Doug Johnson

Doug Johnson Jr. (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the early 2000s. Johnson played college football for the Florida Gators, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Atlanta Falcons, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, and the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. He is in the Florida Georgia Hall of Fame, and played in minor league baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

Early life

Johnson was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1977. He attended in Buchholz High School in Gainesville, where he was a stand-out high school football and baseball player for the Buchholz Bobcats.

College career Johnson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he was a quarterback for coach Steve Spurrier's Gators teams from 1996 to 1999. Memorably, Johnson threw for 460 yards and seven touchdowns against the Central Michigan Chippewas in 1997, setting a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record for most touchdown passes in a game, and an NCAA Division I record for most touchdown passes in a half.

After graduating from Florida, Johnson was not selected in the 2000 NFL draft, but signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent. As an Atlanta Falcon in 2002, Johnson led the team to a 17–10 victory in a start against the New York Giants. In the game, Johnson completed 19 of 25 passes for 257 yards and one passing and one rushing touchdown. In four seasons with the Falcons, he started eleven games and passed for 2,600 yards. He has since played three additional seasons, mostly as a back-up or practice squad quarterback for three different teams.

Football Outsiders uses the term called "the Doug Johnson Effect," referring to "part-time players who had a very good performance the previous season in only one or two games," as a caution against overvaluing NFL players for the next season.