Calvin Johnson mending fences with Lions, hosting HS football camp at team facility

According to Eric Woodyard at ESPN, Johnson is hosting a high school football camp at the Lion’s facility.

Outside of Jerry Rice, nobody has dominated at wide receiver over the last 20 years quite like Calvin Johnson. Picked second overall in the 2007 NFL draft, Johnson absolutely balled out for the Detroit Lions in 135 games over nine seasons. By the end, he’d posted 753 catches, 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns. That was good enough for six Pro Bowl teams, three All-Pro nods and one trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, Johnson never succeeded in the postseason, as Detroit infamously couldn’t build a winner around him. The franchise and their all-time greatest receiver were on bad terms over money and other issues for years afterward. However, it seems that the Lions organization is finally making peace with Megatron – at least enough to share the same roof for a day.

According to Eric Woodyard at ESPN, Johnson is hosting a high school football camp at the Lions’ facility.

“Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson returned to host a high school football camp, welcoming all positions, in partnership with the Lions. Johnson’s connection with the Lions has been trending up lately as the franchise tries to repair its relationship with him. He was spotted on the sidelines during an OTA session in late May in addition to returning for the last day of mandatory minicamp Thursday.”

Johnson told ESPN that he doesn’t have a designated role with the team and says there’s still work to be done, but he credits the Lions’ chief operating officer Mike Disner for helping to mend the fences.

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Jameson Williams has HoF WR Calvin Johnson in his corner

Jameson Williams has Detroit Lion legend and member of the Hall of Fame, Calvin Johnson, as a huge supporter.

Jameson Williams is preparing for his second season in the NFL after being a first-round selection by the Detroit Lions in the 2021 draft. He started the 2021 season late because he was still recovering from a knee injury, and will start the 2022 season six weeks in because of a suspension by the league.

As a rookie, Williams had one catch for a 41-yard touchdown and carried the ball once for a 40-yard gain.

Recently, on 97.1 The Ticket’s Stoney and Jansen with Heather, Lions legend and NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson had some kind words to say about Williams.

“I connected with Jamo yesterday really for the first time, and I look forward to just being around and being a shoulder for him to lean on,” Johnson said. “Extremely talented kid. We saw him when he touched the field last year for the first time. I look forward to just helping him build the level of consistency and being the pro he wants to be, man. Anything I can to do help him, I’ll do that and I’ll be there.”

Having such a talented player that’s accustomed to being in the spotlight, like Johnson, in his corner is very important. The beginning of Williams’ professional career has not been an easy one.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Williams and other former Alabama players in the NFL as the 2023 offseason progresses.

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Michigan WR with popular nickname looking forward to getting in touch with Clemson

In a lot of ways, Nick “Megatron” Marsh resembles Calvin Johnson. It’s no wonder that he’s earned the moniker that made Johnson into a household name. While he isn’t Johnson, or at least quite yet, the Class of 2024 wide receiver out of Michigan’s …

In a lot of ways, Nick “Megatron” Marsh resembles Calvin Johnson.

It’s no wonder that he’s earned the moniker that made Johnson into a household name.

While he isn’t Johnson, or at least quite yet, the Class of 2024 wide receiver out of Michigan’s River Rouge High School is already becoming a prospect that college football fans should begin to get themselves acquainted with.

Marsh (6-3, 195) ranks as the No. 18 receiver, No. 80 overall prospect and No. 1 recruit in the state of Michigan for the 2024 class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Marsh named the University of Michigan, Ole Miss and Tennessee as the three schools that are currently sticking out in his recruitment. Though, Clemson is a program that Marsh is hoping and looking forward to getting in touch with.

“Clemson, they always have some dawg receivers coming out of there,” Marsh told The Clemson Insider. “So, that would be my main interest in Clemson.”

Marsh’s recruitment has begun to take off as he’s been able to travel the country and get his name out there. It’s only just the beginning for the talented Michigan receiver.

He has been on multiple game day visits to the local colleges — Michigan and Michigan State — though he was able to travel a lot more this past summer and take in some camps across the nation.

Marsh says that he’s hoping to get down to the Dabo Swinney Camp next summer.

He currently holds Power 5 offers from programs like Arizona State, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State and West Virginia, in addition to the three big schools listed above.

Now that we’ve touched on Marsh as a recruit, who is he as a player? 

“I would say it’s being able to catch the ball at will in certain situations and certain moments,” Marsh said when asked to describe his play style and his strengths. “Just being able to keep grinding no matter how out of control the game gets. I’m really just that type of player.

While it’s easy to conclude where that “Megatron” nickname comes from — yes, it has to do with Marsh’s build, his hometown and his playstyle — but there’s more to it. 

It’s more than just a nickname. 

“It’s more of my playstyle,” he said. “Since little league, I’ve been able to go up and grab the ball, jump over people and make some amazing catches. They just all started to call me ‘Megatron’ and the name started to get real big as I got older, so I really took it and now people look at me as ‘Megatron.’ I just try to be a big inspiration on a lot of people, so I try to take the name seriously now.”

Johnson has become Marsh’s football ideal, so to speak. He takes bits and pieces of the Detroit Lions Hall of Famer wide receiver’s game and tries to make it his own. 

“Growing up, I watched the Detroit Lions play on TV a lot,” Marsh said. “I’ve seen Calvin Johnson out there catching balls. I would just take piece by piece of his game and just study it. Now, I try to go out on the field and reflect it.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Eagles DC Jim Schwartz confirms he was complimenting DK Metcalf with ‘Megatron’ comment

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz says he’s shocked that DK Metcalf took his compliment about ‘Megatron’ as a slight

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Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is catching some flak for apparently motivating the opponent when his comments to DK Metcalf hyped the Seahawks receiver up during the pregame.

Metcalf went off on Monday night to the tune of 10 catches for 177 yards against Eagles star cornerback Darius Slay.

Afterward, Metcalf was candid when he revealed that Jim Schwartz stated that he was not close to being ex-Lions receiver Calvin Johnson despite his breakout second season. Metcalf said he took the compliments as a slight and they helped motivate him for the matchup.

On Wednesday, the Eagles defensive coordinator confirmed that he was simply complimenting Metcalf and meant no disrespect.

Schwartz also added that after he made the comments, Metcalf told him, ‘Hey, thanks, coach, that means a lot to me.’

Schwarz coached ‘Megatron’ for five years while with the Detroit Lions and stated that Johnson was not only the best player that he coached but the best player that he ever coached against.

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DK Metcalf says he was motivated by Eagles DC Jim Schwartz letting him know he’s not ‘Megatron’

DK Metcalf says he was motivated by Eagles DC Jim Schwartz telling him he’s not ‘Megatron’

 

DK Metcalf wakes up every day motivated after he almost slid to the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft and according to the Seahawks star, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz helped make the chip on his shoulder even bigger on Monday night.

After the Seahawks 23-17 win over the Eagles in Philadelphia, Metcalf talked about how he was motivated to show the Eagles what type of player they passed on.

Metcalf also revealed that Schwartz spoke to him briefly during the pregame and allegedly told the Seahawks star that “I was in Detroit with Megatron” and you’re not there yet.

Megatron is former Lions and future Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson, a player that Metcalf molds his game after and a guy who was dominant during his years in the NFL despite being a huge presence at wide receiver.

Schwartz was likely trying to compliment the Seahawks star by letting him know that he’s not quite that dominant yet, but superstars enjoy having chips on their shoulders and the Eagles defensive coordinator provided the bulletin board material, harmless or not.

Metcalf logged 10 catches for 177 yards on Monday night with Eagles star cornerback Darius Slay shadowing him the majority of the contest.

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