About Inductee

After his senior football season at Huntsville High School in 1988, Tom Johnson was being recruited by South Carolina, Louisville, Memphis State and Southern Mississippi. He was still pondering his options when Bobby Ross then the head coach at Georgia Tech drove over to scout Johnson, who also played center on the HHS basketball team, during the Huntsville Times Classic in December. I like the way that Johnson kid carries himself, Ross told a sports writing acquaintance. Not long afterward, Georgia Tech offered Johnson a football scholarship. He quickly accepted. Neither Johnson nor Ross ever regretted it. He turned out to be one of the best leaders we ever had, Ross would later say. Im glad I came to Huntsville for that tournament. Born Dec. 28, 1970 in Huntsville, Johnson was a four-year letterman for coach Greg Patterson at Huntsville High from 1985-88 and a two-way starter at tight end and defensive end his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, he was named All-City and honorable mention All-State after finishing the season as the second-leading receiver in the city. I really enjoyed playing for Coach Patterson, Coach (John) Kirk, Coach (Jim) Caneer and a couple of our volunteer coaches, Duffy Boles and Scott McRae, said Johnson. A four-year varsity letterman at Tech from 1990-93, Johnson was a second-team outside linebacker and started on every special-team unit as a freshman on the Yellow Jackets 1990 national championship team, which finished 11-0-1, whipped Georgia 40-23 and routed Nebraska 45-21 in the Citrus Bowl. My favorite moment as a football player came that season when we played Virginia in Charlottesville on national TV, Johnson said. It was one of things you never forget. Virginia, undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation, was a 13-point favorite, but Tech rallied to win 41-38 on a 37-yard field goal by Scott Sisson with 7 seconds left. Johnson was on the field as a blocker when the kick sailed through. A starter at outside linebacker as a sophomore, junior and senior, he later played in the Hall of Fame Bowl and the Aloha Bowl. He compiled 211 tackles, finished fourth among Techs all-time sack leaders, and blocked three field goals and an extra point. He was also named to the All-ACC Academic Roll in 1992 and 1993, and was recognized by the College of Management as the top studentathlete graduate for the fall semester. Johnson, son of Bill Johnson and the late Catherine Johnson, is now a regional manager of Brown-Forman Beverage Company in Atlanta. A civic leader in his community, Johnson was secretary of the Atlantas Neighborhood Planning in 2003-04, president of the Peachtree Hills Civic Association in 2005-06, and a member of the Wellness Committee at Morris Brandon Elementary School in 2010. He and his wife, Beth, have two children: William, 5, and Mary, 3.