Hayley Elwood

Here are five things to know about Chargers 2022 first round pick, Zion Johnson.

Former Golfer

Prior to football, the first sport Johnson played was golf.

“It’s been a unique experience for me,” Johnson said in an interview with 7News. “Growing up, I played golf mostly. Really in high school, golf was my main thing.”

He didn’t get into football until his junior year of high school.

How He Got into Football

So who’s responsible for the transition from golf to football?

A suggestion by a bus driver with a push from Johnson’s mom, Tammie Edwards, sealed it.

“This is probably a unique story, but the main person who pushed me into playing football was my mom,” Johnson told GMFB. “My mom always taught me you wanna try things in life so you don’t look back and have regrets and for football, that was the case.”

Tech Whiz in High School

A couple of Johnson’s favorite things to do when he was in high school were gaming on the computer and building computers to maximize a game’s potential.

“I researched different parts; the graphics cards, the CPU, and I put it together,” Johnson said on GMFB.

He noted that the game he wanted to build the computer for was Skyrim.

Holds Multiple Degrees

The offensive lineman parlayed that passion for computers into his education as Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Boston College’s Morrissey College of the Arts & Sciences.

He told GMFB he recently completed a separate degree in cybersecurity policy and governance from BC’s Woods College of Advancing Studies.

Stout Play at Boston College

Johnson allowed just one sack during the Boston College Eagles’ 2021 season.

In fact, in his three seasons at Boston College, he only allowed three total sacks.

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