A frigid wind whips across Northwestern’s practice field, around coaches draped in parkas and shivering players eagerly awaiting the final horn.
Kicker Tim Long holds his hands behind his back in a heated pouch, right tackle Mike Souza blocks in sweatpants and punter J.J. Standring peeks out beneath a ski mask, resembling a frozen Spider Man stationed on the sidelines.
But 190-pound wide receiver Teddy Johnson is unimpressed by the chilly conditions. Lining up wearing only a T-shirt beneath his practice jersey, Johnson greets a smattering of frozen reporters with a smile.
“Yeah, media,” he shouts.
Don’t you need an undershirt, Teddy?
“I’m a soldier today, ” Johnson fires back. “The cold don’t bother me.”
Few things seem to faze Johnson, who adheres to a “no fear” philosophy. His mantra has succeeded this season, as Johnson leads NU with 502 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Though he smirks at cornerbacks, walks with a swagger and talks as fast as he runs, Johnson’s all business once the ball is snapped.
“At positions like receiver and defensive back, you’ve got to be real confident and cocky,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to feel like you’re the best person in the world, even if you’re second string, whatever string you are, you’ve got to feel like you’re the best. Because if you feel any different, you allow someone to get the edge on you.”
Johnson’s undying self-belief is on display each practice, where he struts around the gridiron and frequently “chats” with teammates across the line of scrimmage. During offseason workouts, Johnson had several epic showdowns with veteran NU cornerback Harold Blackmon.
“It’s mostly joking around, he’s telling me he’s going to shut me down and I’m saying I’m going to smoke him,” Johnson said. “It’s to help each other step up, put a little more on the line, calling each other out and seeing who wins the battle.”
Blackmon insists he prevails most of the time, yet Johnson begs to differ. Though mutual respect now flows between the two players, Blackmon recalls Johnson’s meek appearance at their first meeting.
“Teddy was hurt — he had a groin injury and I just thought he was soft,” Blackmon said. “Soft kid, highly recruited, worth nothing. I didn’t think much of him when I first saw him, but as time went on he went out to Camp Kenosha and his groin got better and he started making play after play, it kind of opened my eyes.”
Johnson’s progress since then has been astounding. As one of four true freshman to see action in 1997, Johnson caught only two passes for 58 yards.
After sitting out most of his sophomore year with an ankle injury, Johnson returned in 1999 raring to go. But his outgoing personality clashed with new coach Randy Walker, a strict disciplinarian who questioned Johnson’s desire.
“He was one of many that didn’t understand the work ethic we were looking for, didn’t understand the toughness we were looking for and needed to either get with it or get going,” Walker said.
Johnson got the picture and worked to build his strength and speed, racking up 354 yards and four touchdowns last season. Now he’s the first player to meet his coach after practice, kneeling in the front row as Walker addresses the team.
“He’s real hard on me, and I feel like he’s made me a lot better being as strict as he is,” Johnson said. “He wants everything above average and he won’t settle for anything else.”
Johnson now embraces Walker’s ideology and brings a competitive attitude to every practice and game. Stating he has “no fear on the football field,” Johnson encourages teammates to the take the same approach.
“When Teddy goes out there and comes back like, ‘Man, I could beat this guy all day, ‘ I think other guys gain that same confidence,” Cats linebacker Napoleon Harris said. “They say, ‘If Teddy can do it, why can’t I?'”
“I just hate people who are afraid of anything in life,” Johnson said. “Of course everybody’s going to fear something, but you have to overcome it. It’s too big of a weakness, especially on the football field.”
Yet off the field, Johnson admits to having worries and concerns.
His two-year-old son, Isiah, weighs heavily on Johnson’s mind as he thinks to the future and graduation this spring. Though football has provided him with rock-solid confidence, accepting real-life responsibility has sustained it.
“At first it feels real difficult, but once you realize it’s your responsibility and you realize that’s you, your flesh and blood, it makes it a lot easier,” Johnson said. “I work a lot harder in school for my child, I work a lot harder on the football field for my child because I know I need to provide a future for him.”
Johnson has had several strong performances this season, including a 115-yard day against Purdue on Oct. 14. Yet the best example of his development as a player — and a person — came after NU’s devastating 27-17 loss to Iowa last Saturday.
“I went home and played with my son,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to remember anything about that game, it’s over with. Talking about it, thinking about it does nothing for me besides piss me off.
“I go ahead and forget about it, go watch film, sit back there and make sure I do things two times better against the next team.”
