From a neutral point of view, Xavier Johnson’s (27 / USA) football career was over. For four years the running back was in the history books as the best ball carrier at the university in South Alabama. But the jump into the NFL was denied him.
But Johnson believed in his big dream – and three years later on June 20, as the star of the Hamburg Sea Devils, slams into the new European league ELF.
“My personal goal is to be the best running back in Europe,” says the man from Tampa confidently. “The goal for us as a team is to approach every training session as if it were our last, to win game after game and take the championship.”
There were two reasons why the fast, agile athlete (1.78 meters, 86 kilos) never gave up hope: his belief in God – and a stroke of fate.
Johnson: “My motivation all along was my son, who died three years ago.”
The baby died shortly after birth. Because Johnson couldn’t be there, he only saw the little one once on a video call.
“It took a while to process all of this,” he says. “Sometimes I still think about it.”
When the offer came from Hamburg, quarterback Jadrian Clark (27) convinced his Florida buddy to come to Germany a second time in 2020 after a failed attempt at the second division Straubing in 2020.
He has not regretted it for a second. On the contrary! “Every time I’m back on the field, I feel: Damn it, I can do what I love.”
If his football dream had fallen through, the fashion fan would have founded his own label or worked with young people. But that can wait. “It’s an honor to be here,” says Johnson, beaming. “We are evolving every day. The team chemistry is good. I would go into battle with the boys. “
The 14:13 in the test against Berlin Thunder confirmed him: “We’ll be hard to beat. If we give 110 percent and don’t make any mistakes, we’re impossible to get. “
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