Karter Johnson - Slimmer, Older - Adding Depth to Pitt Football
PITTSBURGH -- When Karter Johnson decided to leave TCU - the school that recruited him as a four-star defensive tackle coming out of high school - he was taking a risk. In addition to forgoing a spot on a Power 5 roster, he was going to change positions too and move from interior lineman to tight end, a position he'd barely played before, even in high school. Now, Johnson feels that he's found a home - in Pittsburgh, with the Pitt Panthers and as a tight end.
"I thought I was going to play defensive end at TCU and ended up more as a three technique," Johnson, one of two transfer tight ends to join Pitt this offseaons, said. "I was about 280 [pounds] when I got there and I gained the weight there. I wasn’t really into the whole, taking on double teams every time and stuff like that."
The changes necessary to fit in as a tight end were wholistic. First, he had to slim down, but it took an attitude change as well. Along with the weight, he shedded an old personality and embraced a new one more aligned with his new position.
"It was a struggle. But as soon as I got into it, I was able to motivate myself to be the best I could be given the new weight I was at. I had to change my personality, my persona and become a new person."
The process, one that Johnson claims he now loves, was brutal - at least initally. He trimmed down his diet and began working out hard. He claims to have been consuming just 1,000 calories per day while still lifting and running upwards of two miles each day. But those practices cost him some of his strength, something Johnson had to recover after getting his numbers on the scale down.
"I ended up losing a total of 123 pounds. I went from 338 to 215 in a matter of eight to nine months," Johnson said. "So that was a big toll on my body. I was really weak at 215 and I didn’t like it, so I ended up hitting the weight room really hard before the summer I went to JUCO."
The work of breaking down and rebuilding his body paid off for Johnson, who in two seasons at Butler Community College in Kansas, amassed 22 catches for 293 yards and four touchdowns over thirteen games. It was good enough to earn FBS offers. He originally committed to Coastal Carolina Carolina but decommitted when the Panthers came knocking. He recommitted in late May, this time to Pitt.
Ever since, Johnson has caught the eyes of his coaches. He's repeatedly earned the praise throughout the first couple of weeks of training camp and is poised to challenge presummed starter Gavin Bartholomew for playing time.
But beyond that, Johnson feels like he has finally settled in and found the correct, most comfortable fit. His nose is in the playbook and film and football has provided a natural way to integrate him into a new life in a new city.
In Johnson's own words: "I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be."
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