Stafon Johnson
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Stafon Johnson (born February 6, 1988) plays running back for the University of Southern California Trojans in the NCAA college football tournament. At 5-foot-11 and over 200 pounds, Johnson is considered by many as a natural game-breaking rusher who is strong enough to make the big plays and versatile enough to do the intangibles. The highly-rated running back out of Dorsey High came into the Trojan roster in 2006 but got lost in the shuffle, ending up as a reserve but eventually worked his way up to the top of the depth chart. Despite his talent and experience, Johnson continues to face the challenge of proving himself as one of Southern Cal's vital cogs on offense.
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Personal Life
Stafon is the son of Stan Johnson, a track coach at Dorsey, and Kim Mallory. Stafon was raised by his single mother and considers his late grandfather Larry Mallory, whom he also call Big Dad, a father figure and a best friend. He is teammates at USC with cousin Travon Patterson. A sociology major at the University of South Carolina, Stafon hopes to be a businessman after his affair with football is done.
Stafon is a fan of the Denver Broncos and Barry Sanders. He said that the best player he's played against is UCLA's Reggie Carter (whom he played against in high school) while the best player he's played with is his high school teammate at DOrsey, Jeremiah Johnson. Apart from football, his other interest is playing bowling. He considers Dorsey's win against rival Crenshaw---which helped the team advance to the finals---during his junior year, as one of his memorable moments in sports.
High School
Johnson attended Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, California where his speed was showcased on both football and track teams. He ran the track with a best record of 10.7 in the 100 meters. On the football field, Johnson started to impress with his ground game when he was a sophomore after rushing for 1,701 yards and 18 touchdowns to earn nods into the Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass third team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State Sophomore, All-L.A. City and Los Angeles Times All-Central City squads in 2003. He was equally solid the following year as he gained 1,879 yards on the ground, averaging 8.6 yards per carry, while scoring 18 touchdowns and tallying 25 tackles and 3 interceptions on defense. Apart from being named as the 2004 All-L.A. City MVP and the Los Angeles Times All-Central City MVP, he was also listed into Cal-Hi Sports' All-State third and All-State Underclass first teams while being included into L.A. Times' All-Star squad.
As a senior, Johnson erupted for single season bests of 2,197 yards on 247 carries (8.9 avg.) with 22 TDs en route to being named as a 2005 Parade All-American. Several publications/organizations recognized his accomplishment on the field, including Super Prep, who named him into their Elite 50 list, All-American team, and was its All-Farwest Offensive MVP; and Prep Star, who selected Johnson into its Dream Team, All-American Team, and All-Western selection. His other "team accolades" include ESPN 150, USA Today All-USA second team, EA Sports All-American second team, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, All-L.A. City Co-MVP and Los Angeles Times All-Star.
Johnson concluded his high school career establishing the Los Angeles City rushing record at 5,777 yards and 58 touchdowns. He also played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and competed alongside the likes of Taylor Mays, Mitch Mustain, and DeMarco Murray among others for the West team, who lost to the East, 16-27. He started the game not as a tailback but as a safety on defense.
College
In late January of 2006, the highly touted Johnson gave his verbal commitment to USC during a live announcement on ESPNews. He chose Southern Cal over Georgia and Washington, while also turning down offers from California and Florida.
2006
Despite a wide open race at the tailback position entering the 2006 season, Johnson got lost in the mix with hordes of returning and incoming running backs vying for playing time. Failing to give full and consistent efforts in fall practice, he was relegated to the scout team at the start of the season. He never made it to the roster until the 4th game of the season when the Trojans defeated Washington State 28-22, and had to wait until the USC's eighth game of the year to get his first touches. At Stanford, he was handed the football thrice and netted 17 yards in the Trojans' shut-out win, 42-0. He saw his last minutes of the year in the 35-10 victory over Oregon and sat out the rest of his freshman season.
2007
Prior to the spring practice, Johnson underwent surgery which sidelined him for the spring drills. During the spring, his grandfather "Big Dad" and his mother talked to coach Pete Carroll about Johnson's future with the team. With his family's encouragement (Big Dad's advice to him was “Run, Stafon, run.”), he was finally able to showcase his abilities especially during the fall practices as he showed what he was capable of doing when the ball was on his hands. By the start of the season, he was finally able to get his opportunity to start at tailback for the Trojans.
In his first career start against Idaho, Johnson tallied 64 yards on 12 carries, caught his first career reception for 7 yards, and rushed for a pair of scoring runs (first college TD) as the Trojans turned back the Vandals, 38-10. He followed it up with a career high 144 rushing yard performance in USC's 49-31 win over Nebraska, the most yards gained on the ground since Reggie Bush's 260 against UCLA in 2005. His efforts, which include an average of 13.1 yards per carry and a 7-yard TD, was rewarded by the league when he was named as the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week. After being limited to 9 carries for 48 yards in the victory over Washington State, Johnson turned in the second 100-yard game of his career when he gained 122 on 14 carries along with an 8-yard TD rush in the 27-24 win @ Washington. Unfortunately during the second half of the Husky game, Johnson sustained a foot injury which sidelined him for two games, one of which was a shocking upset loss to Stanford.
He saw limited minutes in practice after he was cleared to play again, but managed to register 8 carries for 47 yards off the bench in the shut-out win @ Notre Dame. Since his return, Johnson has been relegated to back-up duties. In Trojans' only other loss of the season @ Oregon, Johnson had season lows of 3 carries and 9 rushing yards in the 17-24 loss to the Ducks then chipped in 37 yards on 6 carries in the 24-3 win over Oregon State. Against 24th ranked California, Johnson scored the go-ahead 3-yard touchdown in the 24-17 victory, finishing the game with 7 carries for 9 yards. At Arizona State, he had 4 attempts for 16 yards then had 73 yards on 15 carries in the regular season finale win against UCLA.
In his first bowl game appearance, he recorded his third 100-yard game with 104 on 9 carries in the Rose Bowl win over Illinois. His 63-yard sprint during that game was also a career-long. He ended the year as the team's second-leading rusher behind Chauncey Washington, recording 98 carries for 673 yards and 5 scoring runs.
2008
In the annual spring game, Johnson got the most hand-offs with 13, gaining 58 with 1 scoring run and a 24-yard long run. In USC's 2008 depth chart, Johnson was listed as a projected starter with Joe McKnight, Allen Bradford, and C.J. Gable.
Highlights
| Stafon Johnson's starting debut against Idaho was highlighted by his first collegiate TD runs (2007). |
Career Stats
| Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||||||
| Year | Att | RshYds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | RecYds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lst |
| 2006 | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 98 | 673 | 6.9 | 63 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Achievements
- 2008 Athlon Sports Preseason First-Team All-Pac 10
- 2008 Phil Steele Preseason First-Team All-Pac 10
- 2007 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Nebraska)
References
- 20 Questions with USC's Stafon Johnson
- Stafon Johnson Cfbstats.com
- Stafon Johnson ESPN.com Profile
- Stafon Johnson Scout.com Profile
- Stafon Johnson USC Profile
- USC’s Johnson makes a run with extra purpose
- Who is Stafon Johnson? Part 1
