Five years ago, Kameron “Jay” Johnson was a senior at Northern Nash High School with zero college offers, battling for the starting quarterback job in what looked like his final season of football at any level. 

Now, he’s a wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, preparing to suit up for his first regular-season NFL game despite going undrafted and facing a myriad of doubters along the way who labeled him undersized.

“I’ve been told no my whole life,” Johnson said. “When people say no, that many times you have no choice but to have a chip on your shoulder to prove to them and yourself who you are.”

Kameron Johnson Was Born to Compete

While some may view competition as an obstacle blocking their goals, as a fraternal twin, Kameron Johnson has literally been competing since he was in the womb.

Born on March 17, 2002, Kameron was slower than his twin brother Kamden Johnson by five whole minutes, forever cementing him as the youngest of three brothers.

As a toddler, though, Kameron would show his competitive nature. He made up for losing their first race by becoming the first of the twins to start walking, albeit by mere seconds, as, according to their grandmother, Kamden copied his brother as soon as he saw him. 

“It doesn’t matter what it is; we’re very competitive,” Kamden said while laughing about that example. He then added, “iron sharpens iron.”

The brothers’ competitive rivalry propelled both into becoming collegiate athletes, with Kameron playing football at Barton College and Pete competing in track and field at the University of Mount Olive.

However, neither of them competed collegiately in the sport they originally envisioned.

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Honestly, we both had hoop dreams,” Kameron reminisced, noting that the pair grew up watching their older brother Kyle compete on the court. “We thought we’d go to college to play hoops, but when we got to high school, we saw that wasn’t reality.

Kameron, now 22 years old, stands 5-10 and is considered undersized for the NFL. In high school, though, he was “super tiny,” according to Ashley Davis, who started coaching Johnson in both basketball and football back when he was just a 5-4 140-pound freshman. 

Despite his lack of size, Johnson played basketball throughout high school and even led the team in rebounding.

During a playoff game his senior year, Davis put him at center against an eventually dominant college scorer, and he showcased so much grit on the basketball court that Barton’s football scouts were actually impressed. 

“Jay was only like 5-8, but he was built like a miniature tank,” Davis recalled. “I told him, I don’t need you to be tall; I need you to be strong; you’re gonna guard [BJ] Freeman because you’re quick; just don’t let him catch the ball. In the first half, the kid scored six points; Jay completely shut him down.”

As Kam’s father, Kenneth Johnson, put it, “Size don’t always matter when you’ve got that heart of a lion to go out there, be a killer and do what you love.”

Kam’s heart and willingness to do whatever it takes to help his team win became even more clear as he began to fall in love with football.

Flipping the Football Switch

Although he started playing football when he was 12, Kameron Johnson still viewed football as something he was just doing for fun early on in high school. 

Still, Davis said that based on Johnson’s natural explosiveness, he saw the potential for him to play in college despite his smaller stature so long as he took the sport seriously. 

However, not all of the coaches shared Davis’ belief in Johnson. 

Johnson shared that as an underclassman, one of the coaches told him he’d “never amount to anything as a football player,” frustrating words that added fuel to his competitive fire. 

Cameron Avery, Johnson’s quarterbacks coach, who helped train him throughout college, commended him for being self-driven. 

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“His work ethic is indescribable,” Avery said. “If the weight room was open, he knew no speed but 100 miles an hour, going as hard as he could every session. He just kept putting on weight and getting stronger and faster.”

At the end of his sophomore year, his work paid off. Assistant varsity coach Andrew Farris recalled the moment he knew he was different. 

“It was the last game of the JV season against our rival, and it was the very last play of the game,” Farris recounted. “We needed a touchdown to win. He was playing quarterback, and nobody was open. He took off running, and we’re like, ‘Oh my God, no, no, no!’ He ends up zigzagging through the whole defense, scoring and winning the game—he’s been dynamic.”

After that play, the coach who doubted Johnson changed his tune and told him that he had potential, but he wasn’t trying to just change that coach’s mind. He was trying to prove he had what it took to succeed at the next level. 

That summer, a switch would flip in his approach. Over the break, he quietly participated in a National football camp where he felt he performed as one of the top defensive backs. 

“It was a realization, like, I can actually compete with these guys who are supposed to be the best in the country. Let me start taking this seriously and diving into the game; that’s when my love for the grind really started,” Johnson said. 

His coaches noted that they saw the change in him not only as a varsity-level player but also as a selfless leader on the team who was equally as enthusiastic whether he was the one blocking during a touchdown or scoring it himself, so long as it benefitted the team.

