Joseph Brian Johnston (born November 26, 1962) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for two seasons with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the Giants in the third round of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He was a member of the Giants team that won

Super Bowl XXI Super Bowl XXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

Early life and college

Joseph Brian Johnston was born on November 26, 1962, in

Highland, Maryland Highland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,133. It uses the 20777 zip code. Geography The community is located in southern Howa ...

. He attended

Glenelg High School Glenelg High School is a public high school in Glenelg, Maryland, United States. Glenelg HS is located in the western portion of Howard County, Maryland and is part of the Howard County Public School System, which is among the highest-ranked in t ...

Glenelg, Maryland Glenelg is an unincorporated community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is located in the 21737 ZIP Code, and is part of the 410 area code. It is the home town of Glenelg High School. History John Dorsey, who was one of the first ...

. Johnston was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

of the

from 1981 to 1984. He joined the Tar Heels as a defensive lineman but ended up spending his first two seasons as a backup center. He then moved to defensive tackle as a junior before switching back to center partway through his senior year.

Professional career

Johnston was selected by the

in the third round, with the 73rd overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 15. He was placed on injured reserve on August 14, 1985, and spent the entire season there. He was released by the Giants the next year on August 26, 1986, but soon re-signed on September 2. He played in four regular season games for the Giants during the 1985 season. Johnston also appeared in two playoff games that season, including the victory over the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He played in five games in 1987 and became a free agent after the season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Brian Living people 1962 births American football centers American football defensive tackles New York Giants players North Carolina Tar Heels football players Sportspeople from Howard County, Maryland Players of American football from Maryland