Johnson's journey to Pitt
Later this summer, Karter Johnson will move from his home in Pickerington (Oh.) to his new college in Pittsburgh, a trip of about 170 miles that will take less than three hours.
But Johnson’s journey has covered a lot more ground and taken a lot more time, to the extent where it’s difficult to find a fitting origin point.
There was Johnson’s first visit to Pitt last Tuesday or his first phone call from Pat Narduzzi two weeks ago; those are key steps in his journey, but they’re far too recent to tell the whole story.
There was Johnson’s decision to spend two years at Butler Community College in Kansas, a move that was driven by a desire to improve not just his football career but his personal life and mental health.
There was Johnson’s original commitment coming out of high school, when he chose TCU over offers from Boston College, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan State, Nebraska, Rutgers, Syracuse, West Virginia and others.
But maybe Johnson’s story goes back even further. It wasn’t precisely when he decided to leave Gahanna Lincoln High School for Pickerington Central after his junior year, but somewhere around then. A defensive lineman who played a bit of blocking tight end, Johnson was carrying more than 330 pounds on his 6’2” frame, and while he moved well at that size, big is big, and Johnson was big.
And when he got to TCU, he found out what guys his size do in college.
“They said I would be playing three-technique (defensive tackle), but it turned into straight-up nose guard,” Johnson told Panther-Lair.com. “Really, I never even wanted to play defense. I did it to my full ability, but I just didn’t have the heart behind it, when it came down to it.
“Offense was a new start, a new life. It really was a start-over when I lost about 120 pounds.”
But that’s jumping ahead in the story. Because before Johnson lost weight and switched positions and went to junior college and committed to Pitt - before all of that, he hit a low point. Johnson wasn’t happy as a freshman at TCU, and as he fell into depression, he didn’t feel like he was getting the support he needed. So he made a decision.
“I didn’t want to feel that way anymore,” he said, “so I chose to leave without any thought of whether I would play football again. I chose my life over football.
“I went home, had a counselor for a few months and really got a lot of help. My family was there for me and family is a big thing for me, and it really helped my mental get better.”
As Johnson improved his mental well-being in Columbus, he also experienced a significant physical change. After topping out at 338 pounds in high school, Johnson started losing weight when he got to TCU. Some of that was the natural weight loss that comes with the grind of training camp, but Johnson’s depression was a contributing factor as well. He didn’t have much of an appetite, and as he ate less and less, his weight dropped.
By the time he left TCU in October of his freshman year, Johnson weighed less than 300 pounds, and when he got home, that continued. But whereas his weight loss at TCU had been driven by depression, at home in Columbus he turned it into a goal.
“I started running, and it went from one mile into two or three and just kept working at it,” he said. “I got down to 215, and it was a crazy thing for me, to go from being a big guy at 330 and then looking at your stomach and seeing some ripples and being like, ‘What is that? Oh, I have a six-pack.’”
Along with the mental healing and physical change, Johnson refocused on what he truly wanted to do in football:
Play offense.
“I came back from TCU, sat down with my mom and came up a plan,” he said. “Nobody in the country would take me as a tight end other than Butler (Community College). Everybody thought I was a defensive lineman, but I wasn’t that guy anymore. I wanted to be an offensive guy and score touchdowns and put points on the board.”
With no other options, Johnson took what was available and went to junior college. And just like every other experience along his journey, that decision had a significant impact on Johnson’s development.
“JUCO is growth,” he said. “Those are the years when you’ll grow the most in your life. You’re in that place, you’re in the middle of nowhere, and you’re there with guys who are your brothers. They know what you’re going through.
“There’s nothing that will make you grow more than going to JUCO. You become a man at JUCO.”
In two seasons at Butler, Johnson caught 22 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 13.3 yards per catch and producing film that generated interest from FBS coaches. SMU and Coastal Carolina offered him. Alabama requested transcripts. And Temple and Iowa State showed some interest, too.
At the beginning of May, Johnson committed to Coastal Carolina, but two weeks ago, he got a call from Narduzzi that opened a new opportunity.
“When I was on the phone with Coach Narduzzi, we had a great conversation, and then I visited on Tuesday and absolutely fell in love,” Johnson said. “That was the first time I visited there. I had gone to Pittsburgh before for a Steelers game, but that was it. I just fell in love with the academics and the post-football part is great for athletes. And I fell in love with the city; it’s a beautiful city, everybody there is super nice and the atmosphere was surreal.”
Johnson currently weighs 245 pounds, which is right in the range he wants to be. He said the Pitt coaches like his potential at tight end, where he played at Butler, but they also have bigger ideas for how he can contribute to the Panthers’ offense.
“They really said the term ‘athlete’ - anything that will fit for their offense and help them win,” he said. “They said I could split out, be in the backfield, be inline - just be a utility guy.”
Johnson will make the next step when he moves to Pitt in July after he gets a few remaining credits through an online course, and he plans to visit again on Wednesday. But these are all steps along the path of his bigger journey, and he’s excited to get started.
“I cannot wait to get down there and continue the next step on my journey,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been doing this for a long time, so to get back to the Power Five level at a different position, I can’t wait.”