Ex-Gopher Tyler Johnson 'shocked' by reports of character concerns
Tyler Johnson left the University of Minnesota on many high notes, including helping the Gophers win 10 games for the first time in more than 100 years and breaking virtually every receiving record in school history.
Johnson's college career was impressive enough to warrant him being ranked 38th on Benjamin Solak's NFL Draft big board for The Draft Network. But for reasons unknown, next to Johnson's name is "Red Flag: Character." Why? There is no explanation.
That report follows a similar claim from Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, who has said going back to last November that Johnson wasn't "getting good character reports from area scouts."
What does he do exceptionally well that should make him a better prospect? He’s not fast. He’s not big. He’s not getting good character reports from area scouts. He wasn’t a senior bowl invite. I don’t understand the twitter love for this guy https://t.co/PGyBUhJ2jq
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) November 25, 2019
When questioned about his reporting, Miller stood tall and said: "Nope. I'm good with the information obtained from 10+ NFL teams on him."
"No teams asked me about it at all, it's never been brought up. To the person that made that, they really don't know me, honestly. I don't know where they got it from, but they definitely don't know me," Johnson said in an interview with KSTP's Darren Wolfson, adding that hearing the report "shocked" him.
"Those cats don't really know me. They don't know where I'm from and small things about me like many other people know about me," Johnson said. "You just put it in one ear and out the other. You can't let that distract you. That right there is a distraction to me. I'm going to continue to be myself, be the best man I can possibly be, continue to love the game of football and be a huge impact to my community."
Here's a sampling of my recent lengthy Zoom chat with former #Gophers WR and #NFL Draft prospect Tyler Johnson. He addresses the Bleacher Report report from earlier this year about character red flags. Thought he answered my inquiry well. pic.twitter.com/Pl3QPPyxTX
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) April 16, 2020
Blake Baratz, founder of The Institute for Athletes and Johnson's agent, sent Bring Me The News a text saying the claims are unfounded.
"Yea it's BS," he said.
Ron Johnson, a Gopher great whose records were broken by Johnson, said in January that he's talked to numerous NFL and college personnel who have zero concerns with Johnson's character.
"I can confirm there are no concerns about Tyler Johnson’s character," Johnson wrote.
In case anyone is wondering. I have spoken to Tyler Johnson’s HS coach, a coach on the #Gophers staff, 2 #NFL GMs, 7 NFL scouts...
— Ron Johnson (@3RonJohnson) January 1, 2020
And I can confirm there are no concerns about Tyler Johnson’s character. In their minds his draft stock on their board currently hasn’t changed.
Johnson led the Gophers with 86 receptions, 1,318 yards, and 13 touchdowns this past season, including a memorable Outback Bowl win over Auburn in which he racked up 12 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns.
Following that game, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck got emotional talking about how much Johnson meant to the team.
MUST WATCH:
— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) January 1, 2020
Coach Fleck is brought to tears at the end of today’s press conference when talking about Tyler Johnson and the legacy he is leaving at the University of Minnesota. #Gophers pic.twitter.com/YxYcvkRsey
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.