The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2019
One of the premier defensive players in Texas Football history who went on to play 13 years in the NFL, Derrick Johnson was the winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (nation's top defensive player) and Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker) as a senior. A two-time consensus first-team All-American (2003-04), he was a two-time finalist and three-time semifinalist for the Butkus Award as well as a finalist for the Bednarik Award (nation's top defensive player), Lombardi Award (nation's top lineman) and Lott Trophy (defensive player of the year) in 2004. He also finished 12th in the 2004 Heisman Trophy balloting and was listed among the 10 finalists for that year's Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year, the only defensive player on both of those groups. A unanimous selection as the 2004 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, he led UT to an 11-1 record with a 38-37 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl. He also was selected as the 2004 Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year. From 2001-04, Johnson played in 50 career games (40 starts) during a four-year stretch that saw the Horns win 11 games three times, at least 10 games all four years and post an overall record of 43-8 (27-5 in Big 12). UT won three bowl games, finished in the Top 12 nationally all four years and among the Top 6 three times. Johnson tallied 458 career tackles (No. 3 on UT's career list), 280 solo tackles (No. 4 on UT's career list), 65 TFLs (No. 1 on UT's career list), 10.5 sacks, 39 QB pressures, 30 PBUs (UT record for LBs), nine interceptions (UT record for LBs), 11 forced fumbles (T-No. 3 on UT's career list) and five fumble recoveries. He started all 12 games as a senior and posted 130 tackles (73 solo), 19 TFLs and an NCAA-record nine caused fumbles. As a junior, he started all 13 games and recorded 125 tackles, 20 TFLs, and four interceptions, tying his own UT record for LBs. In 2002, he started all 13 games and registered 120 tackles, 13 TFLs, and four interceptions (UT record for LBs) en route to first-team All-Big 12 honors. As a true freshman in 2001, he played in all 13 games, including two starts. He was selected the Defensive MVP of the Holiday Bowl as a freshman. Johnson earned National Freshman of the Year, first-team Freshman All-America and was the Big 12 co-Defensive Freshman of the Year. Johnson went on to become the 15th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He played 13 full seasons in the NFL, all with the Chiefs, before finishing his career in 2018 with the Oakland Raiders. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, he is the Chiefs' all-time leading tackler. For his career, he totaled 194 games (176 starts), 1,279 tackles, 27.5 sacks, 40 QB pressures, 78 passes defended, 23 forced fumbles, 14 interceptions and scored four TDs. A native of Waco, Texas, the Waco High School star was a Parade All-American who once posted 30 tackles in a high school game. He was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2015, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. He returned to UT after his NFL career to earn his degree in Youth and Community Studies in Fall 2020.
