Doug Johnson (American football)

Doug Johnson
No. 11, 12
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1977-10-27) October 27, 1977 (age 47)
Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school:Buchholz (Gainesville)
College:Florida
Undrafted:2000
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing yards:2,600
TDs-INT:13-18
Rating:69.4
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Doug Johnson Jr. (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the early 2000s. Johnson played college football for the Florida Gators, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Atlanta Falcons, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, and the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. He is in the Florida Georgia Hall of Fame, and played in minor league baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

Early life

Johnson was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1977.[1] He attended in Buchholz High School in Gainesville,[2] where he was a stand-out high school football and baseball player for the Buchholz Bobcats.

College career

Johnson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he was a quarterback for coach Steve Spurrier's Gators teams from 1996 to 1999.[3] Memorably, Johnson threw for 460 yards and seven touchdowns against the Central Michigan Chippewas in 1997, setting a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record for most touchdown passes in a game, and an NCAA Division I record for most touchdown passes in a half.[3] In three seasons as the Gators' principal starter, he threw for 7,114 yards, sixty-two touchdowns and thirty-six interceptions, completing 504 of 907 attempts, and was selected as a team captain as a senior.[3]

College statistics

Florida Gators
Season Passing
Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int
1997 148 269 55.0 2,023 21 12
1998 154 274 56.2 2,346 19 8
1999 190 337 56.4 2,574 20 13
Career 492 880 55.9 6,943 60 33

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash Vertical jump Wonderlic
6 ft 2+38 in
(1.89 m)
226 lb
(103 kg)
30+12 in
(0.77 m)
9+12 in
(0.24 m)
4.95 s 29.5 in
(0.75 m)
28
All values from NFL Combine[4]

After graduating from Florida, Johnson was not selected in the 2000 NFL draft, but signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent. As an Atlanta Falcon in 2002, Johnson led the team to a 17–10 victory in a start against the New York Giants. In the game, Johnson completed 19 of 25 passes for 257 yards and one passing and one rushing touchdown. In four seasons with the Falcons, he started eleven games and passed for 2,600 yards.[5] He has since played three additional seasons, mostly as a back-up or practice squad quarterback for three different teams.[5] On September 1, 2007, he was released by the Cincinnati Bengals after playing the preseason as a backup to Carson Palmer.

Johnson was also a second-round draft pick in 1996 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, playing as a third baseman in their minor league system in 1996 and 1997 before suffering a rotator cuff injury and leaving to concentrate on football full-time.[6][7]

Football Outsiders uses the term called "the Doug Johnson Effect," referring to "part-time players who had a very good performance the previous season in only one or two games," as a caution against overvaluing NFL players for the next season.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Doug Johnson. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  2. ^ databaseFootball.com, Players, Doug Johnson Archived February 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 85, 98, 125, 127, 141–142, 146–148, 158, 162, 182 (2011). Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  4. ^ "Doug Johnson, Combine Results, QB - Florida". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  5. ^ a b National Football League, Historical Players, Doug Johnson. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  6. ^ Gil Brandt, "Getting to know Vick's replacement," NFL.com (August 18, 2003). Retrieved November 13, 2006). Archived at [1] on May 6, 2007.
  7. ^ Chuck O'Donnell, "Franchise snapshot: Atlanta Falcons," Football Digest (November 2004). Retrieved November 13, 2004. He also was the backup quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in training camp for the 2013 season. Archived at [2] on October 30, 2006.
  8. ^ "Football Outsiders - Glossary". Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2011.

Bibliography

  • Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
  • Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
  • Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
  • McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
  • Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196-X.