North Carolina A&T

Tim Johnson was born into a military family in Tucson, Ariz. When Tim was 8, he and his mother moved to Hampton, Va., where he discovered his love for football. In his first year playing football, his coach immediately put him in at linebacker, where he would go on to win several defensive MVP awards during his years in Rec League. 

At Bethel High School, Tim played three games on the junior varsity team as a sophomore before moving to varsity as a middle linebacker. After breaking his arm early in his junior season, Tim would lead his team and the conference in tackles and sacks his senior year. His accolades during his senior season included first-team All-District, All-Peninsula, and All-State. 

Tim accepted a full scholarship to play for Bill Dooley at Wake Forest University where he played linebacker as a true freshman and was able to experience playing time in the  Independence Bowl. Under new head coach Jim Caldwell, Tim became a full-time starter at outside linebacker his sophomore year. However, Tim experienced some frustration with the school and decided to transfer and take his talents to Howard University. 

The day Tim was scheduled to enroll at Howard, the coaching staff informed him that they decided to give his scholarship to another transfer. Left with nowhere to go, Tim called coach  Caldwell for help, and he offered to make some calls. That morning Tim received a call from a  peculiar voice. The person said, "Hey man, I heard you ain't got no home." It was coach Bill 

Hayes. That morning, Tim took a 5-hour drive to Greensboro, N.C., and became a student-athlete in Aggieland. 

As a junior, Tim led his team, conference, and all HBCUs in total tackles. The season's highlight for him was seeking revenge on Howard, where he recorded 23 tackles and eight tackles for loss in a win against the team that left him dry. Tim received first-team All-MEAC honors and came in second place for defensive MVP. Tim would also receive the team MVP and  Associated Press All-American honorable mention honors. As a senior, Tim was on pace to break the MEAC record for tackles in a season but suffered two broken ankles at  Homecoming. Tim had 72 tackles over the first five games of that season before his season and career ended.  

Although it was a tragic experience, it could not take away the love he had for his experience playing with his teammates and coaches at A&T. Tim now lives in Maryland with his beautiful wife Jill Johnson, and their three beautiful young children, Audriana (11), Zoe (8), and Natalya (6). He runs an I.T. Consulting Firm specializing in Federal Government contracting. Tim enjoys  

spending time with his family and teaching his girls the game of golf and life.