Texas RB coach wouldn't be surprised if Roschon Johnson started
Texas RB coach wouldn't be surprised if Roschon Johnson started originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
In the NFL draft, the Bears capped off their stave against the big fish, free agent running backs and bolstered their room with a young rookie.
In the fourth round, the Bears drafted Roschon Johnson, the running back out of Texas who backed up Bijan Robinson. Robinson was drafted No. 8 overall by the Atlanta Falcons.
But, don't be fooled, Johnson has a high ceiling as a running back, too, according to his position coach at Texas.
"Everything that you say to this kid he's going to do," Tashard Choice told Parkins & Spiegel on 670 The Score. "It's not going to surprise me at all if he's a starting running back, if he's a dude for that team."
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Choice raved about Johnson, saying he was the leader of their running back room at Texas. He's a hard worker, constantly putting his head down in practice and grinding behind the likes of Robinson.
Robinson dominated the run game at Texas, rushing the ball 258 times his junior season for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. But Johnson quietly proved his own in the shadows, rushing the ball nearly six yards per carry on 91 attempts.
And, according to Choice, he didn't complain about his touches once. Johnson's a good soldier. He does what he's told and can be a swiss army knife in the passing game or on special teams.
"This was the craziest thing he did say not one word, never complained, not one time," Choice said about if Johnson questioned Robinson's touches. "And so that's like my biggest deal. I know running backs are going to be the alpha males. They want the ball in their hands because they want to win. Ro wants to win more than anybody. But he respected Bijan because he worked the right way."
Johnson wasn't the star at Texas. Robinson was. But he displayed enough versatility and talent at Texas to get drafted. Specifically, the Bears took Johnson with the No. 115 pick in the draft.
With 392 attempts over four years at Texas, he ran for 2,190 yards, which equates to 5.6 yards per attempt. He also added 56 catches and 420 yards in the passing game.
Johnson is coming to the Bears with a chip on his shoulder. While grateful to have been drafted by the Bears, he carries his position in the draft with him. He wants to prove he's better than where most teams had him on their draft board.
"Everything that people said he couldn't do is going to show," Choice said. "I don't know if you have seen his reaction when he got drafted, he was excited, but he had a little pissed off, too, because he believes he's better than that."
