Former Gator Chris Johnson's death a reminder hope is available in darkest moments
Monday, March 2, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
Former UF football player Chris Johnson (No. 32) died over the weekend in Pennsylvania. (File photo)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The cryptic tweets began to pop up on Twitter during Saturday night's Gators-Tennessee basketball game.
None were from traditional media or bloggers who cover the Gators regularly.
A quick Twitter search of “Chris Johnson” and “Chris 'Juice' Johnson” discovered what appeared to be a small group of friends and former classmates of Johnson's at Ocala Trinity Catholic High School sharing their sadness about his death.
No one seemed to have any details.
Sadly, shortly before midnight, the first news story appeared on Ocala.com, the website of Johnson's hometown newspaper. The 22-year-old Johnson, who signed with the Gators in 2011 and played 26 games over the next two seasons -- primarily on special teams -- was dead.
Of course, it was shocking news. Life has barely begun at 22, and certainly not supposed to end.
Soon, the Ocala.com story began appearing on my timeline often as word spread. And then early Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posted a story on its website that confirmed Johnson died on Friday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound according to the Alleghany County (Pa.) medical examiner's office.
More stories surfaced on the Internet throughout the day Sunday spreading the news, and many current and former UF student-athletes reacted to the tragedy, sharing their memories of Johnson as detailed here by the Orlando Sentinel.
Johnson's most significant moment as a player at UF happened on Oct. 20, 2012. In Florida's 44-11 victory over South Carolina at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with ESPN “GameDay” in town for the SEC East showdown, Johnson brought the sellout crowd to its feet.
Late in the second quarter South Carolina's Damiere Byrd fielded a kickoff and returned it to the 16-yard line when Gators receiver Solomon Patton forced a fumble. Johnson scooped up the loose football at the 14 and raced toward the end zone.
As South Carolina's Justice Cunningham gripped Johnson's legs and brought him down to the turf, Johnson stretched every inch of his 5-foot-10 frame trying to get the football to break the goal line.
Johnson fell a yard short, but two plays later Jeff Driskel hit Jordan Reed for a 1-yard touchdown pass and 21-3 Florida lead that was never threatened.
The play was the first memory that flashed in my mind when I heard of Johnson's death. The second was his big grin whenever I saw him around the locker room or at practice.
I won't pretend to have known Johnson very well other than for a couple of quick chats about topics I can't recall, but it was obvious he was well-liked by his teammates and was a solid contributor on special teams in his two seasons.
His final game for the Gators was in the Sugar Bowl loss to Louisville in January 2013 when he was ejected for throwing a punch on an on-sides kickoff. It was a forgettable night for the Gators and an unfortunate moment for Johnson, who transferred to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh for his final two seasons.
While the details of Johnson's death remain scarce, somewhere along the path from his shining moment at UF to his death on a cold Pennsylvania day, Johnson apparently lost hope.
If you or anyone you know are in that same dark place, there is help available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers assistance 24/7, and Suicide.org is another good resource.
If you have lost hope, they can help.
The hope here is that the player his teammates and coaches simply referred to as “Juice” can rest in peace.
