BV’s Johnson getting noticed by NFL scouts
No matter where Dorian Johnson has played, honors have followed.
The Belle Vernon High School graduate and current Pitt offensive lineman racked up national honors during his four-year career with the Leopards.
As he nears his senior season with the Panthers, Johnson is starting to catch the attention of NFL personnel.
Recently, Chad Reuter, a draft analyst at nfl.com, listed the left guard as the 61st best player, regardless of position, in college football.
However, the 6-5, 315-pound Johnson is not thinking about the NFL and is staying focused on helping the Panthers improve upon last year’s 8-5 record.
“I have a lot of work to do,” Johnson said. “I am only focused on improving and getting ready for Villanova.”
Pitt hosts Villanova Sept. 3 in the season opener at Heinz Field.
Johnson has the opportunity to become the first Belle Vernon player taken in the NFL Draft since Bill Contz was taken in the fifth round out of Penn State by the Cleveland Browns in 1983.
Johnson’s honors are starting to resemble his massive grocery list.
Recently, Johnson was ranked the best offensive lineman in the Atlantic Coast Conference by Matt Fortuna, a college football analyst for espn.com.
In 2013, Johnson became Pitt’s first true freshman to start on the offensive line since Joe Thomas in 2006 when he started three games, including the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl. He has started all 13 of Pitt’s games each of the last two seasons, has started 27 straight games and was named to the All-ACC second team last season by both the coaches and media.
As a high school senior for the Leopards, Johnson was ranked on the Rivals 100 (No. 31) and ESPN 150 (No. 29) national prospects list and played extremely well in the Under Armor All-America game.
Ranked the second overall prospect in the state by Rivals and seventh by Scout, Johnson was selected to the Big 33 Football Classic and also owns the Belle Vernon shot-put record in track.
Johnson is taking three classes this summer and will graduate next May with a degree in administration of justice. Currently, he has a 3.0 grade-point average.
All of the football awards and honors are nice but he wants his degree and will be the first in his family to earn one.
“My family is very proud of everything I do and have always been the type to cut out the honor roll section of the newspaper,” he said. “My mom still has all of the academic awards I have earned hanging up in our living room, so I think for me to earn my degree would be huge.
“Earning achievements from playing football is a lot different than academic achievements because, while I’ve had to work very hard to be a good football player, doing well academically is a whole different story because that doesn’t come naturally for most people,
“A college degree can set you up for life,” he continued, “and I think my family knows that.”
Family is important to Johnson. Growing up, he and his three sisters – Shay, Gabrielle, and Naraha – lived with their mom, Lisa Cotton, and his grandparents, Leon and Jackie Johnson. When Johnson’s grandfather died during his freshman season at Belle Vernon, the offensive lineman says he lost a piece of himself. He plays football, in part, to honor his grandfather.
“My Pap Pap was my male role model and father figure,” Johnson said. “He taught me to work hard and to never quit.”
That hard-working attitude in the classroom and football field have set up Johnson for what could be a memorable senior year with the Panthers, who are coming off a runner-up finish in the ACC’s Coastal Division and trip to the Military Bowl in the first season under head coach Pat Narduzzi.
What would Pap Pap think of his grandson these days?
“I hope he is proud,” Johnson said. “I think he is.”