Our 44th ranked player was the greatest Boylan player of the 1980s, who helped power his teams in high school and college to winning records every year he stepped on the field.
Paul Johnson was a two-time all-conference fullback for the Titans in 1985 and 1986. Boylan went 14-6 with Johnson leading the charge. In 1985, he was second in the NIC-10 in rushing to East's John Brown with 1,004 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns in 10 games. In 1986, he won the rushing title with 1,346 yards and 16 TDs in 10 games, beating out Brown by nine yards despite the fact that Brown played two more playoff games.
The monster senior season earned Johnson an All-State nod from the Champaign News-Gazette and a scholarship to Western Michigan.
The Broncos decided to use the hard-hitting Johnson on defense. After redshirting him his first year, Western Michigan plugged him in at defensive end where he was a three-year starter in 1988, 1990 and 1991. Johnson missed the 1989 season because of an off-the-field incident.
Over those three seasons, Johnson was in on 172 tackles, 19 of those for losses, including nine sacks. Only five NIC-10 players have recorded more tackles for loss in NCAA Division 1 football history. He also recovered five fumbles, three of those against Northern Illinois University in one game.
This was a good era for Western Michigan football. The 1988 team went 9-3 and played in the California Bowl. The 1990 and 1991 teams combined to go 13-9. So in Johnson's five seasons of varsity football in high school and college, his teams were 36-18.
| No. 44 - Paul Johnson, Boylan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Level | School | Accomplishments | Points |
| 1985 | High School | Boylan | First Team All-Conference | 2 |
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| 1986 | High School | Boylan | First Team All-Conference | 2 |
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| League Leader | 1 | |||
| All-State | 1 | |||
| 1988 | College | Western Michigan | Letter Winner in NCAA Div. 1A | 3.5 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| Bowl Game | 1 | |||
| 1990 | College | Western Michigan | Letter Winner in NCAA Div. 1A | 3.5 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| 1991 | College | Western Michigan | Letter Winner in NCAA Div. 1A | 3.5 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Second Team All-MAC | 1 | |||
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| Total | 26.5 | |||
No comments:
Post a Comment