Longhorns Country

Texas Football: Collin Johnson Has His Eyes Set on Longevity at the Next Level

The Texas wide receiver's father Johnny Johnson played 10 years in the NFL

Chris Dukes

Texas receiver Collin Johnson's draft stock has been up and down through the course of his four years on the Forty Acres. 

Last season many scouts and experts had him projected as a first-round pick had he come out after his junior year. However, Johnson made the decision to stay for one more season and suffered a hamstring injury that plagued his production through most of his senior campaign. 

After a solid opening at the Senior Bowl had Johnson back on the upswing, a hip flexor injury at the NFL Combine cost him a chance to build valuable buzz going into the year. 

After the Longhorns' pro day event had to be cancelled due to concerns over the novel coronavirus, he was left without an opportunity to make one last impression on NFL teams going into the draft. 

Although Johnson would clearly like to be taken early in the draft, he's also eying the long game. 

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Johnson had this to day.  

"At the end of the day, it's always been a goal not to just make it to the NFL, but to play in the NFL for a long time at that high level," he said. 

Johnson has a quality role model when it comes to lengthy NFL careers. His father Johnny Johnson was a two-time All American cornerback at Texas before playing 10 years in the NFL. Though he was a first round pick (taken No. 17 overall by the L.A. Rams) it was his career longevity that defined his success. 

Johnson played nine seasons in Los Angeles and another in Seattle before retiring after the 1989 campaign. He was a First-Team All-Pro selection in 1983. 

The younger Johnson is keeping everything in perspective, an important thing to remember going into this year's NFL Draft, which has the chance to be the most scrutinized draft of all time thanks to the current dearth of sports to discuss. 

With no return in sight for on-field and on-court activities currently planned, Talking heads are going to get every last inch out of this story. It's nice to see Johnson getting in a preemptive strike against the hype. 

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Chris Dukes
CHRIS DUKES

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