Keyshawn Johnson can tell some stories. This is one.
Former No. 1 NFL draft pick and USC Trojan legend Keyshawn Johnson gave a behind-the-scenes look into his wild draft night party. The big bash included some of the biggest names in popular culture from eras past and present: 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and Coach Prime, Deion Sanders.
Keyshawn Johnson won the Cotton Bowl and the Rose Bowl at USC. He then went to the NFL and helped the New York Jets succeed.
“With an aging Vinny Testaverde at quarterback, Johnson needed to be his best self for the offense to function well. He was.
“Johnson made his first Pro Bowl in that 1998 season, catching 83 passes for 1,131 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Jets won the AFC East, got a wild-card bye, and hosted a divisional playoff game for the first time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
“Guess what? That 1998 season remains the only time the Jets got a wild-card bye and a home game in the divisional round since the franchise joined the NFL from the old AFL.”
Here is Keyshawn on his unforgettable NFL draft night party:
Bayless and Michael Irvin say they don’t fear Dan Quinn. That’s probably good news for Washington.
Skip Bayless and Michael Irvin are not worried about Dan Quinn in Washington.
Friday on “Undisputed.” along with Keyshawn Johnson, Bayless did not offer much praise for the hire. He did begin praising the new ownership, “Right now in Washington, I fear Josh Harris because he’s a much smarter and better owner than the previous. That’s not hard to be, but it just is.”
But Bayless sang differently regarding Dan Quinn. “I don’t fear Dan Quinn, and I am amused by the fact that both Philly and Washington have now made recent hires that are Dallas-driven hires. Trust me on this, those two franchises live to beat the Dallas Cowboys. By the way, we are the defending champions in the division.”
“I respect Dan Quinn’s charisma…he is easy to be around, he’s inspirational, pulls his cap around backward, is fiery, a good motivational speaker, as opposed to our current head coach (Mike McCarthy).”
Bayless credited the Seahawks’ talent for why Quinn became the Falcons head coach. Then added he believed it was because of Kyle Shanahan that Atlanta won the NFC, and not Quinn. He pointed to Tom Brady passing for 246 yards after being down 28-3 as the Patriots stormed back, defeating Quinn’s Falcons in that Super Bowl.
Irvin had earlier stated he was “not worried about Dan coaching the Washington Commanders…everybody can run on Dan’s defense, so we are ok with that.”
Johnson countered, “He has been successful in the NFL both as an assistant and as a head coach. I understand you (Irvin) want to pound your chest and say you are not worried about that… but he is a coach that has done this before.”
Irvin then claimed he had the opportunity to leave Dallas as a free agent to join Norv Turner’s Redskins, but he never took the opportunity. Irvin stated he was so close to leaving Dallas for Washington. Perhaps Charley Casserly, then Washington’s general manager, could confirm or deny whether that was the actual case?
Bayless concluded that he does give it to the Commanders because they did not hire a man “that is completely unproven. He is proven to some degree, and yet I don’t think Michael nor I are all that intimidated by this hire.”
At the current moment, there is a debate about what the current team that owns the No. 1 pick should do, and now former NFL star wide receiver [autotag]Keyshawn Johnson[/autotag] believes that Ohio State’s [autotag]Marvin Harrison Jr[/autotag] should go in that spot.
Johnson wants to see another former Buckeye, [autotag]Justin Fields[/autotag], getting help. On “Undisputed,” he made a case that the Chicago Bears need to get their quarterback more pass-catching options. His argument is pretty simple, a quarterback who has weapons can play at an extremely high level with elite talent around him.
Skip Bayless asked him if Harrison Jr. should go first, and Johnson said “I probably would.”
Part of the reasoning why he thinks Harrison Jr. should go first is the potential teams picking behind the Bears. Many of those teams need an offensive playmaker, and taking the Buckeye star would give Fields another option aside from DJ Moore.
Hard to disagree with Johnson’s rationale, but first Harrison Jr. has to make his intentions known. Many believe he will move on to the NFL, so it’s a wait-and-see situation for NFL teams.
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Keyshawn Johnson will be among the guests joining Peyton and Eli Monday.
The Jets will appear on Monday Night Football to wrap up Week 9 when they take on the Los Angeles Chargers. The main game broadcast will air on ESPN and ABC. The alternate ManningCast will also happen this week on ESPN2.
That broadcast will feature some old-school Jets flavor. The Jets’ No. 1 pick in 1996, current Fox Sports contributor and former ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson will be among the guests joining Peyton and Eli Manning this week during the game.
