Roderick L. "Toby" Johnson Jr. (born September 1, 1991) 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who is the assistant head coach for the Massachusetts Pirates of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL). 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

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

after two years at

Hutchinson Community College Hutchinson Community College (HutchCC or HCC) is a Public college, public community college in Hutchinson, Kansas. It serves nearly 5,000 credit students every semester. History The college was established in the spring of 1928 as Hutchinson Ju ...

and was signed by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after 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 ...

Early life

Johnson attended Banneker High School in suburban

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 ...

, where he played football, basketball and competed in track and field. Listed at 6'3", 240 lbs, he earned All-State honors as a

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 All-Region recognition as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

as a senior in 2010.

College career

Hutchinson Community College

Johnson attended

from 2011 to 2012, where he was teammates with

Cordarrelle Patterson Cordarrelle Patterson ( ; born March 17, 1991), nicknamed "Flash", is an American professional American football, football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). As a versatile utility player, he is also ...

in his freshman year. Entering the 2012 season as the No. 1 overall junior college recruit in the nation, Johnson normally drew double teams and still put together a solid season despite missing the final two and a half games due to injuries. Johnson had a career-high seven total tackles against Dodge City on September 15. He had six tackles each against Air Force Prep and Independence. He recorded 37 total tackles (12 solo) with 6.5 of them for loss and three quarterback sacks. He also had four passes defensed. After the Blue Dragons won the Salt City Bowl, Johnson earned All-America honors along with three more Hutchinson teammates. During his time at Hutchinson, Johnson posted 87 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss and five quarterback sacks. He also had nine passes broken up, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.

Georgia

On February 19, 2013, Johnson, who was rated a four-star recruit at defensive tackle and had narrowed his choices of more than 35 schools to Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi State and Oklahoma, signed a national letter of intent to play for the

, becoming the first Blue Dragon to sign with Georgia in 17 years and Georgia's 33rd commitment of the 2013 class. He made the announcement at a news conference in the Humiston Athletic Center at the Sports Arena in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

. In 2013, Johnson appeared in only 10 games in a backup role for the Bulldogs due to a knee injury he suffered during his second season at Hutchinson and that was still affecting him when he arrived in Athens. On the season, he was credited with just seven tackles. The following season, he played in 13 games making four starts and recorded 27 total tackles, with five tackles for loss. On September 13, Johnson made his first career start at No. 24

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. He had his first career sack against

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in Week 3. Against No. 9 Auburn, he registered a career-high six tackles. Johnson was recipient of the David Jacobs Football Scholarship award for the second-straight season.

Professional career

At Georgia's pro day, Johnson ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 5.23 seconds with the wind and 4.84 seconds against the wind. He had a 26 1/2-inch

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

and an 8-foot-8 broad jump, completed the

20-yard shuttle The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

in 4.65 seconds and the

three-cone drill The three-cone drill, 3-cone drill or L-drill is a test performed by American football players. It is primarily run to evaluate the agility, quickness and fluidity of movement of players by scouts. It is most commonly seen at the NFL Combine in p ...

in 7.87 seconds and performed 25 strength lifts.

Tennessee Titans

Johnson was signed by the

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

on May 11, 2015 to their practice squad. He was later released by Tennessee after preseason cuts.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 7, 2015, Johnson was signed to the Jaguars' practice squad but was released on September 15, 2015.

Chicago Bears

The

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

signed Johnson to their practice squad on December 16, 2015. He was released on December 22.

Minnesota Vikings

The

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

signed Johnson to their practice squad on January 6, 2016. In Minnesota’s fourth preseason game against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, Johnson made a diving interception that helped in the Vikings win. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Vikings as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. On December 12, the Vikings promoted Johnson to the active roster after placing defensive tackle

Sharrif Floyd Sharrif Kalil Floyd (born May 28, 1991) is an American professional football coach and former defensive tackle who is the assistant defensive line coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footb ...

on injured reserve. On December 17, 2016, the Vikings waived Johnson but was re-signed on December 20. On May 17, 2017, Johnson was released by the Vikings.

Carolina Panthers

On May 18, 2017, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

. He was waived on September 2, 2017.

Detroit Lions

On December 30, 2017, Johnson was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Lions on January 1, 2018. On August 29, 2018, Johnson was waived/injured by the Lions and was placed on injured reserve. He was released a few days later.

Massachusetts Pirates (first stint)

Johnson signed with the Massachusetts Pirates of the

National Arena League The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams. A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...

for the 2019 season. He appeared in 9 games for the Pirates and recorded 7 sacks.

New York Guardians

In October 2019, the

New York Guardians New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

drafted Johnson in the 2020 XFL Draft's open phases. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Massachusetts Pirates (second stint)

In April 2021, the Massachusetts Pirates (now affiliated with the

) announced that they had re-signed Johnson for their 2021 season.

New Jersey Generals

Johnson was selected in the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL draft, also known as the 2022 USFL player selection meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released thro ...

by the

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

in round 25 as the 5th pick as a defensive tackle. He re-signed with the Generals on October 13, 2023. The Generals folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

Houston Roughnecks

On January 5, 2024, Johnson was selected by the Houston Roughnecks during the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

. He signed with the team on March 6. He was placed on Injured reserve on May 22. He was waived on August 19, 2024.

Career statistics

References

External links

Georgia Bulldogs football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Toby 1991 births Living people People from Moorhead, Mississippi American football defensive tackles Georgia Bulldogs football players Tennessee Titans players Jacksonville Jaguars players Chicago Bears players Minnesota Vikings players Carolina Panthers players Detroit Lions players New York Guardians players New Jersey Generals (2022) players Houston Roughnecks (2024) players