San Diego Chargers linebacker Jarrett Johnson, is not a name that is mentioned much in the NFL media. His statistical numbers are not at the top of the charts and you won’t find many of his plays on Sports Centers “Top 10 of the week.”
Johnson has never been an advocator to the spotlight. The cameras, press headlines and highlight reels are not important. Instead he carries a much bigger value to the gridiron, a contribution to his team that sometimes goes unnoticed to people outside of the Chargers organization.
Personifying what it means to be a leader, Johnson carries his message both on and off the field. “He’s a hard worker” said Chargers inside linebacker Donald Butler. “He leads not only in the weight room, but also the meeting room and also on the field. So you couldn’t ask for any more out of him.”(Henne)
Leadership is a quality that has been entrenched in Johnson’s football career since childhood. Coming from a family of commercial crabbers and fishermen, Johnson was the first male on his father’s side to not make a living on the water.
Born in Homestead Florida, Johnson grew up in a small town with very little social activity, school and church were the cornerstones to his life as a child. In 1989, a week before Johnson’s 8th birthday, his father Ludwig Johnson, went out to fish for crabs at sea never returned…
“He’d go out, way offshore, and stay overnight sometimes. We lost contact with him. They found the boat, but they never found him.” (Murray)
The death took a tremendous emotional toll on Johnson. His mother Aida, was forced to return to a full time job and go back to nursing school in order to support Johnson and his sister. Perry Rogers, one of Johnson’s father’s closest friends, came down from his work on the Alaskan oil rigs when he received the news to lend support Johnson and his family.
Rogers immediately filled the void of the father figure that Johnson was missing. “He basically raised me; I never met him before,” Johnson said. (Murray) In the wake of his father’s death, Johnson made the choice to not lead a life at sea and his mother moved the family to Chiefland, when Johnson decided that he wanted to play football.
It was the beginning of a journey that would take Johnson to University of Alabama where he became the only two-time team captain in the prestigious history of The Crimson Tide. Johnson was drafted to the NFL in 2003 where he converted from nose tackle to an outside linebacker for The Baltimore Ravens. Johnson capped off an eight year career in Baltimore playing in 129 straight games, including 80 consecutive starts.
Even now, entering his 12th season in the league, 3rd with The Chargers, Johnson’s love for the game has not diminished. Words like dedication, hard work, toughness, passion, energy, have defined Johnson’s character as a child and throughout his career.
Johnson’s tutelage and guidance resonate in the locker room, his value to the team comes from his battle tested experience. Johnson’s leadership qualities cannot be overlooked and his knowledge carries a presence that has Chargers players both veteran and rookie reaping the benefits.
“You can tell them all you want but they have to do it on their own,” he said. “I’ll teach the technique stuff, but as far as the mental stuff you’ll have to learn on your own because there is no way to learn it except to experience it. The physicality and how intense it is.” (Henne)
