Texas' Roschon Johnson drafted by Chicago Bears in Round 4 of 2023 NFL Draft

On Saturday, Texas senior Roschon Johnson was selected by Chicago Bears in the 4th round of the NFL draft. He was the 115th overall pick.

Now, if you had told someone a few years ago that Johnson was going to be drafted by Chicago, they may have assumed he'd be the answer the Bears had long been searching for at quarterback. Johnson, after all, was a four-star prospect at that position when the Port Neches-Groves product signed with UT's 2019 recruiting class.

But the NFL draft was just the next chapter in Johnson's story as a running back. The 6-foot, 219-pound Johnson switched positions shortly after arriving on campus and became a valuable contributor at the position. He is the eighth running back selected in this year's draft.

"It’s a special moment to see myself in this position," Johnson said in a statement released by Texas. "With all the coaching, and people I’ve gotten to learn from, I feel like I’m more than prepared to go in and make an impact immediately. My time there really helped me grow as a person, in all aspects of my character. I’m going to bring that with me whether it’s on the field or off the field, I’m going to take that with me as I go to Chicago."

Over his four years at Texas, Johnson rushed 392 times for 2,190 yards. That ranks 18th in school history. Used as both a Wildcat quarterback and a traditional runner, Johnson produced five 100-yard games in his UT career. He also caught 56 passes and scored 26 offensive touchdowns at Texas.

In Chicago, Johnson won't be the only Longhorn on the depth chart for running backs. D'Onta Foreman, who was a third-round pick by Houston in the 2017 draft, signed with the Bears this offseason.

"We haven’t gotten to really talk before, but I know in these next few weeks we’re really going to be getting acquainted, and I’m looking forward to it," Johnson said of Foreman.

Key play: Johnson wasn't just a versatile weapon for the Texas offense. Additionally, the Longhorns used him on multiple special teams units.

In a game against Iowa State during the 2022 season, Johnson sprinted down the field on a kickoff and recorded a thunderous tackle of the Cyclones returner. "I've been telling defensive coaches I can play on that side of the ball too," said Johnson, who figured that he could be a linebacker.

They said it: "I don't know if we both knew that he was going to develop into the caliber of running back that he's developed into, but we definitely knew there was some natural ability there. What he had was the right mindset. When moving him from quarterback to running back, he completely bought into that thought process and really developed himself into being a real running back. I'm talking about a powerful runner who plays physical. He's a four-unit, core special teams guy and just extremely valuable football player for the football team.

"But here's the kicker. The most important intangible about Roschon Johnson is that he is a natural, fiery leader. He has the ability to push people past their limits during the course of workouts, practice or whatever it may be. He is a great example off the football field. ... Highly ambitious, highly motivated and forces people around him to try to live that same type of life and carry on that type of mindset. He's very influential to the people that he engages with." — Temple head coach Stan Drayton, who was Johnson's running backs coach at Texas from 2019-21.

Notable number: 2. Fellow Texas running back Bijan Robinson went to Atlanta on Thursday with the eighth overall pick. This was the 13th time in the last 10 drafts that two running backs from the same college were selected in the same draft.

Longhorns-turned-Bears: Johnson is the 28th Texas player drafted by Chicago. The Bears first drafted a Longhorn in 1943 (defensive lineman Lou Wayne), but Chicago's last draft pick from Texas was Henry Melton in 2009. Max Bumgardner (1948), Dick Harris (1949), Menan Schriewer (1956), Stan Thomas (1991) and Cedric Benson (2005) were all drafted out of Texas by Chicago in the first round.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Roschon Johnson, Texas Longhorns running back, drafted by Chicago Bears