Shaquille Johnson (born May 2, 1993) is a Canadian 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 ...

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 ...

. He has played for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

and

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

University and junior football

Johnson began his university football career with the

McGill Redmen The McGill Redbirds (formerly the McGill Redmen) and McGill Martlets are the varsity athletic teams that represent McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History In 1868, the first recorded game of rugby in North America occurred in M ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and was awarded the

Peter Gorman Trophy The Peter Gorman Trophy is awarded to the Rookie of the Year in U Sports Football. The Trophy acknowledges the great contribution Peter Gorman has made to the development of Canadian University Football. As founder of the Canadian College Bowl, his ...

as the rookie of the year. He sat out for a year to help his mother, who was raising three other children on her own, during which time he played for the GTA Grizzlies of the

Canadian Junior Football League The Canadian Junior Football League (CJFL) is a national Canadian football league consisting of 19 teams playing in five provinces across Canada. The teams compete annually for the Canadian Bowl. Many CJFL players move on to professional footbal ...

(CJFL). He then went on to play for the

Western Mustangs The Western Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent University of Western Ontario, Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. The school's athletic program supports 46 Varsity team, varsity teams. Their mascot is a Mustang named J.W. a ...

of the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

and the London Beefeaters of the CJFL. Johnson, who started playing competitive football in grade 10, credits a football camp at the University of Pittsburgh in his senior year of high school with helping him to realize he had the skills to succeed in the sport.

Professional career

BC Lions

Johnson ran a 4.39 time at the 40-yard dash at a regional

CFL combine The CFL Combine (formerly known as the Evaluation Camp or E-Camp) is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities and Canadians in the NCAA are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League ( ...

before being drafted by the

in the fourth round of the 2016 CFL Draft. He spent most of the 2016 season, on the

practice roster 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 ...

before playing in two games with no receptions. Through 15 games in the 2017 season, Johnson had 27 catches with 501 yards and two touchdowns, placing him third on the team in receiving yardage. On January 21, 2021, Johnson signed an extension with the Lions. He played in all 14 regular season games in 2021 where he had 30 catches for 295 yards. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 8, 2022.

Ottawa Redblacks

On February 9, 2022, it was announced that Johnson had signed with the

. On February 14, 2023, Johnson became a free agent.

Personal life

Johnson's brother, Hakeem Johnson, also plays professional football, but as a

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 ...

. The two brothers played together for the Lions from 2019 to 2021 and were the fifth set of brothers to play for the Lions, but the first to play on opposite sides of the ball.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Shaq 1993 births Living people Players of Canadian football from Brampton Canadian football wide receivers BC Lions players Ottawa Redblacks players Canadian Junior Football League players McGill Redbirds football players Western Mustangs football players