Todd Johnson closing in for tackle
Welcome to the 2nd part of the exclusive interview with former Florida Gator Safety and current St. Louis Ram Todd Johnson. Legends of the Swamp was able to catch up with Todd in between off season mini camps.
LOS: Now Todd, I heard through the Gator Grapevine that your nickname is T- Lo. How did this name come about?
TJ: Well, it’s not a real exciting story. It comes from when I was a freshman at Riverview High School. I got it from my DB coach because I was not real vocal and I was very quiet. I don’t know why but he just started calling me that and it stuck ever since. People at Florida called me that and here on the team in St. Louis everyone calls me that. I don’t tell people to call me that it’s just something that has stayed with me. Now my wife calls me that,my family calls me that all because my DB coach at Riverview, Jim Anderson, came up with that nickname.
LOS: Do you still enjoy a good relationship with Coach A?
TJ: He actually is one of my best friends. He is still my coach to me. I look up to him as a mentor and we really have become good friends over the years.
LOS: I can relate to that, I see guys like Charlie Strong, Dwayne Dixon, Carl Franks, or Jim Collins and I still call them coach and I’ll be 38 years old soon.
LOS: Ok Todd, let’s switch it up again. Describe to me how it felt the first time you were suited up in a gameday uniform at Florida and you ran through the tunnel for a home football game in The Swamp.
TJ: Man, it is still so hard to put into words because it is such a big moment. I guess there were times when I was in awe but then at the same time you can’t be because you have to be ready to play. You have to have the right mindset because it is an experience that not many people get and it’s something that I am very thankful for. I feel very lucky and blessed to be able to have done that.
LOS: Todd, what would you say is your best Gator Moment?
TJ: Well, along with running through the tunnel for the first time I realized that I was a Gator my freshman year when I was coming in on the “nickel” package. We were going over our Friday workouts and they called the nickel group out there. I look around and I’m there with Andra Davis, Alex Brown, Gerard Warren, and Marquand Manuel.
I felt inside like I’m really about to do this! That was one of those moments in life where it really sunk in on me, even before I actually put the uniform on and ran out onto the field.
LOS: Do you have a best on the field moment?
TJ: I’d have to say besides hanging out with my boys on the team and stuff my best overall Gator moment was winning the SEC Championship.
Coach Spurrier always put so much emphasis on that and he taught us how important that was. HE always said that you will always remember when you win Championships and he was right.
I have a lot of great memories but that one always sticks out to me. We had a great team, great bunch of guys, and excellent leadership.
Obviously, I wish we would have played for something like a national championship but we kind of messed that up. However, winning the SEC Championship and representing for The Gators in Atlanta was probably the highlight of my Florida playing career.
LOS:
Well Todd there is always the flipside of the coin. What would you say was your worst Gator moment?
TJ: The worst would have to be the Tennessee game that same year. It was 2001 I believe, and because of 911 we had to play that game at the end of the year.
We couldn’t stop their running game, we were ranked #1 in the country at the time, and Rex and the offense were playing well but they were just hard to stop.
I just felt that if we could have done our part on defense that we could have been playing for a national championship.
All we had to do was tackle better and we didn’t do it so that was frustrating.
LOS: Alright let’s lighten things up a little bit. Give me one of those funny moments behind the scenes amongst the players and coaches that no one else would know outside of the family.
TJ:
Oohh, I guess me and Brock became known as pranksters around our group of friends and one of the guys that we liked to prank a lot was Zac Zedalis who was our Center.
He was known for having a pretty short fuse and he would snap at anything so we liked to get him going.
There was this one time at the Orange Bowl when we were playing Maryland and he had this big date one night. Brock and I had been messing with him all year and Brock somehow got a hold of his key and broke into his hotel room. We get in there and take all of his nice clothes that he was going to wear out on his date.
So he was all bent out of shape and beating on our door and we’re inside dying laughing!
LOS: So he pretty much knew that you guys were behind it?
TJ:
Oh he knew we did it and he came down beating on our door and using a few choice words. He was threatening us and threatening our lives so we said: “Alright Zac, just back up off the door on the hallway wall and we’ll open the door and give you your clothes”.
So you could hear him like alright alright all mad and we’re looking through the peephole in the door and he is all huffing and puffing. So he backs up onto the hallway wall and I swing open the door and Brock just throws a bucket of ice cold water all over him and I quickly shut the door back! Man he about ran through the door and broke it down.
It was a good one, we eventually opened up and gave him back all of his clothes but we had filled his shoes up with shaving cream and he didn’t find out until later. That was a pretty funny experience that a lot of guys got a kick out of.
LOS:
I have a quick Q&A session here. Just say the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready?
TJ:
Yeah, I guess
LOS: What’s your favorite movie?
TJ: Rocky, any of the Rockies
LOS: What’s your favorite food and why?
TJ:
Anything Italian, preferrably lasagna. I don’t know why, I guess because my wife does such a good job making it.
LOS: What is your favorite color?
TJ: My favorite color is Orange & Blue
LOS: What do you fear the most?
TJ: Failure
LOS: I like that answer. Honest. Fear can be a powerful thing if used properly.
