NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 64 - Frank Johnson, Rockford

The 64th player on our list made a lasting impression in southern sports - in basketball.

Frank Johnson was a three-year starter in basketball for Rockford (1926-1927, 1927-1928, 1928-1929) and was the Big Seven's leading scorer his junior and senior years. This was back in the day where 25-20 was a high-scoring game so Johnson's 503 points in 61 games was impressive.

In football, Johnson was a two-year starter at halfback, scoring four touchdowns rushing and one receiving for teams that combined to go 11-6-2. He was second team All-Big 7 as a senior.

Johnson didn't land any college offers - or at least didn't accept any - until former Rockford Rab Rex Enright was named head basketball coach at the University of Georgia. Needing players fast, Enright convinced Johnson to enroll.

Again, Johnson was a big star for Enright's basketball team. He started every game from 1933 through 1936, leading the Bulldogs in scoring every year. He was third in the SEC in scoring in 1934-1935 and second in 1935-1936. The Associated Press named him first-team All-SEC as a junior and second team as a senior. He ended up with 550 career points in 56 games.

In football, Johnson was almost as effective. Having outgrown the halfback position, Georgia moved him to offensive and defensive guard. He took over as starter midway through his sophomore year. In 1935, he was first team All-SEC. The Bulldogs were 21-9 in his three varsity seasons.

Johnson was 25 when he graduated and Enright kept him on staff as an assistant coach. When Enright left to be South Carolina's basketball coach, Enright took over the hoops program. He went 8-5 and parlayed that into the head coaching job at the University of Mississippi. He went 10-16 there before Enright hired him to coach South Carolina's basketball program. He kept that job until 1957-1958, going 169-172. He remains the second-winningest basketball coach in South Carolina history.

No. 64 - Frank Johnson, Rockford
Year	Level	School	Accomplishments	Points
1927	High School	Rockford	Winning Team	1
1928	High School	Rockford	Second Team All-Conference	1
			Winning Team	1
1932	College	Georgia	Played on Power 5 Freshman Team	2
1933	College	Georgia	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
1934	College	Georgia	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Team	1
1935	College	Georgia	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			All-Conference	1
			Winning Team	1
Total				24

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players