Damaris Johnson
Damaris Keith Johnson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League. After playing college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2012.
Early years
Johnson was born in Norco, Louisiana where he was raised by his single mother Lori Johnson. According to Johnson, his first cousin Mark Young acted as a surrogate father and taught him how to play football. He attended Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana where he became a three-year letter winner in football. He eventually became the all-time leading receiver at Destrehan High School with a career record of 154 receptions, 2,620 yards, and 30 touchdowns. In his senior year alone, he made 81 receptions for 1,228 yards, and 12 touchdowns. That year, Destrehan High School achieved a 14–0 record and won the state championship. Johnson was named the Louisiana Championship game Most Valuable Player and the New Orleans Metro MVP, and was twice named an all-state and all-New Orleans Metro player.Johnson was highly ranked as a college prospect by several websites, but was not shown much interest by the major football schools due in part to his small stature. His high school coach Stephen Robicheaux said, "If he were two inches taller, he could have gone anywhere in the country." Rivals.com assigned him a four-star rating and named him the 11th-ranked college prospect in Louisiana and the 28th-ranked athlete in the nation. Scout.com assessed him as the 21st-ranked college prospect in the state. Johnson selected Tulsa over Texas Christian, Memphis, and Louisiana Tech.
College career
Against UTEP Miners football|UTEP], Johnson set a Tulsa school record for single-game kickoff return yards with 211 yards on six returns. In the first quarter, Johnson returned a kick 98 yards for a touchdown to equalize the game at 28 and shift the momentum in favor of Tulsa. By the game's end, Johnson had accumulated 296 all-purpose yards and was named a Conference USA Player of the Week. Against 2008 [New Mexico Lobos football|New Mexico], Johnson caught five passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns. Tulsa head coach Todd Graham said that true freshman "Damaris Johnson is as explosive of a freshman or any player I've seen, freshman or senior." He led his team and the conference in all-purpose yardage with 2,201 yards and set a Tulsa school record for single-season kickoff return yards with 1,319.In 2008, Johnson was named to the All-Conference USA second-team as a kick returner and All-Conference USA honorable mention as a wide receiver. The Sporting News named him a first-team freshman All-American, Rivals.com named him a first-team freshman All-American as an all-purpose player and Phil Steele's College Football magazine named him a second-team freshman All-American kick returner. On December 24, 2010, in the Hawaii Bowl game, Johnson broke the NCAA record for all purpose yardage with 326 in a 62–35 win for Tulsa.