{"id":5900,"date":"2025-07-18T16:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T16:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/5900\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T16:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T16:31:12","slug":"up-close-meet-roughriders-defensive-tackle-micah-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/5900\/","title":{"rendered":"Up Close: Meet Roughriders defensive tackle Micah Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>KAYLE NEIS\/REGINA LEADER-POST
\nSaskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Micah Johnson (4) runs a drill during practice at Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n

Taylor Shire<\/p>\n

Regina Leader-Post<\/p>\n

At 37, Micah Johnson is still a dominant force along the\u00a0Saskatchewan Roughriders<\/a>\u00a0defensive line.<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s he like off the field? And how did he end up in the CFL in the first place?<\/p>\n

He made the jump to the NFL in 2010 with the New York Giants before also spending time with the Miami Dolphins (2010), Kansas City Chiefs (2010-11), Cincinnati Bengals (2011) and Green Bay Packers (2012). In 2013, he came to the CFL when he signed with the Calgary Stampeders and 12 years later, he\u2019s got two Grey Cup rings, seven divisional all-star nods and 180 career regular season and playoff games under his belt.<\/p>\n

But as you\u2019ll learn from Johnson, it wasn\u2019t a smooth road to get here:<\/p>\n

Name:\u00a0Micah Johnson<\/p>\n

Position:\u00a0Defensive tackle<\/p>\n

Number:\u00a04<\/p>\n

Age:\u00a037<\/p>\n

Height and weight:\u00a06-foot-1, 255 pounds<\/p>\n

Where did you grow up:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was in the military, so I grew up in a few places. I was born in Georgia, bounced around in multiple states, but I lived in Virginia most of my life from middle school through high school. So, Virginia is like home. That\u2019s where my mom and my brothers are now.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you get into football?<\/p>\n

\u201cI was probably like five. I got to sign up earlier than I could because I had two older brothers. So, I just started playing \u2026 I started playing flag football when I was like five.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was too heavy (for tackle because) they had weight limits, so I had to play flag. And then I think, like seventh or eighth grade, they finally dropped an unlimited league where all the guys could play. So that\u2019s when I finally started playing tackle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t start playing (defensive) line until I came up here to CFL. I was a running back and linebacker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any other sports growing up?<\/p>\n

\u201cI love basketball. I thought I was gonna be a hooper, but I just stopped growing tall and started growing wider and heavier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came into high school like 6-foot-1. I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh man, I\u2019m gonna leave high school like 6-foot-5. And I left high school 6-foot-1 (laughs).\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

How did you get to the CFL?<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just got cut from the Bengals. I wound up having a very good camp with the Bengals. I led them in tackles, sacks \u2014 everything. And (former Stampeders assistant general manager) John Murphy wound up being down there at that camp. So I guess they got my rights then and they saw how well I did.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I believe it was after I got cut from the Packers the next year, my agent was like, \u2018Hey, man, this team in Canada has your rights, you want to go? I was like, \u2018Nah.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then for the next couple years, I wasn\u2019t doing nothing but getting cut. I had my first son, so I was ready to start making some money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you think you\u2019d be in the CFL this long?<\/p>\n

\u201cHell no, bro. I didn\u2019t think so. Especially (since) my first year, I tore my ACL in my first year in the CFL. I tore it again the second year.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first three years in the CFL, people don\u2019t understand it was pretty much a wash. And I know you see the career numbers (now), but them first three years, like I was coming off of double ACLs and meniscus and stuff, so my first full season, I\u2019ll be telling everybody was 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n

Favourite football memory?<\/p>\n

\u201cScoring a touchdown at running back in the bowl game (for the University of Kentucky). We were playing against Clemson, and they put me in at running back, and I scored.\u201d<\/p>\n

What would you be doing if you weren\u2019t playing football?<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably producing music. I\u2019ve always liked making music, making beats. I sold a lot of beats \u2026 I lived in Atlanta for two or three years, and just selling beats, making beats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was my first few years in the CFL. So, this was like 2012-15. My first few years, that\u2019s really when I wasn\u2019t getting paid that much, that\u2019s how I was making my most of my money selling beats in the off-season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become more of a hobby for me (now) though, but I always say I got to get back into it, even if it\u2019s not just the production of music. I enjoy sound engineering, master and mixing and stuff like that. So I\u2019ve always wanted to kind of do something in that field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought a studio when I was in college \u2026 I\u2019ve always enjoyed recording people. I had people all over the city coming to record. It was actual studio equipment, Pro Tools (music software), like all that stuff. And it was self-taught.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any other jobs?<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, I was clowning myself, bro. I might really have to work a job in a few years (laughs). I just played football my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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