Malcolm Jamaine Johnson (born August 11, 1992) 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 ...

fullback. 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 ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

and was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the sixth round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. He was also a member of the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

Early life

Malcolm Jamaine Johnson was born August 11, 1992, to James and Genesis Johnson. He was raised in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

. He enrolled at Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa, where he was a standout

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player in his sophomore (2007–2008) and junior (2008–2009) years. But his best sport was

, where he played both

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. In his junior year season (2009), he caught 41 receptions (nine of them for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s) for . He nearly equalled this mark in the 2010 season, catching 39 receptions (eight for touchdowns) for . He also added a ground attack,

rushing Rushing means a sudden forward motion, or a surge or onslaught. Rushing may refer to: Tactics * Rush (gridiron football), advancing the ball by running on offense. On defense, charging the quarterback or kicker is a pass rush. * Human wave atta ...

for on 30 carries and passing three time (twice for completions). Both

Rivals.com Rivals.com (stylized as ''rivals'') is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was found ...

and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

ranked him as a three-star prospect (out of four star). ESPN ranked him the 75th best high school wide receiver in the nation, and Rivals.com ranked him the 33rd best college recruit in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

regardless of position. He participated in the Rivals.com football recruiting camps in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and received Most Valuable Player honors at each camp. After graduating from high school, he committed to play at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

in July 2009.

College career

Johnson was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

at Mississippi State, attending classes, practicing with the football team, and dressing for play but not competing in games. Beginning with his second year, Johnson was a starter for Mississippi State at tight end. His role on the team was not a traditional one, as he often played the role of a wingback or

slotback Slotback (SB), also called slot receiver, is an offensive position in gridiron football responsible for covering a ''slot,'' the playing area between the⁣⁣ offensive tackle and the wide receiver. A player who lines up between those two pl ...

. He started in 11 of the team's 12 games that year, but did not catch a pass until the sixth game of the season. In his second game, he had a season-high receiving yards, and in his third caught a season-high three passes (including one for a touchdown). His career-best catch of came in the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

on December 30. He finished the year with 11 receptions for (three for touchdowns), leading all

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) freshmen tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards, and tying for the most touchdowns, which led him to be named to the All-SEC Freshman Team. Johnson suffered a torn

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectora ...

muscle during pre-season practice in August 2012, which caused him to miss the first five games. He started in the last eight games of the season, and in his season debut game against the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

he made a one-handed touchdown reception on fourth-and-goal with nine seconds left to win the game. In his senior year in the 2013 season, Johnson started the year with an undisclosed injury he received in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. By the time the season began, however, he had recovered and had an outstanding season—catching 30 receptions for (two for touchdowns), averaging about per catch. He had the third most receiving yards for Mississippi State that year, and was tied for second on the team with 19 receptions for first downs. He had a college-career longest reception of against the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

on October 24, his first touchdown reception of the year. He had a college career best game against the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

on November 16, catching six receptions for , including two of or more. He was named to the All-SEC second-team for his efforts. As a fifth-year senior in the 2014 season, Johnson was named team co-captain, and played in all 13 games (starting in 12 of them). Although he was only the team's fourth-leading receiver, he was the top tight end—catching 28 passes for (three for touchdowns). During the game against the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

on October 11, he caught five passes (more than any other team member in a single game that year) for . Defeating Auburn, then the second-ranked team in the nation, propelled Mississippi State to number one in the Associated Press coaches football poll. The team went from unranked to Number 1 in just five weeks, the fastest rise in the poll's history. Mississippi State played in the 2014 Orange Bowl, where Johnson caught three receptions for . His efforts on the field won him a position on the All-SEC second-team once more. By the end of his college career, Johnson had played in 45 games, 23 of them as a starter. He caught a total of 79 passes for and 10 touchdowns. Johnson received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from Mississippi State in December 2014. He then enrolled in a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in workforce education, with an expected graduation date of May 2015.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Sportswriter Joel A. Erickson, writing in ''

The Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' was the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States in the latter half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st. The paper was owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its ...

'' in September 2013, called Johnson's college career "somewhat spotty", noting that his best year for receptions was his first year. Amid worries that he might not be picked at all, Johnson was selected by the

in the sixth round of the

. He was the first tight end from Mississippi State to be drafted since Donald Lee in 2003. On May 11, 2015, Johnson signed a four-year contract with the Browns worth $2.39 million. He played in 12 regular season games as a fullback that fall, starting five, and had no rushing attempts but caught four passes for 15 yards. The following season, he played in seven games, starting one, had one run for two yards but fumbled, and caught five passes for 44 yards. Johnson was waived by the Browns on October 24, 2016.

Seattle Seahawks

On November 23, 2016, 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

. He was released on November 29, 2016. He was re-signed on December 20, 2016. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Seahawks on January 16, 2017. On May 11, 2017, Johnson was waived/injured by the Seahawks and placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. He was waived from injured reserve on June 19, 2017.

San Francisco 49ers

On January 2, 2018, Johnson signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Green Bay Packers

On November 28, 2018, Johnson was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Packers on December 31, 2018. On August 31, 2019, he was placed on injured reserve.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

*
Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Malcolm 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Tuscaloosa, Alabama American football fullbacks American football tight ends Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Cleveland Browns players Seattle Seahawks players San Francisco 49ers players Green Bay Packers players