Son of Former Packers Coach Has Bond with ‘Mr. Favre’

Baylor's Clay Johnston is one of the better linebacker prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Baylor linebacker Clay Johnston has a rather famous football mentor.

It’s “Mr. Favre,” as Johnston calls him.

Johnston’s father, Kent, spent 24 years as an NFL strength coach before joining the Baylor staff in 2018. Johnston was named Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 1997 with the Green Bay Packers. Clay Johnston was born in Wisconsin but doesn’t remember much about that time. However, because of those ties, he’s got a connection with Brett Favre. Kent Johnston has a photo of Favre, pretending he’s about to throw the pint-sized kid like a football.

“My dad was really tight with him,” Clay Johnston said at the Scouting Combine. “He was his best man in his wedding so they became really good buddies. We were at his house a couple weeks ago, just hanging out in Mississippi. He’s awesome. He’s such a real dude. He’s so country. I love the guy.”

Johnston wore jersey No. 44 his first three seasons. Given a coveted single-digit jersey for his final season, he naturally wore No. 4. When Johnston suffered a torn ACL in 2019, Favre reached out to renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews to do the surgery. “It was a blessing having Mr. Favre help in that area.”

Because of his father, Johnston’s been around the NFL throughout his life. Particularly memorable was his dad’s time with the Chargers from 2013 through 2017.

“It was super awesome,” Johnston said. “My freshman and sophomore year (of high school), when I was like, ‘Dad, I want to try to play in college,’ he took me out there with all the rookies when they came in. He said, ‘I want you to train with them.’ The rookies came in and they were all going to run 200s. It was the offense vs. the defense. They were like, ‘If Clay beats one of you guys on any of these 200s, I’m going to make the other side run an extra one.’ So, they were all getting hyped and I’m obviously running so hard trying not to let any of them down. It was fun training with them and running with them. I remember doing drills with Eric Weddle and he would teach me footwork. I was so thankful to be in that environment with Eric Weddle and Manti (Te’o) and those guys.”

Best of 2019: Clay Johnston

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That background has made Johnston greater than the sum of his physical parts.

As a senior at Baylor, Johnston was second-team all-Big 12 despite playing in only six games due to a torn ACL that kept him from testing at the Scouting Combine. He had 2.5 sacks and eight tackles for losses among his 58 stops. He was second-team all-conference as a junior, too, with 99 tackles. Against the run, he plays hard, flows fast and delivers a blow. In coverage, he has the speed to cover tight ends. 

“As cliché as it sounds, it really is an honor just being here,” Johnston said. “I’m extremely thankful. It’s crazy hearing so many encouraging things from scouts. It happened so fast.”

Bill Huber’s Linebacker Profiles

No. 1: Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons

No. 2: Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray

No. 3: LSU’s Patrick Queen

No. 4: Wisconsin’s Zack Baun

No. 5: Ohio State’s Malik Harrison

No. 6: Wyoming’s Logan Wilson

No. 7: Appalachian State’s Akeem Davis-Gaither

Son of a former Packers coach

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