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Senior Appreciation: http://4te.ch/seniors2014
Mr. Johnson of Tyrone, GA was rated as a 3* safety and recruited by Giff Smith and Buzz Preston out of Sandy Creek HS (AKA Megatron's HS). He was highly touted coming out of HS as he earned all-state, all-region, and all county honors as a safety in 2009 and was rated 9th in the AJC's "Fab 50" list. Johnson chose Tech over a slew of scholarship offers, including from: Duke; UGA; Miami (FL); Ole Miss; South Carolina; and Stanford.
Clearly Johnson knew what he wanted in coming to Tech as he was considered an "ambassador" of his recruiting class and valued the education he would receive at Tech. This latter attribute is evidenced by his having made both Tech's Dean's List as well as the ACC Academic Honor Roll. He served on the GT Student-Athlete Advisory Board in 2012-13 and earned a bachelor's degree in Management as well as spending his senior year studying in Tech's graduate program for Building Construction. He is also known for his community service such as volunteering in homeless shelters and going back to his middle school to mentor the kids (see picture below).
As a true freshmen in 2010 Johnson played in all 13 games and started three. He earned Honorable Mention Freshmen All-American (Football News) and Fifth Team Freshmen All-American (Football News) for a stat line of 46 fumbles, including 28 solo tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries, one interception, one forced fumble and one pass break-up. In 2011 Isaiah was Tech's 2nd leading tackler with 78 (48 solo) while starting all 13 games and snagging 3 interceptions, including a pick-6 against NC State on Oct. 1st. 2012 saw more of the same as Johnson led the team with 87 tackles (53 solo) and a pick-6 against BYU on Oct. 27th.
After the 2012 season while preparing for the bowl game is when Isaiah's story becomes a familiar one after we reviewed the careers of his classmates Perkins and Bostic. Johnson tore his ACL plus two other knee ligaments and although he could have been medically cleared to play near the end of the 2013 season he was still not fully confident in his knee and decided to take his red-shirt year. The recovery was difficult, as he shared his experience with the Macon Telegraph's Stan Awtrey, but he did not sit around soaking in the sun on the sidelines but remained a focused and team player:
“I had to pump myself up like I was going to play,” Johnson said. “I had to stay focused on the game. The coaches told me to look at the safeties and let them know how they could improve. I wasn’t at the game as an audience member or a fan. I was there helping my team out, helping the defense get better. I was relaying the messages that needed to be said.”
Coming back and getting up to game speed still took some time in his senior campaign, yet despite some inconsistencies he still was able to have a triumphant finish to his Tech career. He earned his second career ACC Defensive Back of the Week award on Oct. 27th for his game against Pitt where he tied a career high with 14 tackles and added in a forced fumble plus a 7 yard fumble recovery. At the end of his senior campaign he was recognized by his teammates with his second Team Defensive Effort Award, proving that he knew the value of hard work, much like an earlier alumnus from Sandy Creek who also had NFL Scout's attention from the time he set foot on the Tech campus.
Isaiah Johnson leaves Tech now but occupies a spot in the program's record books as, just like on the jersey he wore, he is now ranked # One in career tackles by a defensive back with 275.
Career Highs:
Tackles: 14, twice, at Pitt, Oct. 25, 2014, at Clemson, Oct. 6, 2012
TFL: 2.0 vs. Virginia, Sept. 15, 2012; at Clemson, Oct. 6, 2012, at Georgia, Nov. 29, 2014
Sacks: 1.0, three times
FC: 1 vs. South Carolina State, Sept. 4, 2010; 1 vs. Boston College, Oct. 20, 2012
FR: 1, seven times, last at Georgia, Nov. 29, 2014
FF: 1, four times, last at Georgia, Nov. 29, 2014
Interceptions: 1, six times, last vs. Miami, Oct. 4, 2014
Interception Return: 34 at NC State, Oct. 1, 2011
PB: 2, at North Carolina, Oct. 18, 2014
Mr. Johnson of Tyrone, GA was rated as a 3* safety and recruited by Giff Smith and Buzz Preston out of Sandy Creek HS (AKA Megatron's HS). He was highly touted coming out of HS as he earned all-state, all-region, and all county honors as a safety in 2009 and was rated 9th in the AJC's "Fab 50" list. Johnson chose Tech over a slew of scholarship offers, including from: Duke; UGA; Miami (FL); Ole Miss; South Carolina; and Stanford.
