as the full-time starter.
“When the middle of the season came and they started letting me start and getting me games and the playoffs came, it was all me.”
Jeremiah Johnson on taking over the starting role
Jeremiah Johnson celebrates a touchdown during a win over the Riders last season (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)
“I just kept going out there and actually having an opportunity to put consecutive games together,” said Johnson. “That was one of the big things for me last year, trying to get that mojo going.
“That two-game, then you simmer off for two weeks . . . so when the middle of the season came and they started letting me start and getting me games and the playoffs came, it was all me. It was sort of like I proved why I should be the number one back.”
So while Anthony Allen waits for his next opportunity, Jeremiah Johnson is the lead back on one of the CFL’s top rushing offences.
That’s the competitiveness of professional sport and especially the CFL, where only nine starting jobs are available. Buono signed two veterans and let competition run its course.
Last year, BC led the league by a wide margin with 115.7 rushing yards per game. Johnson, despite sharing the backfield, ranked fifth with 809 rushing yards but first among starters with 5.9 yards per carry.
Now, after signing a contract extension in mid-December, he can pick up where he left off. He says his team needs to get ahead earlier in games next season.
Last year the Lions were plagued by slow starts, like in a 42-15 loss to Calgary in the Western Final or even the Western Semi-Final win over Winnipeg.
“If the game’s not close, you can’t run your offence. You have to kind of catch up,” said Johnson. “With the three downs, you have to catch up.
“This year I think it’s going to be more of an emphasis of getting on top, staying on top and grinding hard. I think when that idea is captured by the whole team, it’s going to be awesome for us.”
Jeremiah Johnson owned the top rushing average among starters in 2016 (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)
The Lions’ offence ranked third in the CFL last year (401.1 yards per game) and stands to get better. Nick Moore will be back in the lineup while Chris Williams joined the team as a free agent.
Johnson, meanwhile, is the lead guy out of the backfield. A shot in the arm for the 30-year-old.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said Johnson. “This game’s about confidence. When you have an iconic coach like Wally Buono it’s like if he trusts you, you’ve almost kind of made it.
“Just to get that satisfaction from him and knowing that I’m his guy and he wants to go forward with me most definitely was a big deal.”
For Johnson, it’s hard work paying off.
“This is the first off-season I get to focus on my body without worrying about trying to make money on the other end,” he said. “I’m focused, I’m ready and I’m waiting for good things to happen.
“Just stay tuned. Personally, for me, it’s going to be a good year.”