Unfortunately, his season would be cut short after just six games due to breaking his collar bone, something he said made him nervous heading into his senior year. 

Ultimately, though, things would work out as performed at an MVP level. He accounted for nearly 2,000 total yards and 19 touchdowns, eventually winning the starting quarterback battle though also spending some time at running back, defensive back [four interceptions], and returner. 

“His confidence grew, but his ego didn’t,” Farris said. “When your best players are your best people and hardest workers, you’ve got something special.”

Still, Johnson lacked any offers to play at the collegiate level and took the ASVAB, thinking that the military could be his career path. 

It wasn’t until basketball season that he would receive some interest from a handful of small schools. Taking a local gamble by choosing an unproven football program, Barton College, located a mere 30 minutes from home in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Kameron Johnson Was Built by Barton

If you hadn’t heard of Barton until now, you’re in the majority of people. Kameron Johnson was part of the program’s first recruiting class as it revived the football team for the first time in 70 years. 

Barton head coach Chip Hester — who coached undersized First Team All-Pro Tarik Cohen back at North Carolina A&T — said he used former Bucs’ head coach Tony Dungy’s idealogy of being uncommon to help recruit Johnson.

“He was undersized, and that’s what we are [as a program],” Hester said. “Our pitch was that we’re a little undersized, but we’ll give you an opportunity.”

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo from Barton College

Hester was no stranger to helping undersized football players make it to the NFL, having helped coach Tarik Cohen at North Carolina A&T before the 5-6 player would eventually get drafted in the fourth round and become a First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowler with the Chicago Bears.

The pitch left no doubt in Johnson’s mind that Barton was his next home.

“It was a no-brainer,” Johnson said. “I saw their vision and what they were planning to build there. I’m extremely grateful to them for taking a chance on an undersized kid. I’m forever indebted to them for trusting me with their program. I grew in my faith and as an overall person there.”

The first coach to recruit Johnson, Treiston Burnette, said he saw NFL-caliber athletic ability from a quick twitch standpoint but that he knew it would come down to whether or not he would grow.

“He knew he had a long shot [of making the NFL], but he took advantage of every single opportunity he had to be successful,” Burnette said. “I didn’t do anything but find him and give him an opportunity. He wasn’t a feature guy when he came in; he worked himself into a great football player. Every single practice was a game for him.”

Luckily for Johnson’s physical development, he hit a growth spurt during the pandemic, which afforded him an extra year to also work on refining himself as a receiver, one of the few positions he didn’t play in high school. 

While rooming with the quarterback, they often studied the playbook, and he memorized it as a freshman, adding that he took pride in knowing everything and being a leader.

“He’s a sponge, and he’s receptive of being coached hard,” Hester said. “He’s [always] looking for ways to get better. Our strength and conditioning guys love him. In fact, I’d always get on him about not taking days off. He goes hard.”

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Johnson is a football guy’s football guy. 

Coaches explained how he’d regularly work on off days, do solo practices before the team practiced, and then stay afterward to do more workouts. They added that he led off the field through his involvement in the church and FCA. Johnson also led on the field by quizzing younger teammates on details and even coaching receivers at local high schools.

His work ethic — which he credits to never seeing his parents sit down — helped him climb from the bottom of the depth chart to being the face of Barton as it established itself as a winning program in two of the first three seasons.

“A lot of people can say, ‘I do this, and I do that,’ but he actually put the work he in on a daily basis, before, during, and after practice,” Burnette said. “From a dedication standpoint, he was practicing, doing, and teaching, so he had no choice but to get better.”

That work ethic boosted his athleticism while also yielding impressive results in the weight room.

The 37-inch vertical and 4.46-second 40-yard dash Johnson recorded at his Pro Day would have placed him top-12 among his position group at the NFL Combine, while his 21 reps bench pressing 225 pounds would’ve been tied for first.

His PR’s lifting in the gym are even more remarkable, especially considering he was listed at just 170 pounds at Barton. He power cleans 335 pounds, benches 355 pounds, squats 550 pounds, and deadlifts 675 pounds. He said he takes pride in his body; he doesn’t smoke or drink and tries to be the strongest one in the weight room.

“Call it little man syndrome, but I’m not going to get bullied by anybody,” Johnson said. “I know the talent that god blessed me with, so I’m gonna maximize it. I always give my best effort.”

An impressive junior season would earn him the title of First-Team All-South Atlantic Conference after he recorded 879 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on just 51 receptions.

