Why Kerryon Johnson is a Sleeper

When you hear “college running backs”, the majority of college football fans will think of Saquon Barkley, Derrius Guice, Bryce Love, Ronald Jones, etc. There is one guy who isn’t getting a lot of love nationally. His name is Kerryon Johnson. 6’0, 212 pounds of pure talent.

Kerryon Johnson is one of the smoothest runners you’ll find in college football. He’s incredibly quick, agile, and fast. It’s hard to stop a guy like him when he has that combination of speed and pure toughness. With the way Auburn is using him, I would not be surprised if he picks up an injury, unfortunately. He has been so good since he returned from injury, that they’re doing nothing but handing it off to him. He’s out there for almost every play throughout the course of a game.

Johnson had a season high 31 carries in Auburn’s loss to LSU in week 7. He admitted that he was tired, but also went on to say “I’m trying to win the game, so until I drop, I’ll carry it.” If that doesn’t make you happy to hear, I’m not sure what to tell you because those are the words of a true warrior.

Speaking of carrying, Kerryon Johnson has done just that through 8 weeks. 723 yards and 14 TDs so far this season for him, which is unbelievable if you consider he hasn’t been 100% all year and has missed a game.

To conclude, he’s a junior, but I have a really good feeling Kerryon Johnson returns for his senior year. He’s not being scouted heavily as hard as guys like Barkley, Love, Jones, and Guice, but if he returns, you can expect that “first round” tab on him throughout the season.

The bye week this week could be huge for Johnson to rest up after being worked like crazy to start the season. A healthy Kerryon Johnson (coupled with a healthy Kam Pettway) will be a problem for teams.