My Chris Johnson Blog

Years before rushing for over 2,000 yards for the Tennessee Titans in 2009 running back Chris Johnson broke records at East Carolina University during his college days while playing for the ECU Pirates. While the pro bowler and current National Football League (NFL) star is widely considered the fastest player in the NFL (based on his 40 yard dash time) his collegiate days at East Carolina University were also highly productive long before he was a household name and the prize of fantasy football drafts.

Growing up in Orlando, Florida Johnson was not a highly recruited prospect due in part to his relatively small size of roughly 5'10" and 170 pounds. Despite a lack of recruitment by big time college football programs Chris did find a spot on the roster of the East Carolina University (ECU) Pirates team located in Greenville, North Carolina. As a Florida native Johnson gradually adapted to the North Carolina landscape and progressively improved his football skills to the point where he had a breakout season as a college senior at ECU when he tallied nearly 3,000 all-purpose yards (2,960) and punched in 24 touchdowns. Those numbers earned Johnson the high honor of being named an All-American, a honor that would later play a role in contributing to his being taken in the first round of the NFL draft which is a rare feat for a player from ECU to perform when coming out of the less heralded mid-major Conference USA.

In addition to setting a school record for all-purpose yardage as a senior Chris set numerous other records throughout his college career. As a freshman alone he broke eight school season or game records in terms of unprecedented levels of achievement by a freshman at East Carolina. In his sophomore and junior years of college he would go on to set school records for single season receptions and career receptions by a running back.

The knack that Chris Johnson has for setting records continued in his transition from college to the pros as he tied the NFL combine record for the fastest 40 yard dash time run by any player at 4.24 seconds. After a successful rookie campaign in an offensive scheme that had him sharing playing time with a complimentary back (the larger LenDale White) Chris Johnson exceeded the expectations of even his most optimistic proponents with a record shattering second year performance that saw him eclipse the NFL record for yards from scrimmage (rushing yards plus receiving yards) in a single season. The record was previously held by Marshall Faulk. The new high water mark surpassed a milestone as Johnson tallied 2,509 yards from scrimmage.

If history is any indication of future success it would seem quite certain that Chris Johnson is not yet done with his record breaking performances.

By the age of 24 with only two seasons under his belt Chris Johnson has already achieved more NFL fame than most professional football players do in their entire careers. When he's not breaking records Johnson is likely resting with an East Carolina University blanket while being thankful that the somewhat obscure college (by big time football standards) took a chance on him when he was an unheralded undersized high school kid.