Remembering Chris Johnson’s legendary career at East Carolina

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Tragic news shattered the football community Monday morning.

Former NFL running back Chris Johnson revealed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS.

The ALS Association defines ALS as a “fatal neurodegenerative disease that gradually takes away a person’s ability to walk, speak, swallow, and eventually breathe. It affects the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary movement. As those neurons deteriorate and die, the brain loses its ability to initiate and control muscle movement.” There is currently no cure for this fatal disease, and one American is diagnosed with ALS approximately every 90 minutes.

Johnson told “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan, via a speech-generating device powered by his eyesight, that he first noticed weakness in his right hand last year. After noticing his body deteriorate, he received the diagnosis.

“It’s continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined,” Johnson told Strahan in the televised segment. “I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body. Just over a year ago, I was picking up my 7-year old daughter so she could make a wish with her birthday cake. Today, I couldn’t do that.”

Johnson also said on the program that his mind remains sharp even though his body no longer cooperates.

Prior to the tragic diagnosis, Johnson was an athletic marvel. Suiting up from 2008-17, Johnson is one of 36 running backs in NFL history to register at least 9,600 career rushing yards. He spent six years with the Tennessee Titans and eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in all six. Most notably, in 2009, he became the sixth member of the exclusive 2,000-yard club (which currently has nine members) — and this feat earned him the nickname “CJ2K.” After his tenure with the Titans, Johnson also played one season for the New York Jets and three seasons for the Arizona Cardinals before retiring on Nov. 5, 2018.

Before he became CJ2K in the ranks of the NFL, he was a legend at East Carolina University.

The Orlando native Johnson committed to East Carolina prior to the 2004 season. He immediately thrived as a true freshman, ranking atop the Pirates with 561 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns, while finishing second on the team with 32 receptions. 2004 was a struggle for a 2-9 ECU team, but the talented freshman carried the Pirates to their first win in October, dismantling Tulane’s defense behind 158 rushing yards and two scores. Johnson stayed the course in Greenville in 2005, and the versatile back improved his numbers, generating a team-best 684 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, and 35 receptions. He posted 106 yards and a hat trick of touchdowns to upstage Marshall on the penultimate week of the season.

It was clear ECU had a rising star on its hands, but injuries limited Johnson from showcasing that to the country in 2006. He was limited in spring practice with a neck injury and missed some time due to a foot injury. Despite only logging 314 rushing yards, Johnson still managed a First Team All-Conference USA selection due to his prowess in the return game. He produced 482 kick return yards that season, highlighted by a 96-yard house call in an overtime victory over Southern Miss.

Then 2007 arrived.

In the season opener, East Carolina was included in the College GameDay feature matchup, as the iconic Saturday show selected Virginia Tech as the Week 1 host — the first game in Blacksburg, VA after the tragic 2007 shooting. Johnson produced 29 rushing yards and ECU’s lone touchdown under the spotlight as his name became increasingly more known by college football fans across the country.

The Chris Johnson show aired the following week. The running back was held to 18 rushing yards, but he led the winning effort over North Carolina in another fashion. He secured five receptions for 136 yards and totaled three touchdowns, providing the Pirates enough firepower to defeat the Tar Heels on a buzzer-beating field goal. Johnson takeovers then became the theme of that ECU season. He posted 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Houston during the final week of September. To open October, he upended eventual CUSA champion UCF behind 89 rushing yards, 89 receiving yards, and four total touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 kickoff return).

But his magnum opus was saved for Memphis on Nov. 3. On that Saturday, Johnson set career-highs with 301 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns, providing the offensive spark the Pirates needed to outlast the Tigers, 56-40. To this day, that performance remains the second-most rushing yards ever produced by an ECU player in a single game.

He concluded the regular season with 155 rushing yards, 85 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns in a perfect senior day sendoff vs. Tulane. For the second-straight season, ECU qualified for a bowl game and that’s where Johnson elevated his draft stock.

ECU battled No. 24 Boise State in the 2007 Hawaii Bowl, and Johnson made his own impression on the islands. The First Team All-Conference USA running back accumulated 223 rushing yards, 32 receiving yards, and two total touchdowns against the Broncos, winning MVP honors in the Pirates’ 41-38 upset victory.

The nation watched Johnson conclude a successful 2007 campaign of 1,423 rushing yards, 528 receiving yards, 1,009 kick return yards, and 24 total touchdowns, and he was rewarded. Johnson subsequently earned invitations to the 2008 Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine. At the latter event, he tied an NFL Combine record with a 4.24-second 40-yard dash — a record which stood for nine years until John Ross broke it in 2017.

Johnson’s breakout season, combined with his Senior Bowl and Combine performances, warranted him a first-round NFL Draft selection by the Tennessee Titans at No. 24 overall. He became the second first-round pick in ECU history, joining linebacker Robert Jones who was also selected No. 24 overall in 1992.

Johnson is currently ranked No. 5 all-time in rushing yards (2,982) and No. 2 in rushing touchdowns (32) in ECU program history. He was inducted into the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 and remains one of the most iconic players to ever don the purple and gold.

Visit ALS.org to learn more about the disease Chris is battling.

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