Sheldon High’s Taron Johnson had one Division I scholarship offer. Now he’s an NFL stud

Coming out of Sheldon High School in 2014, Taron Johnson wasn’t a blue-chip recruit.

He wasn’t ranked by any major recruiting services and had only one Division l scholarship offer. He could go to Weber State, an FCS school. Sacramento State, his hometown FCS team, offered him only a partial scholarship.

As a senior at Weber State, Johnson earned Big Sky defensive player of the year in 2017 and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills.

Fast forward to 2022 and Johnson is preparing for his fifth season in Buffalo. Johnson has emerged as one of the premier slot cornerbacks in the NFL after a breakout 2020 season that included a 101-yard interception return for a touchdown in the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens.

Johnson is back home in Sacramento for the summer and is training with DB Select, run by Brandyn Thompson and Thomas Downs. Thompson and Downs are both from the Sacramento area. They train Johnson and other NFL players regularly on the Sacramento State campus.

“My family is out here and I’m from out here,” Johnson said. “I love to come back and see my people. Secondly, BT (is a great trainer). I think he’s one of the best DB trainers in the country. I’ve been working out with him since I was 15 years old. I love coming back here to get better.”

He added, “I love the city. It’s where I was raised. … We have pride for our city and we want to make Sacramento look good. Hopefully, we continue to do that.”

A message for recruits

Johnson and Thompson share a common bond.

Thompson attended Franklin High School, just down the road from Sheldon. Thompson graduated seven years prior, in 2007, but wasn’t a blue-chip recruit coming out of high school, either.

He got an opportunity to play at Boise State under Chris Peterson, where he appeared in 48 games. After graduating, Thompson was drafted in the seventh round by Washington and later played in the Canadian Football League.

Thompson now trains high school players who are trying to make it to the next level and NFL players trying to stick in the league.

“That’s what makes me a good person to do what I do in terms of working with kids and be the bridge guy to the NFL guys,” Thompson said. “Because I got the opportunity to play in the NFL, but I wasn’t the five-star (recruit). I was a two-star kid who got a great opportunity thanks to coach (Chris) Petersen and his staff to play at Boise State. I got there at a great time. Got to learn a lot about how (things) work and really got to experience some things that helped me along the way.”

‘Stressful’ recruiting process

Johnson recalls his recruiting process as stressful.

He saw people close to him around the Sacramento area receive power-five scholarship offers and land at bigger schools than he did. It fueled him.

“You want to get Pac-12 and SEC-type offers,” Johnson said. “That just wasn’t God’s plan. I went to Weber State, put my head down and worked. There’s not much else you can do. I still had an opportunity (to play at the next level).”

Johnson now has a message for high school athletes in his shoes: “Focus on yourself. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing and (when) other kids get higher offers, which I did when I was younger/ … You have to put in the work. Take the opportunities you have and make the most of it.”

Johnson said when he got to training camp in his rookie season, his goal was to make the team. Now as an established veteran on a Super Bowl contender, going into training camp is different.

“I have training camp in front of me and just want to use that to get better and get ready for the season,” Johnson said. “Whereas when I was a rookie, I had a different mindset. I’m just trying to make the team. Now I am just focused on the season and using training camp to propel myself and my teammates for the first game of the year.”

Thompson vouches for Johnson. He’s known him more than a decade. Working hard in Sacramento is simply part of his DNA.

“He’s a worker,” Thompson said. “Everyone says that so lightly all the time and everyone likes to throw that around. But, if you talk to anyone involved with Taron and they will tell you the same thing (about his work ethic).”

This story was originally published July 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.