Clearly Johnson knew what he wanted in coming to Tech as he was considered an "ambassador" of his recruiting class and valued the education he would receive at Tech. This latter attribute is evidenced by his having made both Tech's Dean's List as well as the ACC Academic Honor Roll. He served on the GT Student-Athlete Advisory Board in 2012-13 and earned a bachelor's degree in Management as well as spending his senior year studying in Tech's graduate program for Building Construction. He is also known for his community service such as volunteering in homeless shelters and going back to his middle school to mentor the kids (see picture below).
As a true freshmen in 2010 Johnson played in all 13 games and started three. He earned Honorable Mention Freshmen All-American (Football News) and Fifth Team Freshmen All-American (Football News) for a stat line of 46 fumbles, including 28 solo tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries, one interception, one forced fumble and one pass break-up. In 2011 Isaiah was Tech's 2nd leading tackler with 78 (48 solo) while starting all 13 games and snagging 3 interceptions, including a pick-6 against NC State on Oct. 1st. 2012 saw more of the same as Johnson led the team with 87 tackles (53 solo) and a pick-6 against BYU on Oct. 27th.
After the 2012 season while preparing for the bowl game is when Isaiah's story becomes a familiar one after we reviewed the careers of his classmates Perkins and Bostic. Johnson tore his ACL plus two other knee ligaments and although he could have been medically cleared to play near the end of the 2013 season he was still not fully confident in his knee and decided to take his red-shirt year. The recovery was difficult, as he shared his experience with the Macon Telegraph's Stan Awtrey, but he did not sit around soaking in the sun on the sidelines but remained a focused and team player:
“I had to pump myself up like I was going to play,” Johnson said. “I had to stay focused on the game. The coaches told me to look at the safeties and let them know how they could improve. I wasn’t at the game as an audience member or a fan. I was there helping my team out, helping the defense get better. I was relaying the messages that needed to be said.”
Coming back and getting up to game speed still took some time in his senior campaign, yet despite some inconsistencies he still was able to have a triumphant finish to his Tech career. He earned his second career ACC Defensive Back of the Week award on Oct. 27th for his game against Pitt where he tied a career high with 14 tackles and added in a forced fumble plus a 7 yard fumble recovery. At the end of his senior campaign he was recognized by his teammates with his second Team Defensive Effort Award, proving that he knew the value of hard work, much like an earlier alumnus from Sandy Creek who also had NFL Scout's attention from the time he set foot on the Tech campus.
Isaiah Johnson leaves Tech now but occupies a spot in the program's record books as, just like on the jersey he wore, he is now ranked # One in career tackles by a defensive back with 275.
Career Highs:
Tackles: 14, twice, at Pitt, Oct. 25, 2014, at Clemson, Oct. 6, 2012
TFL: 2.0 vs. Virginia, Sept. 15, 2012; at Clemson, Oct. 6, 2012, at Georgia, Nov. 29, 2014
Sacks: 1.0, three times
FC: 1 vs. South Carolina State, Sept. 4, 2010; 1 vs. Boston College, Oct. 20, 2012
FR: 1, seven times, last at Georgia, Nov. 29, 2014
FF: 1, four times, last at Georgia, Nov. 29, 2014
Interceptions: 1, six times, last vs. Miami, Oct. 4, 2014
Interception Return: 34 at NC State, Oct. 1, 2011
PB: 2, at North Carolina, Oct. 18, 2014
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