Former K-State center Noah Johnson eager to begin pro football career ... in Canada
The NFL Draft came and went without any form of good news for Noah Johnson.
He didn’t get drafted. He didn’t sign a free-agent deal. And no teams invited him to try out for a roster spot at their rookie minicamps this month.
Still, that doesn’t mean his football career is over. Johnson, a 6-foot-1 and 300-pound former center for the Kansas State Wildcats, signed with a professional team on Tuesday. He will report for duty next week ... after he travels 1,300 miles north.
Johnson will soon be a rookie offensive lineman for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
“Ever since I started thinking about playing professional football, I’ve always thought that going to Canada would be awesome,” Johnson said. “I don’t know all the differences between their game and ours yet, but I’m excited to get up there. Obviously, the NFL didn’t work out how I envisioned it or wanted it, but that’s life. The universe had a different plan for me. This is a great opportunity. I’m nervous and a little scared, but mostly I’m excited.”
There is something about the CFL that seems like a solid match for Johnson.
Johnson was mostly overlooked as a high school recruit coming out of Bishop Carroll. He went to Butler Community College before he made the jump to Kansas State and started 23 games for the Wildcats at center, becoming the heart and soul of K-State’s front five.
He was a captain and a vocal leader as a senior. He played a valuable role on a team that won eight games and capped its season by trouncing LSU at the Texas Bowl.
That wasn’t enough for a NFL team to take a chance on him. But it might be enough for him to thrive in Canada.
“I felt good about my chances heading into the NFL Draft,” Johnson said. “The teams that were interested in me weren’t interested enough, apparently. That’s the way it goes. I still get a great opportunity to play football and get paid to do something I love. I will also get a completely new experience and live in a different country and meet a ton of new people. I don’t have any regrets. I’m grateful.”
Johnson has never left the country before. Luckily, he does own a passport. He will finally get an opportunity to use it next week after he bids farewell to Manhattan.
He is looking forward to the journey, and he hopes to visit distant relatives once he arrives in Canada. Johnson says his grandmother was born in Quebec. He also recently found out he has a cousin living in Saskatchewan. Small world, right?
Between now and then, Johnson hopes to learn more about the CFL and its obscure rules.
He already knows the CFL field is bigger than what he’s grown accustomed to. But it will take some time to adjust to three downs and 12 players. He is also curious about the larger neutral zone that is used in the CFL.
One of Johnson’s oldest friends is the son of a former CFL player. So he called him up for advice.
“It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment,” Johnson said. “But at the end of the day it’s still football. The cool thing about it is there are enough differences that it will feel almost like I’m playing a different sport. That’s going to be a completely new experience, and I think that is going to be fun.”
Who knows, if things go well enough for Johnson with the Roughriders maybe he can one day earn another shot at playing in the NFL.
“That’s still my ultimate goal,” Johnson said. “I’m just going to try and see if I can grow a beard and talk with a Canadian accent first.”