“I never saw him lose a jump ball situation; his ball skills were totally different from anybody else’s,” Burnette said. “With the amount of touches he got, it was either going to be first down or touchdown.”

Johnson and his mother would then look to God as he decided whether or not to forgo his final year of college eligibility and declare for the NFL Draft. 

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

His mother, Angela Howell, said her prayers were answered with the message, “Opportunity knocks once.” When they reconvened, he shared that he’d found a similar sentiment.

“I stumbled across a verse in Ecclesiastes chapter 11: ‘You must take a chance. If you wait for perfect weather, you will never plant your seeds. If you are afraid that every cloud will bring rain, you will never harvest your crops.’ So I was like, God, that must be a sign,” Johnson said.

Fueled by faith, he forewent his final year of eligibility in the collegiate ranks, leaving as Barton’s most prolific receiver and returner of all time. 

“Everybody in high school said, ‘He’s gonna be too small.’ He did it. Then he got to college, and ‘[People said] we’ll see what he do. Maybe he’ll grow. Maybe he’ll’…No, he did it. And it’s not like he barely did. He did it with flying colors,” Burnette said.

Forging an NFL Legacy

As it would turn out, flying colors weren’t enough to get Kameron Johnson drafted. However, the setback wasn’t enough to shake him. 

“Just because you went undrafted doesn’t mean the story is over,” Johnson said. “Many talented guys went undrafted, like Victor Cruz and Ryan Clark, so I just started thinking of that, and I knew all I needed was an opportunity, and thank God I got one.”

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Johnson received more than one opportunity. He had multiple suitors call him after the draft, ultimately signing with the Bucs because of his team fit and because he wanted to stay on the East Coast near his family.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Johnson said. “I thought that [expression] ‘If you can play, they’ll find you’ was complete BS, but then it started to come to life. I was like, ‘Oh, snap!’”

“I’m not gonna lie,” Johnson said. “I thought that [expression] ‘If you can play, they’ll find you’ was complete BS, but then it started to come to life. I was like, ‘Oh, snap!’”

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds tabbed Kameron Johnson as his Bucs sleeper to watch on offense prior to the start of training camp. Reynolds’ prediction would prove to be prophetic.

After standing out early in camp and being stamped as a “stud” and “baller” by Pro Bowlers Baker Mayfield and Chris Godwin, respectively, Johnson was unable to participate in the Bucs’ first two preseason games due to a rib injury, but he remained optimistic. Remaining focused on what he could control, Johnson continued to showcase his signature smile through the adversity, just as he had done so many times before.

“I knew God wouldn’t bring me this far just to leave me,” Johnson said. “You can’t have doubt when you have faith. When you have faith, you must succeed.”

Faith prevailed as he suited up for the preseason finale versus the Miami Dolphins and played at Raymond James Stadium for the first time, going from playing in front of hundreds at his small school to tens of thousands.

“I remember I was in the huddle, and I just turned around, looking up at the Jumbotron and taking it in. Like, ‘This is a long way from D2,’” Johnson said. 

His former coaches were emotional trying to articulate the surreal feeling of watching him play in the NFL. Pointing out how few NFL players their high school has produced and how surprising it is that the one who made it was once an undersized quarterback, helped revive a college football program, and then made the NFL as a 5-10 190-pound receiver.

Bucs WR Kameron Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As for his family, the moment was bigger than him or the game; it was the culmination of generations of hard work prevailing. 

His mother reflected on working multiple jobs and still trying to attend every sport possible, whether it meant freezing outside or sitting in a boiling hot gym. His father thought about the legacy of the Johnson name, though. He reminisced about his dad passing away when he was seven and remembered growing up poor as his widowed mother worked in tobacco fields to provide for her 16 children. 

“He’s taken the [Johnson] name to a whole nother level,” Kenneth Johnson said. “Everybody’s so proud; he’s making a name for himself.”

Five touches for 25 yards were all Johnson would have to prove himself in that Dolphins game, but he’d already proven himself as an NFL player in practice.

“He really earned it all through OTAs and training camp; he’s a really explosive athlete [who] works very hard,” Bucs general manager Jason Licht said after announcing the team’s final 53-man roster. “He’s a playmaker; we’re very excited to see him in the regular season.”

Also excited is Johnson himself, though he remains focused on his next goals as well.

“I’m excited to play on Sundays, but I feel like we’re just getting started,” Johnson said. “I’ve still got so much to prove for my career, Pro Bowls, All-Pros, Super Bowls…I’m not satisfied. I’m trying to go down as a legend back home; it’s like The Sandlot said: ‘Heroes are remembered, but legends never die.’”