February 12, 2009
Johnson gets rewarded
“Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy” was the name of a radio adventure show that ran from 1933 to 1951. We have a suggestion if someone wishes to resurrect the series: have Travis Johnson of The King’s Academy (TKA) play the lead.
Johnson makes his commitment to San Jose St. official by signing his national letter of intent
Johnson is a high school wrestler, weightlifter, skier, snowboarder, angler, whitewater rafting guide, Eagle Scout, football player and it is the latter that was recently rewarded. As a 6-foot-3, 230 pound fullback and defensive end for The King’s Academy in Sunnyvale, Johnson decided to accept a football scholarship offer from San Jose State University.
Why the Spartans? It was a matter of wanting to play against the most challenging. "San Jose State is Division 1-A while UC Davis and Sacramento State are at a lower level," Johnson said.
Plus, he developed a strong relationship with the SJSU coaching staff. Sharing the same first name and possibly the same position, senior-to-be linebacker Travis Jones was Johnson’s recruiting trip host. Johnson says the highlights of his campus visit were: meeting the other recruits visiting that day, seeing the campus, checking out the weightroom, and talking with the coaches.
It’s obviously too early to know just where he will find himelf lining up on the field next season but Johnson’s sense is that it could be at defensive end, possibly outside linebacker or fullback.
Johnson’s options include linebacker, defensive end or fullback
Johnson didn’t wrestle for TKA this season, instead deciding to focus on football-related workouts with a focus on heavy lifting and speed training. "I kind of live in the weight room," Johnson said, adding "I’m in there 2-3 hours a day."
He sees his wrestling prowess as a plus, with certain grappling skills transferable to the gridiron. "The big overlap is using your hips in moves, things like using the other person’s body and weight and also reversing it against him."
Currently, majoring in kinesiology is what he has in mind with the idea of becoming a physical therapist or a personal trainer as his life’s work. Johnson definitely emphasized, "I don’t want to work in an office."
It first hit him that receiving an athletics scholarship was within his reach "at the end of my junior year. I had 21 sacks for the season and I was looking around [at prep sports sites] on the computer and it hit me that I can compete with a lot of people."
As a youngster, he played baseball among other sports but eventually, as he put it, "I needed something more physical. With football, you get to hit people, going full speed and knocking them down" which sounds like at least part of the job descriptions for defensive end, linebacker and fullback.
Asked what changes he has witnessed in himself since his freshman year, Johnson offered, "I think the biggest is in how I present myself and how I treat other people. I was shy and a bit overweight in the 8th grade but I grew, got stronger and began interacting with a lot more people." Now, he acts as a mentor for younger kids and "I’m comfortable doing pretty much anything."
Now he didn’t mention acting but if the name Travis Johnson can be substituted for Jack Armstrong...