William Christopher Johnson (born November 14, 1988) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

who is the running backs coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). After graduating from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

in 2011, Johnson sat out an entire year prior to being granted permission to participate in West Virginia’s 2012 Pro Day. He was signed by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

as an undrafted free agent in March 2012 after his second consecutive Pro Day appearance. He was also a member of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Early years

Johnson is a 2007 graduate of Centerville High School in Ohio. He was a two-year starter at running back for the Elks, earning a team record of 20-1 his junior and senior season under head coach, Ron Ullery. Johnson’s honors include receiving the 2007 Sonny Unger Award, 1st Team All Conference, Honorable Mention All State and being named to the 2007 Big 33 team.

College career

In 2007, Johnson committed to West Virginia University after being highly recruited by

Rich Rodriguez Richard Alan Rodriguez (; born May 24, 1963), also known as Rich Rod, is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at West Virginia Mountaineers football, West Virginia University, his second sti ...

, then, head coach of the Mountaineers. Prior to committing, Johnson received several full-scholarship offers from Michigan State, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Ohio University, Marshall and Eastern Michigan. While at WVU, Johnson transitioned from wide receiver to halfback. He received many honors, including Offensive Champion, “Ideal Mountaineer”, as well as being voted Senior Team Captain. His college career concluded with the

2010 Champs Sports Bowl The 2010 Champs Sports Bowl was a college football bowl game that was played on December 28, 2010. The game matched up the West Virginia Mountaineers from the Big East Conference versus the NC State Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Co ...

Professional career

Will Johnson American Football 46 entering field 2013

Pittsburgh Steelers

Johnson was not invited to attend the NFL Combine and ultimately went undrafted. In the following year, Johnson worked while continuing to train for an opportunity to play in the NFL. Johnson caught the attention of

head coach

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...

and general manager Kevin Colbert at the 2012 WVU Pro Day workout. He was signed by the Steelers. After being named to the 2012 mid-season all-rookie team, he scored his first NFL career touchdown in a 27-12 win over the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

New York Giants

Johnson signed with the

on April 4, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was 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 ...

. On March 10, 2017, Johnson was released by the Giants.

Coaching career

In 2022 Johnson became the running backs coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bio

West Virginia Mountaineers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Will 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio American football fullbacks West Virginia Mountaineers football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Giants players Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) coaches