Dooms found this young man . Coach Washington your on the CLOCK
GARY, Indiana — A few hundred yards from a pawn shop, on a cold, wet, Friday October night at Calumet New Tech High School, a 17-year-old, 350-pound quarterback is once again doing things people his size are rarely asked to do. Yet so far, no college football program has been intrigued enough to return his emails, let alone offer him a scholarship. But the hope, whether it's well-founded or not, is that an offer is coming.
Around here, they call him Bubba. His birth name is Joshua Johnson, and he is a senior. The youngest of 11 children, Bubba acquired his nickname from an uncle as a child. Over the years it became more than that, and now his friends, siblings, coaches, teachers and even his mother call him that.
Tonight, Bubba is playing his final high school football game. Calumet is overmatched against West Lafayette in the first round of Class 3A playoffs, but Bubba does not go down quietly—doing everything in his power to make a final impression.
He is on the field nearly every snap. In a span of 10 minutes, he plays quarterback, running back, fullback, left tackle and defensive tackle. Like a slot receiver or an extra defensive back waiting to be inserted into the game, Bubba shadows the coaching staff, waiting to see what his role will be on a given play.
"I'm a former offensive lineman," Calumet head coach Rick Good says. "So it's a dream come true to think that a kid like that can represent every big guy in the country that can go score a touchdown."
Even though he is the biggest player on the field, Bubba carries the weight exceptionally well. His feet are quick and in control. His hands are powerful. And when he is asked to carry the football, as he has been frequently the past two seasons, he lumbers with a certain kind of grace.
"He's one of the most athletic people I've ever seen in my life," says Calumet running back AJ Fowler. "For as big as he is, he moves like a little guy. He should be a Division I athlete without a doubt. He's too good of an athlete to not play D1."
Bubba also plays basketball, where he stars as Calumet High's mobile big man. But the idea of giving him the football on offense did not come from the hardwood; it came to his head coach on a Saturday morning before his junior season began while he watched Bubba's team play flickerball—a cross between dodgeball and rugby...
...In some instances, a lack of college interest can be a result of something that has nothing to do with football: grades. But that is not an issue with Bubba, who sports a 3.3 GPA and is on the honor roll at Calumet...
...Bubba is so unique, his skills are difficult for recruiters to evaluate. Good says that while contacting schools to gauge interest, coaches have expressed to him that they believe his player might be too heavy.
Yet, at 350 pounds, Bubba is capable of running a 5.2-second 40-yard dash—a remarkable feat given his age and size, made even more remarkable when you consider he has been working out in the weight room only since last year....
youtu.be/ahfA0-GHneA
This is the type cat we’ve built this team around. Ain’t no way he’s running a 5.2 fo real, but he’s nimble and would be a hell of a d-tackle.
“I can adapt to whatever my coaches need me to do,” Bubba says. “I don’t think too many people can just come off the offensive line and defensive line and do that type of stuff.”
Here’s a full piece done on this extraordinary kid by Bleacher Report.
www.totalprosports.com/2018/11/21/lets-meet-350-pound-qb-rb-dt-ol-joshua-bubba-johnson-video/Tags: Calumet New Tech High School, Joshua “Bubba” Johnson,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahfA0-GHneA&index=1&list=RDahfA0-GHneA Reply
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