Steve ”Stevie“ Johnson, Jr. (born July 22, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bills in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft and played college football atKentucky.
High school career
Johnson attended Angelo Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, California. Johnson was coached by Coach LeVon Haynes. He was only able to play football two years there as the school didn’t add a football program until his junior year. After his senior season, he earned All-State and first-team All-Conference honors.[2] He also played two years of basketball and was a second-team All-Conference selection.
[edit]College career
Johnson attended Chabot College in California from 2004 to 2005 before transferring to the University of Kentucky. In his first season with the program, he recorded 12 catches for 159 yards (13.3 avg) and 1 touchdown. Against Clemson in theMusic City Bowl, Johnson caught three balls for 67 yards.
The 2007 season was a historic one for Johnson as he compiled 61 receptions for 1,052 yards (17.2 avg) and 13 touchdowns. He became the fourth player in school history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving and his thirteen touchdowns in a season rank second on the school’s season-record list.
During the season, he caught three game-winning touchdowns, including one against Florida State in the Music City Bowl.[2]
After the season, Johnson was selected to the College Football News‘ All-Southeastern Conference first-team.[3]
[edit]Professional career
[edit]Pre-draft
| Ht | Wt | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in | 210 lb | 4.59 s | 1.59 s | 2.62 s | 4.26 s | 7.07 s | 32½ in | 10 ft 1 in | |||||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine.[citation needed] | |||||||||||||||||||
[edit]Buffalo Bills
Johnson was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round (224th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.
His first reception came in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, and went for 8 yards. In Week 15, against the New York Jets, Johnson caught his first touchdown reception, a two-yard pass from J. P. Losman. He caught his second touchdown a week later against the Denver Broncos on a three-yard pass from Trent Edwards. Johnson finished his rookie season with 10 receptions for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Battling a severe rib injury in 2009, he only managed 2 catches for 10 yards.
After good off-season practices Johnson was able to win the starting receiver position before 2010 season. After losing his starting position early in the season, he regained it with a string of good performances. In a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Johnson had a career-game, catching 8 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, he set a career-high in catches with 11 for 145 yards against the Chicago Bears.
During Week 3 of the 2010 season in a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, Johnson scored a fourth quarter touchdown. After the score, he imitated aminuteman firing a rifle and fell to the ground backwards pretending to be shot. Johnson was fined $10,000 for the celebration.[4] In a Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, he caught 8 passes for 137 yards and a career-milestone 3 touchdowns. After his first touchdown, Johnson lifted his jersey to reveal the question “Why so serious?” written on his T-shirt. The quote, made famous by The Joker in the Batman movie The Dark Knight.,[5] was directed at Bengals wide receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, who referred to themselves as Batman and Robin.[6] Johnson was fined $5,000 by the league office for the celebration.[7]
Johnson finished his breakout campaign with 82 receptions, 1073 yards and 10 touchdowns. Following the season, Johnson was named the 2010 Vizio Top Value Performer for being the NFL player who outplayed his salary by the widest margin.[8]
During the 2011 season, Johnson was fined twice for excessive celebrations. The first was Week 12 against the New York Jets. Johnson pretended to shoot his leg and then fly like a Jet and pretended to crash, imitating Jets receiver Plaxico Burress. The second penalty called on Johnson was in week 17 against the New England Patriots. Johnson lifted his jersey, revealing “Happy New Year” written on his undershirt. Chan Gailey benched Johnson for the rest of the game, although he posted 4 receptions for 40 yards and an 18-yard TD.[9][10]
In 2011, Johnson’s numbers fell a bit, posting 76 receptions for 1,004 yards and 7 touchdown receptions. According to Steve, he played the year with a torn groin and a broken hand, which hurt his production but proved his dedication to the football team.
On March 5th, 2012, Johnson signed a new 5-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.[11]
[edit]Personal
Johnson is married to his wife, Britney, and has three children, a daughter, Miyah, born in August 2007, a son, Steve, born in April 2009, and daughter, Mia Bella, born in April 2012. [12][13] Johnson is the cousin of bay-area rapper Ya Boy.
[edit]Rap
In September 2011, Johnson released a mixtape called “Why So Serious” with G5Gi. The title refers to the quote he had on his shirt to insult Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens after he scored a touchdown over the Bengals. He released the mixtape under the name SJ13. The mixtape was produced by DJ Rockstar and features songs such as “Inked Up”, “Going In”, and “Back to the Money”.
Johnson also is one of the Certified Flyguyz. He also contributed to the mixtape My Brother and Me…The Takeoff” with Jared ‘Air Marley’ and Rich ‘Thee Flyguy’ hosted by Hood Noise.
