Micah Johnson is a common denominator in a highly uncommon scenario.<\/p>\n
Johnson, still a force as a 37-year-old Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive tackle, has been a teammate of Benny Sapp III and his father.<\/p>\n
Benny Sapp II and Johnson both played for the NFL\u2019s Miami Dolphins in 2010. Sapp III joined the CFL\u2019s Roughriders on Aug. 19.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt tripped me out!\u201d Johnson said. \u201cWhen we signed him and we kept hearing \u2018Benny Sapp III,\u2019 I was thinking, \u2018I know that name \u2026\u2019 I had to go and make sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy rookie year with the Dolphins, I made the 53-man roster down there. Three or four weeks in, we had some trouble with the nickel position, so they brought Benny\u2019s dad in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember we clicked instantly. He was my guy back then. He was a hell of a ballplayer. He made all the difference for the team that year. I was messing with (Sapp III), saying, \u2018If you\u2019re anything like your daddy, I know you\u2019re nice.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a small world and football is a brotherhood,\u201d Sapp III said in his friendly fashion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy. I\u2019m not going to lie. I didn\u2019t expect that at all. That was the last thing on my mind coming here.<\/p>\n
\u201cMicah came up to me the first day and I fell to the ground, just in disbelief. I couldn\u2019t believe it. I\u2019m not going to lie to you. I didn\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing and it really helps me keep my head on my shoulders. It lets me know how privileged I am to have an opportunity to even do something like that. I\u2019m truly blessed for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sapp II, now 44, was an NFL cornerback with the Kansas City Chiefs (2004-07), Minnesota Vikings (2008-09, 2011) and Miami (2010-11).<\/p>\n
He registered six interceptions in 110 regular-season games, 27 of which he started.<\/p>\n
Sapp III emulated his father by making it to the NFL as an undrafted player out of Northern Iowa, suiting up five times for the Green Bay Packers in 2023.<\/p>\n
While playing safety, he cemented a roster spot by making an interception in the Packers\u2019 pre-season finale.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m doing something my dad helped me out with,\u201d said Sapp III, 25, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, he was giving me bits and pieces of what I can attain every year, and it got better and better. He even coached me my last year in college.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust having him as a support system and somebody I can have as an open book who has been there for multiple years, it gives me more hunger. It helps me understand that the formula actually works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jokingly, Sapp III was asked if he was a defensive back by birthright.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a quick little funny story for you,\u201d he replied with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my Little League games and in middle school and stuff, I was playing linebacker and running back. Then, one day, my dad asked me if I really wanted to play football. I told him, \u2018Yeah, Dad, I really want to play.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next day, I kid you not, he told me a time to wake up. I made sure I was there and we started doing defensive back drills. I\u2019ve been doing defensive back drills since I was 10, 11 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe definitely got all the cracks and all the nicks out for me at a young age. I appreciate it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also appreciates paternal advice that continues to this day, early in his CFL journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad has just been telling me to keep taking it day by day,\u201d said Sapp III, who made his CFL debut on Saturday when the Roughriders played host to the Montreal Alouettes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m being welcomed back to my natural position. He always taught me corner growing up. I played safety when I went to college, so this is my first time getting played at the position that I learned football from. He\u2019s just really excited about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just told me to trust my keys and be who I am. Now it\u2019s time to show this part of the world who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two worlds converged in August, when Sapp III and modern communications technology enabled Sapp II and Johnson to reconnect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually let them FaceTime each other,\u201d Sapp III said. \u201cThe first week I was here, I let them talk to each other. They were chopping it up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just sitting there watching, thinking, \u2018Bro, this is crazy.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Considering Johnson\u2019s remarkable longevity, it is crazy to ask whether, one day, he will be on the same team as, say, Benny Sapp IV.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, man,\u201d Johnson, who with five games remaining has already equalled last season\u2019s total of six sacks, said after laughing uproariously.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have to stop playing one day, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Micah Johnson is a common denominator in a highly uncommon scenario. Johnson, still a force as a 37-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-371708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}