UNIVERSITY PARK, Texas — A college’s annual pro day operates as a chance for a school to showcase its most eligible NFL draft talent to scouts.
At SMU, representatives from nearly the entire league came to see star wide receiver Rashee Rice run a route tree he believes is more than NFL-ready. At Texas A&M, it was a chance for teams to watch multiple prospects, including running back Devon Achane, whose speed should make him one of the first running backs selected. Even at West Florida, a Division II school, scouts spent their day watching wide receiver David Durden, who’s expected to be selected.
Scouts didn’t come to watch the person who threw to all three of them, however. And that’s not exactly surprising news to him, either.
“My thing was to throw at these pro days,” David Johnson said, “and hopefully gain their attention.”
Like most quarterbacks, Johnson hopes to play professionally one day. In the NFL, the CFL, the XFL or any league that would have him. He’s been throwing all his life, from South Oak Cliff, to Tyler Junior College, to Tennessee Tech and finally to Edward Waters University, an NAIA school where he threw for 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions in the final two seasons of his collegiate career.
With no playing future set, Johnson used his connections and talked his way into being the pro day quarterback at West Florida, SMU and Texas A&M. Top quarterbacks like Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud only had one pro day, but Johnson had three. Dozens of NFL scouts saw him. There should’ve been a lot of pressure, right?
“I was doing something I’ve been doing my whole life, so there were no nerves involved,” Johnson said. “And because I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I was just happy to be there … 90 percent of people who have been what I’ve been through are not throwing at three pro days, and two [Division 1] schools, even if they get one pro day.”
Who actually throws at pro days, as Johnson showed, can vary drastically. Colleges need someone to throw to their receivers, running backs and tight ends, and if they don’t have one of the few quarterbacks bound for the draft, then schools have to find someone. Some teams will use underclassmen, as North Carolina did with starting quarterback Drake Maye, who is expected to be a first-round pick in next year’s draft. Auburn used former NFL MVP Cam Newton, who is willing to make a go at a return to the NFL. Arizona even used an NFL-hopeful quarterback from Spain.
When the pro day circuit started, Johnson examined who might need a quarterback and used his connections. He threw at West Florida on a Thursday. On Monday, on his drive back from Florida to Dallas, he got a call from SMU running backs coach and fellow South Oak Cliff graduate Khenon Hall, asking if he could throw at their pro day on that Wednesday.
Johnson got to SMU’s indoor facility early that day. He had his headphones on and a bag of his own footballs slung around his shoulders. He warmed up unceremoniously before SMU’s players and the NFL scouts walked in. Once it was time for Rice and the fellow SMU prospects to run routes, Johnson stepped in and threw to them. Deep balls, short passes — anything the scouts wanted to see.
Johnson said he talked to a few scouts at each of the three pro days. Nothing serious, he said, though his performances did receive positive feedback.
Of course, Johnson hopes he left an impression on one of them, but ultimately it’s not a make-or-break necessity to him. He had fun, he’s happy and he’s content with his playing journey.
“I’ve learned to detach myself from material things like going to the NFL, because that’s not validation for who I am as a quarterback,” Johnson said.
“I’m still satisfied with what I’ve done as a quarterback, the things I’ve learned through my journey and where football has taken me.”
It might take him to his next stop, too. After he was finished playing, Johnson volunteered at his alma mater. The Golden Bears won a state title for the second straight year.
“He was a student of the game and he’s a guy I knew back then who had the potential to be a great coach,” said South Oak Cliff head coach Jason Todd, who also coached Johnson. “Leadership skills is the first thing I think of when I think of David Johnson, and that’s not just in football, that’s life.
“I just want to go on record: when he’s a very successful coach one day, put me down as one of the firs people that bought in on the stock.”
Johnson said he has some coaching opportunities for next fall. He aspires to be a college coach one day.
And if any school needs a quarterback for their pro day next year, Johnson is only a call away.
