Roschon Johnson exhibiting the same leadership traits in the NFL that he did at Texas
Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson is only a few days into his NFL career, but the former Longhorn captain and locker room alpha has already turned heads at rookie minicamp thanks to his character and leadership.
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Johnson was worked out at the Texas pro day by Bears running back coach David Walker. What Johnson showed Walker at the bubble, plus everything RoJo showed in the pre-draft process and during his four-year UT career on- and off-the-field, convinced Walker and Chicago to select the Port Neches-Groves product in the fourth round of the draft.
During his first opportunities with the Bears, Johnson has already impressed those who decided to take him and convinced them they made a solid choice.
“Doing our research prior to the draft, he fit the culture that we have here and that hasn’t changed in the two days he’s been here,” Walker recently said. “He’s a smart, conscientious kid. He works hard and he’s going to be the best version of himself every day. Can’t ask for much more than that.”
But it isn’t just what he’s done during his first few days as a professional in pads. Even off the field, Johnson has turned heads.
“Some guys didn’t pick up their water bottles (after a meeting),” Chicago special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. “He’s getting ready to go to the next meeting and he asks a question and as I’m walking out, he cleans up the water bottles.
Hightower added, “when I saw that, that’s just who he is. He didn’t like how the room looked. Guys had water bottles left, he picked them up, threw them in the trash and then went to his meeting.”
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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned that story on Wednesday at a Texas Exes event in Dallas. He said those behaviors were what Johnson did regularly at Texas, and they helped create the atmosphere the Longhorns currently boast about.
“That’s the culture that we’re building at Texas, and it’s because of guys like Roschon Johnson,” Sarkisian said Wednesday. “It’s about what can I do for you, not what can you do for me. That’s what our team has.”
What NFL decision-makers said about Roschon Johnson
Chicago Bears Southwest area scout John Syty: “This is a young man who has some pretty special qualities just in terms of his leadership ability. He’s someone we really feel can become a pillar in this organization for a really long time. I feel really strongly about this guy. I’m excited for you guys to meet him. There’s a level of ‘it’ factor to this kid that, the second he walks into the room, all you guys are going to feel.”
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles: “This was a guy I was shocked that he was still on the board. He is a really good football player that I know is going to be successful in this league in many different ways. And on top of that, probably you could understand from talking to him over that Zoom call, he’s an unbelievable human being as well who is going to enhance our culture, enhance our locker room and continue to meet the standards that we’ve put in place.”
