Hoss Johnson grew up in Huntsville and played high school football and basketball at Butler High School. He was an all-state lineman for the Rebels in 1980 and 81. He signed a football scholarship with Alabama in 1982 with the distinction of being the last player recruited and signed by Alabamas legendary coach, Paul Bear Bryant. While at Alabama, Johnson played in the 1983 Sun Bowl, the 1985 Aloha Bowl and the 1986 Sun Bowl. He started 28 games on the offensive line from 1984-86. Johnson signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL in 1987. He was selected as a member of the Birmingham Post-Heralds All-Alabama team in the decade of the 1980s. Johnson now works for the City of Huntsvilles Parks and Recreation Department. He is president of SECRS Inc. (a non-profit organization that assist athletes with scholarship assistance), a board member of the North Alabama Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a member of the Alabama Football A Club, a member of the Metro Kiwanis Club of Huntsville and a member of the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fames board of directors.