Johnson will be the third of three guests this week, following actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Johnson spent four seasons with the Jets, playing in 62 games and catching 305 passes for 4,108 yards and 64 touchdowns. Johnson played 11 seasons in the NFL with four teams (Jets, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Panthers).
Johnson will like appear on the show sometime in the second half if you are looking to catch his time with the Mannings.
Keyshawn Johnson is a high-profile USC alumnus. He is a national sports commentator. He is a Rose Bowl MVP and champion. When he says something about USC, people notice. He has his opinions as a commentator, but he also wants USC football to matter. He has credibility within the specific context of USC because he has specifically done things to help the Trojans on the field. He knows what it takes to make this program better.
Over the weekend, when USC’s defense was collapsing against Cal, Keyshawn let loose in a simple tweet which didn’t even mention Alex Grinch by name.
Everyone knew what he was referring to.
Does Keyshawn’s tweet (shown below) mean Alex Grinch is gone? Not necessarily. It does mean, however, that prominent alumni are noticing and will not be happy at all if he is retained. This does paint the portrait of a political climate which is increasingly untenable for Grinch, who is certainly on the ropes as USC’s defensive coordinator. If the internal decision has not yet been made to fire him, he certainly has no more margin for error.
Perhaps Keyshawn should do @trojanswire a favor and stop showing up at Notre Dame Stadium. Bad things happen to his beloved when he does.
Former Southern Cal wide receiving great and 1996’s first overall pick in the NFL draft Keyshawn Johnson isn’t particularly fond of Notre Dame Stadium.
Johnson played two years for the Trojans, recording over 2,300 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 148 receptions. Bill Parcells and the New York Jets were so impressed with him in college that they made him the No. 1 pick in 1996.
Johnson was in South Bend this weekend to watch his beloved USC take on Notre Dame. I don’t know if he’s made the trip since his playing days, but before kickoff he posted a picture to social media calling Notre Dame Stadium a dump.
Johnson then had an up close seat to see his Trojans get absolutely pasted by Notre Dame, 48-20.
Oddly enough, the win was Notre Dame’s biggest margin of victory over a top 10 team since 1996 when the Irish won 38-10 against then unbeaten and No. 5, you guessed it, USC, and Johnson.
I guess I can see why the man hates the place so much.
All of these are great players, but Jefferson is arguably the best non-quarterback in the NFL, let alone wide receiver. Former Vikings Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter was upset with the rankings and went as far to say that the channel should be changed.
#CmonMan a top five wide receivers list in the @NFL and Justin Jefferson does not make the list @KeyJayandMax time to turn the channel .
In the abyss that is the time between mandatory minicamp and training camp, there are a lot lists that come out. They generate a lot of conversations on social media, but they aren’t always quality ones. Having Jefferson outside of the top three, let alone the top five, aren’t ones to be taken seriously.
This former NFL star and current analyst doesn’t have faith in Clemson. Keyshawn Johnson – a Super Bowl champion and three-time Pro Bowl receiver who is now an ESPN analyst and ESPN Radio host – spoke about the changes on Dabo Swinney’s coaching …
This former NFL star and current analyst doesn’t have faith in Clemson.
Keyshawn Johnson — a Super Bowl champion and three-time Pro Bowl receiver who is now an ESPN analyst and ESPN Radio host — spoke about the changes on Dabo Swinney’s coaching staff and doesn’t think Swinney’s Tigers are on the same level as they were in recent years when they won national titles in 2016 and 2018.
“Clemson is not as high and mighty as they were four or five years ago. They’re a different program now,” Johnson said.
“They’ve been depleted of coordinators over the last couple years that have gone on to become head coaches. When Chad Morris left to take the job at SMU, OK, they stayed the course. Tony Elliott was still there, stayed the course and did well. Brent Venables on the defensive side of the ball was still there. Jeff Scott was still there, then Jeff Scott leaves and goes to South Florida to become the head coach. Now all of a sudden Venables is at Oklahoma, and Elliott is at Virginia. That’s a lot to lose off a staff to think that they’re still going to be strong in the ACC.”
Wes Goodwin, who replaced Venables as Clemson’s defensive coordinator, and Brandon Streeter, who replaced Elliott as the offensive coordinator, will begin their first full season as the Tigers’ new coordinators tonight when Clemson kicks off its 2022 season at 8 p.m. against Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Tigers, coming off their 11th straight season of at least 10 wins in 2021, had won six straight ACC Championships and appeared in every College Football Playoff except the first in 2014, prior to missing out on the ACC title game and CFP last season.
Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!
On ESPN’s weekday morning show, Keyshawn, JWill & Max with Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams and Max Kellerman, the KJM crew discussed whether Clemson football is getting ready for a return to glory this season. Johnson – a Super Bowl champion and …
On ESPN’s weekday morning show, Keyshawn, JWill & Max with Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams and Max Kellerman, the KJM crew discussed whether Clemson football is getting ready for a return to glory this season.
Johnson – a Super Bowl champion and three-time Pro Bowl receiver – doesn’t see it.
The ESPN analyst was asked by Kellerman which champion in recent years is finished as a contender, and Johnson said he doesn’t think the Tigers are a contender anymore.
“I just look at where they’ve been and where they’re at now,” he said. “They were rolling with Deshaun (Watson) and Trevor Lawrence, and they were just rolling. They were having success. What happens when you have success is things start to happen. People come into your situation, your organization, your school and they start to pluck important people – like a Tony Elliott who was an offensive coordinator, heavy recruiter, like a Jeff Scott who’s a heavy recruiter who’s now a head coach, or Chad Morris many years ago who went on to be SMU’s and Arkansas’ head coach before being relieved of his duties, or now Brent Venables is now at Oklahoma as the head coach who was the defensive coordinator and a heavy recruiter. When you start seeing those sort of things happen… He’s lost four coordinators since Clemson got on this run, and all four of those guys were very instrumental in their recruiting process at Clemson.
“So when I start to look at that… Now you’ve got Mario Cristobal back at the University of Miami, so you know how that might go. He understands the landscape at Miami, he understands the Florida area, he’s a hell of a recruiter, a nice football coach. That could create problems. Florida State’s still trying to get it turned around. I think eventually they will get it turned around. And then the rest of the ACC is still a solid conference that Clemson has now come back to the pack in my opinion. That’s one of the main reasons that I feel this way.”
Johnson — the top overall pick by the New York Jets in the 1996 NFL Draft who played for four teams (Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers) during his 11-year career and helped lead the Buccaneers to a win in Super Bowl XXXVII — added that he doesn’t think the Tigers have the same amount of NFL talent on their roster as they’ve had in years past.
“When Clemson was really on their run, they were loaded with NFL talent from front to back at every position, like an Alabama, like a Georgia, like an old USC,” he said. “That’s not the case now. They don’t have NFL talent at every position from front to back, and they did in the past, and when they gotta go up against some of these other schools that they’ve now come back to the pack with, it’s going to be tough for them to just be this juggernaut in the conference and just steamrolling people like they were in the past. I just don’t see it.”
Come out to support Clemson softball at Dear Old Clemson’s second event which is set for August 27 at the Madren Conference Center. Clemson returns one of the top teams in the nation and adds some new talent to the mix. If you sign up for certain club levels you get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events or purchase your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
Keyshawn Johnson offered a bold prediction this week and said the New York Giants could be this year’s Cincinnati Bengals.
Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals compiled a record of 10-7 after going just 4-11-1 a year prior. Their playoff appearance turned out to be a magical one as they rode the wave all the way to Super Bowl LVI, eventually falling to the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 23-20.
Although not quite as fruitful as the ride Cincinnati went on in 2021, there seems to be at least one NFL team that shocks the world each year. So, who might that be in 2022?
The panel of the Keyshawn, JWill and Max Show on ESPN debated exactly that earlier this week and Keyshawn Johnson had a very unexpected answer: the New York Giants.
“Your New York Giants, Max. They could shock some people,” Johnson said. “We don’t know Brian Daboll as a head coach, but we also know him as a quarterback — I guess so called whisperer. He fixed Josh Allen. First couple of years Josh Allen in Buffalo struggled a little bit, but then all of a sudden he caught fire and he’s been doing well. (He) got a few MVP votes a year ago. He wasn’t the reason the Kansas City Chiefs beat them in the end and went to the AFC Championship Game. We’ll see if Danny Dimes (Jones) and Saquon Barkley can all of a sudden live up to what their billing was when they were drafted. We’ll find out.”
Johnson also pounded the drum a bit for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The problem with the Giants is that they’re still in the early stages of rebuilding under general manager Joe Schoen. Their roster is thin in a variety of areas and unless they can find sustained health, they won’t be able to overcome the loss of key players.
Still, it’s hope season and Johnson’s optimism will certainly provide some for Giants fans who long for the days of competence.
