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Meet Senior Captain Jaquez Johnson
11/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2015
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Florida Atlantic University welcomed football to the Boca Raton campus 15 years ago. The Owls inaugural head coach was Howard Schnellenberger, the man who developed the program just to the south, "Quarterback U" and used those prototypical long lanky QBs to lead the team to its first national championship.
For the Owls' first 12 seasons, the blueprint was the same. Until --- Jaquez Johnson ran onto Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium and shattered all preconceived notions of what an FAU quarterback should be.
While former Owl quarterbacks towered over the offensive line, Johnson is a 6'1" senior whose 240-pound plus frame resembles linebackers of old, and for that matter, the FAU linebackers who suit up in 2015. Johnson has used his muscle to tally more rushing TDs (18) in just three seasons than any other FAU quarterback, including those who played and started all four seasons. He powers through defenses like he powers up a 580-pound max squat --- always ready for a greater challenge, more weight or another defender.
But it is not the size of the man that one remembers after a conversation with the Mississippi native, who graduated from FAU with a degree in communications in the spring and began graduate school in the No. 4 nationally ranked and No. 8 world-ranked MBA Sport Management program.
Continuing his education is as natural to him as the smile and pride that crosses his face when his family is mentioned. He freely admits his mother, Anita, who played basketball at Ole Miss, can beat him --- even to this day.
"We were both shooting guards in high school, but if I shoot against her, I can't beat her," said Johnson. "She can really shoot. I can't lie. She always beats me, always --- free throws, three-pointers it doesn't even matter."
He talks about being competitive and spending family time playing all types of sports. His mother is an assistant coach for Starkville High School, a team she helped lead to the school's first state championship in her junior season. The boys' team captured its first state championship in Jaquez's junior year. His Dad, Andrew, played basketball at East Mississippi Community College, where Jaquez played his first two collegiate seasons, Andrew sends the family to Jaquez's first game each season while he stays home to get the community's Pee Wee football season underway. He attends game two.
But, that competitive nature can be traced even further back to Jaquez's grandparents who play a mean game of spades.
"My Granddad and Grandma always win," said Johnson. "They don't ever play, but they get on the table and act like they don't know what they are doing. My Granddad was like 'awe I forgot how to play this game'. Then he beats everybody in the house. I had a graduation party when I was home last summer. Everybody was there and everybody was playing or had next. It was big!"
It is the love of family and missing their company that drove Jaquez's leadership on and off the field. All in an effort to make his football family better. He shows his love for FAU football and the football family by the way he talks about them --- the strength of the offensive line, the receivers' work ethic and the confidence he has in the running backs.
He has built a family away from home by teaching teammates spades, by taping down a four-square court in the locker room and by leading the football team to a summer intramural basketball championship, where he slammed down a dunk. He still describes sophomore wide receiver Kalib Woods as a Division I basketball player. It is those same teammates that Johnson introduced to his brother Nyjal (12) last summer on an extended stay and introduction to college football. Both Jaquez and Nyjal relay stories to the youngest Johnson, Daejon (10) at summer's end. And, it is the bond of friend and family that inspired him to wear No. 32 for his final collegiate season in honor of fallen high school teammate Devin Mitchel.
"After Devin was killed, I started wearing a bracelet with the No. 32 under my wristband," said Johnson. "It said #32 forever in black and gold. I was wrestling with my little brothers and broke it. I got a new one and lost it. I thought I wanted to do something bigger. One day, Coach (Charlie) Partridge brought up playing for somebody other than ourselves. I thought about that. I decided I wanted to play for him (Devin). It has motivated me to work harder in my senior year, a year Devin didn't have, even in high school."
Coach Partridge checked to see if the number was open and then text Johnson that number 32 was his, if he wanted it.
"It hurt when it happened. He was like a little brother. We all played on the same pee wee team," added Johnson. "We were the big team and he was on the little team. We won. They won. It hurt so bad that I couldn't go to the funeral. This is my way of honoring him."
No one imagined a dual threat quarterback taking the FAU Owls to new heights until Jaquez Johnson showed it could be done. He breaks the preconceived notions. He breaks the records. And, he does it with love of family, school pride and a competitive streak only matched by true champions.
Players Mentioned
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