Remember Football Player, Ian Johnson?

It seems as though last year, Ian Johnson was a name in every household that loves football.

Why?
Well, he’s a running back for Boise State University, and last year, he scored the winning 2 point conversion on a Statue of Liberty play to clinch the Broncos’ stunning 43-42 Fiesta Bowl overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

Not only that, he ran for 101 yards with a TD against those Sooners.

Whilst he was being interviewed post game, he got down on one knee and proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend, Chrissy Popadics, and she said “YES!”.

Okay, now that you’re filled in…What’s happened since then?
Huge fame followed for Ian with numerous interviews on television and radio alike, not to mention that him and Chrissy were married that same summer in Boise.

Now a senior, apparently, Ian will not be the star attraction, but being the team player he is, he is simply happy to be there and represent the university with a team of great guys!

What’s strange about this is that he was the leader in scoring and 2nd for rushing in 2006, but hasn’t even run for 100 yds this year, or even carried the ball 20 times in a game yet.

What’s more, is that he hasn’t even hit the end zone once in the past 3 games, but leads all active players with 49 career TDs. Whoa!

He even finished 8th for the Heisman trophy in 2006.

Why Has This Happened?
Well, not only did the Broncos lose key players who blocked on the offensive line for him, but a redshirt freshman quarterback, Kellen Moore, has brought the passing game back to life for Boise, leaving the RBs somewhat in the dust.

Don’t get me wrong…He still leads the Broncos rushing 363 yds on 78 attempts, but only averages 10.7 carries/game in the last 3 games.

Now What?
He says he’d rather have the team win than carry 30 times per game and lose.

So, he’s also playing special teams, including kick returns, to fill in the blanks and really give his all to the team and aid in their success.

Really, he’s showing his versatility, as he is putting up yardage with the passing game as well this year!

…And guess what! Playing in so many different capacities has saved his body from more frequent injuries, as he had in the past just carrying the ball and getting beat up.

So What’s The Problem?
Ian Johnson is obviously NFL material, but NFL scouts may not have the same great opinion of his newly found “versatility”.

Turning back on his decision to go pro out of his Junior year, as he was projected to go 4th or 5th round, because he wanted to leave school and go pro in the 1st 2 rounds of the draft, now he may be rethinking that decision in hindsight.

…And although he’s stayed healthy, NFL scouts are concerned with Johnson’s ability to withstand the rigorous schedule and hard hitting weeks in an NFL schedule.

What Does Ian Think?
Johnson feels that he is more knowledgeable of the game now, at least 10 fold, and he is bigger and faster than ever.

He says he thinks he’s being a real team player and doing what he should be doing.

Also, he says, if he doesn’t get drafted to the NFL, he’s happy with the memory of the Fiesta Bowl win, his accomplishments that game and the amazing proposal to his bride! Awww!

“It was definitely the time of my life, being that spotlight guy, seeing (myself on) billboards and seeing my name on ESPN,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely something I want to get back to. I’m working harder than ever. … That’s something that would be great, that I’d love to have happen again, but it doesn’t have to happen for me to be happy.” (http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=866685, 2008.)

How’s Married Life?
Ian seems to be taking to it nicely! He notes, though, that instead of watching soccer on the weekends, he is switching back and forth from “Desperate Housewives”, “The Hills” and the football games…LOL…

Chrissy has taken time off of school working in property management of apartment complexes to ease the financial burden until Ian’s NFL future is determined. He will graduates in December with a degree in Entrepreneurial Management, and still hopes to be drafted into the NFL.

Well, God Bless His Heart!

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I hope you enjoyed hearing of this Current Event on Blog N’ Butter! Until next time…

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Kimberly Edwards