Devon “Rockhead” Johnson rose from humble beginnings in McDowell County, West Virginia, to become one of the Herd’s most promising running backs in years.
By Keith Morehouse
HQ 90 | SUMMER 2015
West Virginia’s McDowell County is a Mountain State paradox. In places, it can be breathtakingly beautiful. In other spots, there are stark, depressing remnants of a coal boom gone bust. At one time it was the largest coal-producing county in the United States. One of the local high schools proudly sported the nickname “The Millionaires” because – as the story goes – Bramwell was said to have more millionaires per capita than any town in America. But from 1950-2000, when machines began replacing men, the county lost one third of its population. Today, abject poverty is not hard to find. The hillsides are steep, and so are the odds of making a better life beyond the mountains.
It’s not impossible. The famous exploits of Homer Hickam and the Rocket Boys are immortalized not only in cinematic fame in October Sky, but also back in Coalwood in McDowell County – tangible proof that you can aim high.
“No matter where you are you can still dream big.”
That’s not a line from the movie – that’s Marshall running back Devon Johnson talking. He grew up in Big Creek, not far from where Homer Hickam perfected those liftoffs. It’s where his father, Albert, helped Devon launch his football career.
“Dad would take me out in the yard,” Johnson says, “and he’d throw the ball to me and hand the ball off to me and he would say, ‘Son, you’re going to be a running back.’”
Albert Johnson was a football player himself and the bedrock of the Johnson family. The former policeman was a lifelong resident of McDowell County. He thought it might be difficult for his son to be seen, that maybe he’d be hidden in the shadows of those remote West Virginia hills. So, after a stellar freshman season for Johnson at Big Creek, Albert decided it was time for the family to hit the road and look for a better opportunity.
“My dad wanted to give me a choice he didn’t have – to go somewhere else and get an education and try to get a scholarship so I could go on to get a degree. Without him doing that I wouldn’t be here today,” Johnson says.
The next stop would be across the Virginia state line to Richlands High School, about a 45-minute drive from Bluefield. Head coach Greg Mance still marvels at how Johnson ended up in his lap. Great football players don’t fall out of the sky, do they?
“His dad told me, ‘I want to move him over to Richlands High,” Mance recalls. “He said, ‘I want my son to play on Saturdays. I think this is the place.’”
Johnson enjoyed a spectacular career for the Blue Tornado. He was like a locomotive at running back and a wrecking ball at linebacker. Johnson hit so hard, Coach Mance had to rein him in by telling him not to play so hard. That’s fact, not folklore.
“He about killed two kids in practice,” Mance says. “He was just so big and physical and you don’t see high school kids with his size and speed. Like we say around here, ‘God put an extra sprinkle on Devon.’”
Mance actually had to tell Johnson to sit out a few plays.
“Coach had to remind me, ‘Some of these kids don’t have the ability you have,’” Johnson says. “I blitzed one time and I really hurt the quarterback. I had to relax the rest of the season after that.”
Albert Johnson never saw Devon finish his high school career. He passed away at the age of 55. Devon would live with his older brother Adrian and his sister-in-law Francis. His family was always his backstop. They helped him set his dream in motion. It was up to Devon to do the rest.
“When I wake up he’s the first thing on my mind,” Johnson says of his father. “When I go to bed he’s the last thing on my mind. He was my best friend. You have to keep going for your family.”
Johnson’s numbers on both sides of the ball were impressive coming out of Richlands, but still he wasn’t heavily recruited. He had offers from Virginia and Marshall. He committed to the Herd early in 2011. By all accounts, Doc Holliday had him pegged as a linebacker, even though he ran for 1,326 yards and 23 touchdowns his senior season.
“He was a good running back in high school,” Holliday says. “But I don’t get too caught up in who starts where. I look for guys who are tough and have big hearts. If they’ve got that they’re going to help you win. He just has that attitude that he wants what’s best for the team.”
Some players wouldn’t take too kindly to being in a different position room each of his first three years in college. But Johnson is a player who understands and appreciates that nothing is promised on the field or off of it.
“At Marshall I’ve played linebacker, fullback, tight end and running back,” Johnson explains. “People are like, ‘Wow, how could you do that? I wouldn’t keep changing positions like that.’ I say ‘It’s not about me, it’s about the team.’ Whatever I can do to get on the field to help my team win, I’ll do it. If it’s a kicker, punter, long snapper, tight end, fullback, quarterback – if they want me to do it I’ll do it.”
For Doc Holliday and his staff to move Johnson from tight end to running back was more a necessity than a luxury. Last season Eric Frohnapfel and Ryan Yurachek had the tight end position covered. Besides, Holliday was looking for someone to audition to be quarterback Rakeem Cato’s bodyguard – someone who could make sure Cato was well protected. The 6-foot-1, 243-pound Johnson was the natural choice. It was Marshall’s smartest move in the backfield since Ahmad Bradshaw came to the program as a defensive back and ended up an NFL draft pick at running back.
“I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I told you I could have predicted the kind of year he’d have at running back,” Holliday says.
Nicknamed “Rockhead” for his powerful and bruising running style, Johnson put together a season for the ages in 2014. He rushed for 1,767 yards (sixth nationally) and 17 touchdowns. He averaged 135.9 yards per game (fifth nationally). His 8.6 yards per carry led the nation. He broke Marshall’s record for most rushing yards in a game when he did his best Earl Campbell impersonation against Florida Atlantic and rushed for 272 yards, with touchdown runs of 58, 62 and 66 yards. All this from a guy who hadn’t played running back since high school.
Johnson is poised for a superb senior season. An early scouting report from NFL.com:
“It’s not tough to see why ‘Rockhead’ earned that moniker – no one wants to get in his way. If he can prove as quick and agile as 2014 second round, big backs Carlos Hyde and Jeremy Hill, who both had success as rookies, then teams looking for a power back could take the leap.”
But Johnson doesn’t buy into hype. That would belie his West Virginia roots.
“I’m gonna play this year out, and hopefully the good Lord blesses me with another great year,” Johnson says. “And if he blesses me to go on to the NFL I will. If not, I’m going to go on and find my career and live my life.”
Humility runs deep in those West Virginia hills.
