Larry Johnson (running back)
Larry Johnson, Jr. (born November 19, 1979 in State College, Pennsylvania) is an American football running back who currently plays for the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL. He is the son of Larry Johnson, Sr., who is the defensive line coach at Penn State University. Johnson's brother Tony Johnson, was a starting wide receiver for Penn State. Larry Johnson, Jr. was the second running back taken in the 2003 NFL draft, coming out of Penn State University. He was originally taken as insurance for the team, who wasn't sure if Priest Holmes would be healthy, or that he would sign a contract extension. He was taken over the objection of coach Dick Vermeil, who wanted to take a defensive player.
The conflicts between Johnson and Vermeil grew, and in 2004 Vermeil said that Johnson needed to grow up and "take the diapers off". Johnson took great offense to this comment, and the public estrangement led to rumors that he would be traded. However, towards the end of the 2004 year season, Johnson got an opportunity to start after the injuries to Holmes and Derrick Blaylock. He became the first player to begin his career rushing for 150 yards in each of his first three games. He would probably start for most NFL teams, but has the misfortune of playing behind one of the NFL's best running backs.
Facing the same situation in 2005, with Blaylock gone and when Holmes went down with a season-ending concussion in early November, Johnson stepped up, and on November 20 against the Houston Texans ran for a Chiefs' record 211 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He is leading the league in rushing yards and touchdowns since the injury to Holmes.
High School career
Like most players who eventually go on to the NFL, Johnson looked like a man playing against boys in high school. At State College Area High School in State College, Pennsylvania, he rushed for 2,159 yards. As a defensive end for the Little Lions, he recorded seven sacks and 31.0 tackles.
Penn State career
In 2002, Larry Johnson, Jr. rushed for over 2,000 yards in a season without winning the Heisman Trophy, despite doing so with fewer carries than any other running back in the exclusive 2,000 yard club. Johnson's 8.02 yards per carry broke 1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier's NCAA record for highest average per carry over the course of the regular season. Remarkably, Johnson broke the Penn State record for rushing yards in a game three times in 2002. His 257 yards in a 49-0 home thrashing of Northwestern broke Curt Warner's previous record of 256 yards set against Syracuse in 1981. Johnson then went on to rack up 279 yards in an 18-7 home win against Illinois and 327 yards in a 58-25 road win against Indiana. Johnson surpassed the 2,000 mark by gaining 279 yards on just 19 attempts in the Nittany Lions' final Big Ten conference game against Michigan State. Fans in attendance at Beaver Stadium that day were mesmerized as Johnson gained all 279 of his rushing yards in the first half; he was kept on the bench for the entire second half of the game out of respect for the overmatched opponent.
Penn State fans were outraged when Johnson did not win the 2002 Heisman Trophy, leading many of them to believe that the snubbing of the undefeated 1994 team in the national championship balloting and Larry Johnson, Jr. in 2002 evidenced a media-bias against Penn State. Others believe that Penn State's failure to hype and promote Larry Johnson, Jr.'s Heisman campaign in 2002 had more to do with his failure to take home the Heisman Trophy than any media bias against Penn State. Penn State coach Joe Paterno emphasises the team over individual players and does not allow Penn State to engage in Heisman Trophy marketing campaigns for his players.
Johnson, however, did win the Doak Walker Award (top running back), the Maxwell Award (top college player), and Walter Camp Award (top college player) after his impressive 2002 season. LARRY JOHNSON IS THE MAN