Although he spent last season on the Vikings practice squad and has never played in an NFL game, Ian Johnson considers himself a candidate to win the backup running back job this summer.
The 23-year-old is among candidates the Vikings will consider for the role to replace veteran Chester Taylor who used free agency this off season to join the Bears. Taylor’s pass catching, blocking, running and leadership leaves a void behind Adrian Peterson, a runner for the ages but one who sometimes yielded to Taylor in passing situations and took a seat on the bench.
It’s presumed the Vikings will consider a few candidates to replace the 30-year-old Taylor including Albert Young, a third year back from Iowa who was on the roster last season and might be the favorite for the job. Young was a practice squad player his first season with the Vikings, just like Johnson was last fall.
Johnson finds irony in the situation of possibly replacing Taylor. “He’s probably one of the sole reasons I am still here because he took me under his wing (and) taught me as much as he possibly could,” Johnson said after practice last week. “I’ve learned so much from that guy. I almost lose an asset in (not) having him here but I gain an opportunity to play more and more often.”
Johnson described the Vikings’ offensive scheme as “elaborate” and said last year was a learning process. At times he was unsure of what he was supposed to do, but not any more and that comfort level provides confidence while competing for the starting job.
He feels comfortable with his pass receiving skills and is enthusiastic about his blocking. “That’s something I lived on, being able to block at Boise State,” he said.
It was at Boise State that Johnson made a national name for himself. He rushed for a school record 58 touchdowns, but he also made news when he proposed on national TV to Boise State cheerleader Chrissy Popadics following the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
The two are married and for awhile she worked in a store at the Mall of America. She stopped, though, because a stalker was following her and making telephone calls. “She was doing it (working retail) for fun and it’s not fun when someone is kind of stalking,” Johnson said.
The family income will receive a nice increase if Johnson can make the team. Practice squad players earn less than $100,000 and Johnson said his salary will go up about seven times if he makes the Vikings’ 53-man roster.