Johnson Has Heartfelt Response to the Loss of Davis as the No. 1 Running Back

His UW teammate's injury affected him emotionally because he had been there before.

They're supposed to be tough guys, impervious to pain and strain, able to leap tall buildings with a single bound, but University of Washington football players are just like everyone else. 

They feel great disappointment, tear up, get emotional when bad stuff happens — even to someone else. They're like soldiers in combat, watching people next to them get injured and hustled away for medical attention.

Take Dillon Johnson, the Mississippi State running back who transferred into Montlake this spring, after he witnessed teammate and projected starter Cam Davis go down with a season-ending injury during the second fall scrimmage last Friday.

Becoming the starter and getting more carries was the last thing on this guy's mind. 

"It hurt me, I was crying," Johnson said following Thursday's practice. "I went into the training room, trying to talk to him, and I just broke down in front of him. It just hurt me, because I remember being in the same situation at Mississippi State."

The 6-foot, 212-pound Davis, a junior from Rancho Cucamonga, California, was entering his fifth season and had run as the No. 1 back throughout spring football and fall camp, and was poised to become the full-time starter for the first time this fall when he suffered a lower-body injury that wasn't specified.

Davis had waited patiently for this first-team opportunity. He had played a lot in his career, even scoring 13 rushing touchdowns last season while largely coming off the bench, which ranked him fourth in the Pac-12 behind guys who all were starters.

The 6-foot, 218-pound Johnson, a junior from Greenville, Mississippi, most likely becomes the starting running back for the season opener next week against Boise State while sharing carries with any combination of sophomore Will Nixon, junior Daniyel Ngata, senior Richard Newton and sophomore Sam Adams II.

They'll have to adjust correspondingly without Davis, who was a well-liked and respected teammate. Johnson spoke earlier about the bond he had formed with the veteran, how they had set goals together to push each other, to make each other better, to share running-back insights at all times. The injury was a total downer for all involved.

"I couldn't even practice anymore," the SEC newcomer said. "When that type of stuff happens, practice just ends automatically. I couldn't even think straight."

Johnson, who appears to be the ultimate teammate, next had the following message for Davis, who was headed for surgery this week.

"Just know that he's our leader," he said. "If he needs anything, we're going to be there for him. He's our brother. You know, we love him to death. I just wanted to let him know that everything he worked for this offseason, it won't go to waste. We got him. We're going to keep it going for him."

 

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