1995 lookback: Multi-talented Johnson found niche at wingback

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

BY KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

It was never a regret and never a second guess, but Clester Johnson knew he was among the elephants of college football.

“I was the 1991 Athlete of the Year in high school at Bellevue West, and I took the football scholarship to Nebraska,” said Johnson, who was recruited as a quarterback.

After sitting out as a redshirt in 1991, Johnson was suddenly no longer a quarterback. Tommie Frazier, Brook Berringer and Matt Turman had that position nailed down for the Huskers.

“I went to the 1992 Orange Bowl and practiced as a defensive back,” Johnson said. “I worked as a DB that next spring, and I was surrounded by Eric Stokes, Mike Minter, Octavious McFarland, Tony Veland, Michael Booker and a lot of other talented guys. And my heart was still on offense.”

Johnson made the transition to wingback in the fall of 1992 and that’s where he finished four seasons later.

“There was a ton of talent at receiver, too,” Johnson said. Reggie Baul, Mark Gilman, Jon Vedral, Brendan Holbein and Kenny Cheatham were just a few of the receivers at Nebraska at the time.

“The thing was, when you got on the field and when you got a pass thrown your way, it was a big deal,” Johnson said. “Of course, the compensation was that we won a couple of national titles. Nothing is as good as that.”

Johnson was the leading receiver for the 1995 national championship team. He grabbed 22 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. He caught two passes for 43 yards in the Fiesta Bowl blasting of Florida.

“That team was so talented and so close, the result was that we knew nobody could beat us because nobody could outwork us,” he said. “Practices were hard. Coach Ron Brown made them almost impossible for receivers.”

Receivers were always the last to leave the practice field. “We always had the longest meetings, too,” Johnson said. “Tommie Frazier was my roommate at the Kellogg Center (the night before home games) and on the road. And he’d be back in the room, on the phone for an hour and I’d get to the room with about 15 minutes before ‘lights out.’

“I’d say, ‘Finish your good nights to the Frazier fan club and let me have a chance,’” Johnson said,  laughing.

Johnson considered pro football, but after Berringer, a close friend, died in the spring of 1996 and some other issues popped up, Johnson chose to try the insurance and investment fields.

After four years, Johnson took a job with Eli Lilly and Co., as a representative.

Still in Omaha, where he grew up, Johnson spends time watching his sons Cade, 7, and Clester, 9, play Pee-Wee football. Another son, Keegan, 3, “is going to be a great athlete, too,” Clester said. “Clester Jr., and Cade have more ability than I had at their age. It’s a lot of fun to see them grow up and play the game that I loved for so many years.”