Millions of people have watched the Netflix series “Last Chance U”. The first two seasons of the show chronicled the journey of former major college recruits to tiny Scooba Mississippi to play for East Mississippi Community College. EMCC is a landing spot for players that need a literal last chance to revive their college careers. Academic issues, personality conflicts and trouble with the law are just a few of the reasons that players, sometimes from Power 5 schools, end up playing at EMCC and other junior colleges. The individual stories highlighted on the show are compelling, tragic and often frustrating. One such story is that of DeAndre Johnson.
Jacksonville native DeAndre Johnson signed to play for Florida State out of high school. In 2014, he was “Mr. Football” as a high school senior, quite an honor in a state rich with talent. Johnson enrolled at FSU in January of 2015. Before the season began in August, Johnson was dismissed from the team. This video tells the story. Video may be disturbing:
FSU Head Coach at the time, Jimbo Fisher, kicked Johnson off the team within hours of the video becoming public. In an instant, Johnson’s career was over. Or so it would seem. After reaching a plea agreement, Johnson was forced to leave FSU. He decided to accept an offer to join Coach Buddy Stephens at EMCC. For the 2015 season, Johnson did not play football for the Lions.
The 2016 season saw Johnson pass for over 2600 yards with 26 touchdowns for EMCC. After the season, offers from Division One schools weren’t coming. Disappointed, Johnson ended up accepting an offer from FAU (Florida Atlantic). His fight for redemption was far from over. Early in his first season with the Owls (2017), blood clots were discovered in Johnson’s arm. Surgery was performed and his season was over. Last year (2018), Johnson played sparingly, tallying three total touchdowns.
Texas Southern is the fourth stop on DeAndre Johnson’s college football journey. Through his first two games Johnson has posted impressive numbers, completing 63% of his passes for 590 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Though the Tigers are 0-2, Louisiana’s defense is up for a big challenge today.
