Kyron Johnson finishes the Video Game All-Star series - 5 Days to Kansas Football.
In this story:
The return of the NCAA Football video game is scheduled for next summer, and that gives us the perfect opportunity to highlight some players that didn't get an opportunity to appear in the series during it's hiatus.
Thanks to a rating system that includes individualized ratings of college players that we discussed on the Rock Chalk Podcast, we are able to correct that oversight. This rating combines their base talent level with their actual college production to come up with an overall look at their performance.
A reminder that our Video Game All-Stars series will look at recent Kansas players who played well at Kansas but never got an opportunity to be captured with a virtual version of themselves. We will look back at their careers, and include a projection of what their overall rating would have been had the games been around.
Our series concludes today, and it was fitting that the best player on defense last season who finished his career and got drafted would be our final player here. That's right, we are highlighting EDGE Kyron Johnson.
With two players to cover, we'll do an abbreviated look at both of these players before we get into the ratings.
Other Player Spotlights in this series:
Daniel Wise
Mike Lee
Joe Dineen
Andrew Parchment
Pooka Williams
Hasan Defense
Dorance Armstrong
Bryce Torneden
Hakeem Adeniji
Reader Picks: Steven Sims and Fish Smithson
Recruiting Bio
A 6'1", 188-lb outside linebacker out of Lamar High School in Arlington, TX, Johnson was a lightly recruited high school player who impressed the Kansas coaches with his blazing speed.
He originally came to Kansas as an early graduate from high school, giving him a head start compared to the rest of the members of his recruiting class. And he made an early impression with his speed and awareness at the linebacker position. He committed to the Jayhawks over another offer from SMU.
Production at Kansas
| Season | Games Played | Total Tackles | Solo Tackles | Tackles For Loss | Sacks | Passes Defended | Fumbles Forced | Fumbles Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 8 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2018 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
2019 | 12 | 55 | 36 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 9 | 42 | 27 | 4.5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
2021 | 12 | 63 | 41 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Johnson started his first season on the special teams, appearing in 8 games in a limited role. But he jumped in as a sophomore and immediately started to make a big impact.
Johnson versatility was evident early in his career, as he played big minutes in a multitude of roles, both as a linebacker in 3-4 sets and then as a lineman in 4-3 sets. And he continued to get better as he played more, with his best season by far coming in his super-senior year in 2021.
Best Game
This was actually tough to pick, because I'm sure there is one game that everyone remembers from his career, both because of how recent it was and how huge he stepped up in that game. But the second one to highlight was a lot harder to find, partly because his best games came in huge losses or because he made impacts in ways that didn't necessarily show up on the stat sheet.
September 10, 2021: 49-22 Loss at #17 Coastal Carolina
Stat line: 7 total tackles, 5 solo tackles, 0.5 sacks 1 fumble recovery.
This game was a struggle by the end, but Johnson led a solid defensive effort in the first half that kept the game from getting out of hand early. He jumped on a fumble forced by Malcolm Lee deep in Kansas territory, and a late first half score gave the Jayhawks an opportunity to be in it early in the second half.
Unfortunately, the Coastal Carolina offense was too good with too many options, and the Chanticleers were able to scheme around Johnson and the rest of the Kansas defense to pull away.
November 13, 2021: 57-56 OT Win at Texas
Stat line: 8 total tackles, 6 solo tackles, 2 sacks, 2 fumbles forced, 1 fumble recovery
Johnson was a force in this game, putting early pressure on both Casey Thompson and Hudson Card. Each Texas quarterback fumbled after being sacked by Johnson, and Texas struggled to get things going early.
While Texas was able to adjust away from Johnson for good portions of this game, he was always enough of a threat to open things up for everyone else as well.
After Kansas
Johnson was drafted 181st overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL Draft. They traded up to make sure that they could select him.
Early indications are that Johnson is expected to be an immediate impact player on special teams. He will have an opportunity to contribute as a rotational player in the defense as well.
Video Game Rating
Base Rating: 77
Production Bonus: 30
Total Rating: 100
Johnson was rated fairly highly coming out of school, giving him a good base score to build from. He was able to shine on the field, which gave him a whopping 30 production points. Unfortunately for him, the rating system caps out at 100. But it's fair to say that Johnson was a standout player for Kansas at multiple positions over his career, and he deservedly has the highest video game rating out of the entire bump.
While the ratings we have are not broken down into the individual attributes that you would typically see in a game like the Madden series, it is possible to guess which attributes would be the highest. His blazing speed both coming out of high school and in his career would lead that to be an easy pick. I'll through in agility as the second as he has shown the ability to use his hand positioning and quick reflexes to redirect opposing offensive lineman.
A reminder that our video game ratings are provided by CFB Winning Edge, which is an independent outlet focused on college football analytics that has developed team, player and coach ratings based on a wide range of current and historical data.
Patreon supporters have access to their FBS Team Profiles, which includes ratings for over 11,000 individual players across all 131 FBS teams, as well as ratings for every head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, and strength of schedule metrics. In addition to stats, recruiting data, injury reports, and player movement information, they also offer three sets of projected point spreads for every FBS game based on separate projection models, as well as projected win totals.
You can find more information about what they offer by going to their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/CFBWinningEdge
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