Players of Tez Johnson’s stature — 5 feet, 10 inches and 160 pounds soaking wet — are not easily found on a Division I college football program roster. By the looks of it, Johnson would probably fit in better among the fans at Autzen Stadium than on the field.
He looks more like a second baseman than a wide receiver for the Oregon Ducks. Role models of his size are likely few and far between. Thankfully for Oregon, a couple of those role models happen to be former Ducks: LaMichael James and De’Anthony Thomas.
“Before De’Anthony it was LaMichael James. I was watching LaMichael James back before I even knew who the Black Mamba was,” said Johnson at Oregon media day. “I watched LaMichael James when he played against Tennessee and went crazy like ‘OK, Oregon is that team.’”
While LMJ might have been the “in” for Johnson to start liking the Ducks, it was DAT who truly turned the passion up to another level.
“And then De’Anthony Thomas got there and started doing things that I can do as a little guy,” Johnson said. “He really paved the way for little guys to believe that they actually can do it. Him, Tavon Austin, and LaMichael James — those three gave a guy like me hope to dream big.”
It’s not often you get to test your skills directly with a role model, but Johnson was able to go up against Thomas in some offseason workouts this summer. As expected, the younger athlete got the best of the “old man.”
“Running with him in practice was surreal. I’m faster than him now, though,” Johnson said with a laugh. “Back then I wasn’t faster than him, but I’m leaving him now.”‘
Based on what we saw from Johnson both in the Oregon spring game and in practices, there are a lot of people that he will be leaving in the dust on the field, not dissimilar to either LMJ or DAT.
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