Teammates nicknamed him Jesus. Here’s how this quarterback deals with that kind of pressure
Jonah Johnson sees the attention he gets from his friends on social media.
It’s to be expected after what the former Madera South High standout did in less than a full season in 2018 as the Fresno City College quarterback.
The Rams were 2-2 and trailing College of the Siskiyous on the road when Johnson was inserted in the second quarter last October.
He threw two second-half touchdowns including the game-winner in a 33-28 victory that cemented his starting role for the rest of the season. He finished with three touchdowns in that game and sparked a seven-game winning streak as Fresno City reached the Northern California championship game.
Many of Johnson’s teammates have been calling him Jesus – it doesn’t hurt that he has long hair and a beard.
“I feel like I have expectations for a lot of people that are looking up to me,” Johnson said. “I got to fulfill a lot of expectations. It’s not really pressure. People in my town are always telling me once you go into the league, give me some season tickets.”
That’s the ultimate dream to get to the NFL, but it is one step at a time for Johnson. His dream, like other junior college players, is to play at the top college level.
The 6-foot-3 Johnson had college-noteworthy stats last season. In 10 games, he completed 102 of 166 for 1,635 yards and 18 touchdowns against two interceptions and had 72 rushes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
Johnson is four seasons removed from playing basketball with a torn labrum his junior season.
He played through the injury and played both sports his senior year when he also suffered a broken bone. He waited to have surgery until he was done with high school. He sat out the 2017 season at Fresno City.
“I’ve never really sat out a whole year of football or athletics,” he said. “It was just really humbling.”
Johnson said he worked in the offseason with his teammates and trimmed down from his weight of 225 pounds.
He has personal goals for the season but is keeping it to himself. He did, however, say, “I want to get better as a player, man ... just want to be a better person overall.”
He added: “My No. 1 obligation is my Lord Savior Jesus Christ. That’s the No. 1 thing in my life Then family, football and friends. That’s what’s really important to me.”
Fresno City schedule
Fresno City opens the season at Santa Rosa at 5 p.m. Saturday, followed by a home game on Sept. 14 against Siskiyous at 5 p.m..
Here is the rest of the Rams’ schedule:
Sept. 21 at Butte, 1 p.m. (Pleasant Valley High in Chico)
Sept. 28 vs. San Mateo, 6 p.m.
Oct. 5 vs. American River, 5 p.m.
Oct. 19 at San Joaquin Delta, 1 p.m.
Oct. 26 vs. Sacramento City, 1 p.m.
Nov. 2 at Modesto, 6 p.m.
Nov. 9 vs. Sequoias, 1 p.m.
Nov. 16 at West Hills Coalinga, 1 p.m.
Anthony Galaviz: 559-441-6042, agalaviz_TheBee
This story was originally published September 5, 2019 at 3:01 PM.
