Jaquan Johnson (born November 13, 1995) is an American 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He played

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 ...

for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

and was selected by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the sixth round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

Early life

Johnson played on both sides of the ball at

Miami Killian High School Miami Killian Senior High School is a secondary school located at 10655 SW 97th Ave, Miami, FL 33176 in the Kendall area of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. The school is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools System. Miami Kil ...

, playing

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He earned an invitation to the U. S. Army All-American Bowl after his senior season, and caught 13 interceptions throughout his high school career. Johnson committed to the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

on August 19, 2014, flipping from previous frontrunner

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, which was his choice as late as two weeks before the commitment.

College career

Stuck behind upperclassmen, Johnson was a reserve his first two years at the

. As a junior, Johnson led the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

with 96 tackles. Late in the season,

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

Manny Diaz called him the "heart and soul" of the Hurricanes' defense. Johnson also made program history by becoming the first player to earn three consecutive

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) Defensive Back of the Week awards, winning the accolade in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth weeks of the season. After the season, the team named Johnson its MVP. Johnson decided to return to Miami for his senior year and even tried to persuade R. J. McIntosh and Kendrick Norton to stay, albeit unsuccessfully. Johnson cited getting his degree as a large factor in returning for his last season. After his senior season, Johnson was named second-team All-ACC.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Johnson was drafted by the

in the sixth round with the 181st overall pick in the

. As a rookie, he appeared in 13 games in the regular season and had three total tackles. In Week 16 of the 2020 season, Johnson recorded a 13-yard pass to Siran Neal in a 38–9 victory over the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. During Week 16 of the 2022 season, Johnson intercepted a Hail Mary pass off of

Nathan Peterman Nathan Michael Peterman (born May 4, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers following a stint with the Tennessee Volunteers and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fif ...

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 21, 2023, Johnson signed a one-year contract with the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He was released on August 29.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On November 14, 2023, Johnson was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. He was released eight days later.

Personal life

Johnson grew up as the middle child of seven in his family and struggled with poverty and hunger as a child, eventually moving into the house of a former flag football coach. He is a cousin of NFL running back

Lamar Miller Lamar N. Miller (born April 25, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in ...

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jaquan 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Miami Miami Killian Senior High School alumni American football safeties Miami Hurricanes football players Buffalo Bills players Las Vegas Raiders players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players