The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team lost a 26-25 nailbiter to the No. 4 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions last Saturday afternoon at Huntington Bank Stadium. The game provided a flashback for this columnist!
During the 2019 season, the Gophers, ranked No. 13 at the time, hosted No. 5 Penn State in one of most important games in Minnesota history. The memory of the sold-out TCF Bank Stadium crowd storming the field after a 31-26 upset Gophers victory is as clear to me as it was five years ago.
The victory remains a great memory but there is more to it. One of the stars of that game was a 6’2” 205-pound senior wide receiver named Tyler Johnson.
Johnson, a decorated student athlete in basketball and football and a 2016 Minneapolis North High School graduate, caught seven passes for 104 yards and one touchdown that day.
The victory not only gave the Gophers their first 9-0 start since 1904 before finishing at 9-2; it also thrust Johnson into the national spotlight and continued a journey that started during his sophomore year in high school.
Johnson’s prep career, as a guard (basketball) and quarterback and defensive back (football) which began during the 2013-2014 school year, was highlighted by two state football playoff appearances — coached by veteran Charles Adams — in 2014 and ’15, and a boys basketball championship—with Hall of Fame coach Larry McKenzie leading the way—in 2016.
Upon graduation he accepted a scholarship to play football for the Gophers, embarking on an outstanding career finishing as one of the top wide receivers in Gophers history, and in the nation as well.
After a four-year career in which he caught 213 passes for 3,305 yards and 33 touchdowns averaging 15.5 yards per catch, Johnson won a 2021 Super Bowl LV ring as a rookie after being selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 161st pick in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft.
The Buccaneers waived Johnson in 2022 after stops at Houston (active roster), Tampa Bay (practice squad), Las Vegas (reserve/contract). He signed with the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster in January 2024.
On Sunday, November 3, Johnson caught a dramatic 24-yard pass from quarterback Matt Stafford in overtime, setting up the winning touchdown in the Rams’ 26-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. As of press time, he has 21 receptions for 245 yards averaging 11.7 yards per catch.
Oh, there’s another message here: Through all the adversity, Johnson never gave up.
Dr. Mitchell Palmer McDonald welcomes reader comments to mcdeezy05@gmail.com.