Early life

Riall grew up in

Lynnwood, Washington Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, Washington, Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 in Washington, ...

, where he attended Mariner High School. At Mariner he was considered one of the top football prospects in the USA.

College career

He attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. In his junior year at Stanford he tied for the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

lead in sacks with 13. In his senior year he not only led the Pac-10, but he also tied for the most sacks in the nation with future

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

star

Julius Peppers Julius Frazier Peppers (born January 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he ...

. And he became the first player ever to lead the Pac-10 in sacks in back to back years.

Professional career

Despite all his success in college, he was selected in the sixth round of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He played 3 years for the Bengals. He appeared in 32 games and made a total of 30 tackles most of which were on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. After spending the

2008 CFL season The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 51st season for the Canadian Football League. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey C ...

with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

, Johnson was traded to the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

for linebacker

Zeke Moreno Ezekiel Aaron Moreno (born October 8, 1978) is an American former professional gridiron football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Early life Moreno, who is of Mexica ...

on February 19, 2009. He was traded to the Montreal Alouettes in September 2009.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

He is the brother of Teyo Johnson, a former

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 ...

of the CFL's

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Riall 1978 births Living people American football linebackers Black Canadian players of Canadian football Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian players of American football Players of Canadian football from British Columbia Canadian emigrants to the United States Cincinnati Bengals players Stanford Cardinal football players Toronto Argonauts players Sportspeople from White Rock, British Columbia Canadian football defensive linemen Players of American football from Snohomish County, Washington Players of Canadian football from Washington (state) Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Montreal Alouettes players Amsterdam Admirals players People from Lynnwood, Washington