Battling for a spot on the Colts defensive line as an undrafted free agent,
former Penn State defensive tackle Ed Johnson may have the talent to at minimum
land a job on the practice squad, but does he have the maturity?
The talented, 6-foot-2, 296-pound defensive lineman missed the entire 2005
season and school year after being found responsible for two violations of Penn
State's "University Code of Conduct" for an incident that occurred in
on-campus housing during the spring, 2005 semester. And he followed that up by
violating an unspecified team rule during his senior year that resulted in head
coach Joe Paterno suspending him from playing in the Outback Bowl.
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He's not the typical player that the Colts pursue from a maturity
perspective, but he sure is perfect for the Tampa 2 defensive scheme. Johnson
thrives in a one-gap style of defense, showing an uncanny quickness at the snap
of the ball. He becomes a troublesome intruder for his opponents,
particularly against the run.
Based on his off-the-field history, Johnson is clearly a player who could
benefit from the leadership of Tony Dungy and his staff, who treat their players
as men and hold them accountable for their actions. If he responds to
their leadership, the Colts will have pulled in yet another high-value player
for their system without the expenditure of a draft pick.
For more insight on Ed Johnson as a player and person, we turned to our
Scout.com Penn State team expert -- Mark Brennan from FightOnState.com
-- who watched Johnson develop as a redshirt freshman through his senior year.
Scout.com subscribers can listen to his unique insight during this 3-minute
audio by clicking this link: Listen to Audio
And you can read past features on Ed Johnson by clicking the story links on
his Scout.com
player profile page.