Johnson won’t be leaving football entirely though as he has accepted an offer from Ohio State Buckeye head coach Jim Tressel to serve in a new advisory position.

The details of the new position have yet to be formally worked out, but Johnson expects to help counsel future Buckeyes about the rigors of college life, including dispensing advice about academics, career choices and social decision-making.

During his tenure at Pickerington, he compiled a record of 196-112-3 and made the play-offs four times, including a trip to the state final four in 1999.

This will be the last year of existence for Pickerington High School as it will be dissolved into two separate institutions in the fall – Pickerington North and Pickerington Central.

Johnson was quoted by the Pickerington Times-Sun as saying, “I think I have been very blessed for the 30-plus years at Pickerington and I’ve received unbelievable support from the community and members of the administration.

“It would have to take a perfect situation for me to leave and I think I have found that situation.”

During his time at Wesleyan, Johnson was one of the College’s greatest all-around athletes. He was an All-American in baseball under coach Hank Ellis and was an outstanding running back for the football team under coach Sam Ross.

Johnson played baseball four years under Ellis, primarily as a shortstop and outfielder, but he also saw limited time on the mound as a freshman and as a sophomore.
Johnson paced the Bobcat offense for three years, and led the team in hitting in 1965 with a .383 average and again in 1966 with a .400 average.

He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles as an outfielder in 1966, but went to work just a year later at the Fairfield School for Boys.

On the gridiron as a Bobcat, he rushed for more than 2,000 career yards.

Johnson was inducted into the Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

Johnson, and his wife Pam live in Pickerington. They have three children.