Free-Agent Defensive Tackle Poop Johnson Signs With Toronto Argonauts

His real name is Cory.

Here’s the headline of a press release published Wednesday afternoon by the Canadian Football League: “Argos Ink Defensive Tackle Cory ‘Poop’ Johnson.”

That’s right, they really do call him “Poop.”

The nickname only dates back a couple of years, though, to Johnson’s time at the University of Kentucky. During training camp before his first season with the Wildcats, Johnson explained to a camera crew that he can weigh anywhere from 280 pounds to 300, depending on the day. How? 

“I guess because I poop so much,” Johnson told WLEX-TV. “I try to poop like five times a day, three times a day. It’s hard to keep weight when you’ve got so much going out.”

After the clip went viral, Kentucky linebacker Jason Hatcher started calling his new teammate “Poop Johnson” and the name quickly caught on with the rest of the team. 

Johnson clearly has a good sense of humor, because he didn’t mind the new name. 

“The name kind of warmed up to me,” Johnson told The Courier-Journal in 2014. “Once I leave my legacy, and when they show the highlights, it’s going to be Poop Johnson. I like it. When they say Poop Johnson, I say, ‘Yes, I am the … you know.’”

Lost in all this is that Johnson is a pretty good football player. In two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (yes, the guy named Poop played for a team called the Bombers) he had 28 tackles and five sacks over 25 games. 

The Argonauts’ press release only referred to him as Cory.