Only Jan Johnson Until Penn State Football

Succeeding as a walk-on in a big time college sport is like living a mini-version of the American dream. If you work hard, and have some luck on your side, you’ll eventually get rewarded for your efforts. That was certainly the case for Jan Johnson, who worked himself up from walk-on to scholarship player, to starter, to team captain, to NFL player* in his time at Penn State. All that while also being with the wrestling team during his redshirt season.

Johnson appeared in 33 games as a Nittany Lion, and amassed 150 tackles (72 solo), 7 tackles for loss, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Johnson, having redshirted his freshman season, graduated with a degree in Psychology before exhausting his eligibility. As a result, Johnson also earned a masters degree in May of 2019, before departing for the Texans.

Only 36 more days!

*The Texans cut Johnson last month.