LOS:
Ok, a question about the current Gator regime. What do you think about Coach Urban Meyer’s success in Gainesville? How does it make you feel as a former player that helped build the dynasty we enjoy today.
TJ:
I feel pride. Just proud of what they’ve done. It seems like they have a tough mentality and I think that is one of the key reasons why they have been able to do what they’ve done. The team and players seem to be mentally tougher than their opponents.
LOS: It’s funny you said that Todd, because that is something that stood out to me instantly. Urban challenges his players from the moment they set foot on UF’s campus. If you can’t handle pressure, he and his staff will find out quick. Our coach, Steve Spurrier was a very successful coach at Florida but he really didn’t put the pressure on in practice the way Urban does.
TJ:
I totally agree with what you said. Both coaches are very successful and one tactic is not better than the other but Coach Meyer’s teams have stepped up to the challenge pretty much every time.
LOS: Ok Todd, let’s flip it to the next level. You had a very successful collegiate career that led to getting drafted into the NFL. What has life been like as a professional athlete for you?
TJ: It’s been a lot of fun you know with the lifestyle. I have ben able to go to many different parts of the country that I probably wouldn’t have seen. I probably wouldn’t have gotten out of the South if it weren’t for football.
I’ve been able to meet a lot of people from different backgrounds that has allowed me to grow and become a better person. I am very thankful for that but at the same time it really takes a toll on you.
LOS: HOW?
TJ: Well just to get your body through 16 regular season games, 4 preseason games, and then the playoffs. In high school and college you play what 10 to 12 games that could go as high as 13 to 14 in a good season.
Trust me, the older you get the more you start to feel it but I remember when I was young I never dreamed about playing in the NFL. Like I said earlier, my dream was to play for Coach Sprague at Riverview High School and be a Riverview Ram. By my Junior and Senior year of high school I realized that I would have the chance to keep playing and my dream kind of evolved to dreaming that I would play in The Swamp for Coach Spurrier and be a Florida Gator.
For me to have the experience of playing 6 years in the NFL is something that I never could have imagined, but yet I’m very thankful for every day that I continue to play.
LOS: Todd why do you think some guys, without naming names, have such a hard time staying out of trouble of the field?
TJ: You know, I don’t know if it’s an entitlement issue or just thinking that they can do no wrong or what. I was raised by my parents that if you ever got yourself in a situation it’s because you put yourself there. It’s not because you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time or you’re just having bad luck. It’s because you made a choice and put yourself in what ever the situation is. I knew that I had to realize this and deal with the consequences whether good or bad as they come.
LOS: So you learned personal responsibility?
TJ: Yeah, I feel like that. I work with a lot of high school kids. I go back to Sarasota Riverview High School and train with them every year and I try to teach them that life isn’t fair. Some teachers aren’t always going to treat you fair, people aren’t always going to treat you fair but you still have to do the right thing in the situation. If you do that, then you will have the chance to have a lot of success in your life and hopefully reach your goals or even develop a dream that you never thought you could accomplish.
LOS: Do you have any ideas of what your life may be like once your playing career is over?
TJ:
Yeah, I do. I actually just graduated from The University of Florida. I plan on continuing to teach and coach kids at the high school level. I feel like that is where my heart is. You have such a chance to make an impression at that level and help them develop.
That’s what I plan on doing and hopefully it will work out.
LOS: Where do you think you will make your permanent home? Will you return to the Sarasota area or come back to Florida?
TJ: I think so, yeah, my wife is from Ft. Myers and I’m from Sarasota so any chance we get, we actually stayed up here this off season which was nice, but we get down to Florida as much as we can and that’s probably where we will be calling home.
LOS: The University of Florida has some verbal commitments from some highly ranked defensive backs for the class of 2010, including two kids from the Suncoast in Jonathan Dowling of Bradenton Southeast and Jaylen Watkins of Cape Coral. What advise would you give these kids as they transition to playing SEC football, University of Florida football for the defending National Champions?
TJ:
Man, that’s a good question. I’d tell them to take advantage of it and not take this opportunity lightly. There are a lot of people who would be dying to be a freshman athlete at The University of Florida, including myself, I wouldn’t mind going back right now and doing it all over again. So I’d tell them to take advantage of it and at the same time enjoy it!
LOS:
Well, Todd thank you for your time. In conclusion, do you have any words for the Gator Nation?
TJ:
Just keep representing the Orange & Blue, like we always do and enjoy these times right now when we’re so dominant because it’s hard to do.
LOS: I have one more question. How do the Rams look this year?
TJ: I think we are going to be good. We have a new coaching staff in and evryone’s excited. We feel like we should be able to have a little bit of a turn around.
Publisher’s Note:
I targeted Todd Johnson early when I formulated my plans for the direction I wanted this website to go. He truly represents the multiple stories of former players everywhere. You can’t help but relate to a guy that genuinely just wanted to make his high school team. Through hard work, natural talent, leadership skills, and personal responsibility look at what he was able to accomplish. I have no doubt that he will continue to be a success once his playing days are over.
LOS: How did that affect your professional career?
