Kenny Johnson Scores First Pitt Touchdown
PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers freshman Kenny Johnson earned as much praise as anyone on the roster during training camp, but had been buried on the depth chart for the first three weeks of the season.
But the Panthers finally found a way to get the ball in the electric freshman's hands and he rewarded them, taking a kickoff return 100 yards to the house for a touchdown - the first of his career - early in the third quarter.
Johnson's special teams score was the first kickoff return touchdown since Israel Abanikanda took a kick back for 98 yards against Virginia in 2021, a win that clinched a Coastal Division title and eventually victorious trip to Charlotte for the ACC Championship game. It was also the first 100-yard kickoff return since Quadree Henderson did it against Miami in 2016. His burst was also the longest kickoff return from an ACC player this season.
Johnson added two catches for 12 yards as the Panthers tried to battle back from a three-score deficit to the No. 17 Tar Heels in their ACC opener.
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