Where Are They Now: Jesse Johnson

Coming out of the University of Colorado two years before the Scouting Combine began in 1982, Jesse Johnson and other NFL prospects would travel around the country to meet with and be evaluated by teams.

Johnson liked what he saw during one of his stops when he visited the Jets’ facility at Hofstra.

“The Jets had a number of athletes who were college seniors at the time going through this process,” Johnson said. “There were four of us from University of Colorado that made that trip and we were all happy with those in the organization that we met, mostly the training staff, a few of the coaches. It seemed like they were headed in the right direction and I thought I would like to be in that organization.”

The feeling was mutual, and the Jets selected the defensive back in the fourth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. Johnson became more assured that he was in the right place during training camp when he got to know his new boss, Head Coach Walt Michaels.

“He told me out of the gate that he was expecting me to be on the field, to play, contribute. And that everybody was going to be reviewed. Who would be starters would be those that earned the spot. So he was very forthright with me,” Johnson said.

“Walt and I had an extremely good relationship. We were actually probably closer than most people. He would encourage you to work on the skillset that you need to build, so that the defense could utilize more set matchups against the other team’s strengths.”

Other team’s strengths, however, got the better of the Jets in 1980. Losing their first five games and finishing 4-12, their game tapes from that season assuredly aren’t playing on a loop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But the following year, the Jets almost reversed that mark by going 10-5-1, and they made the playoffs for the first time since 1969. The key to the turnaround wasn’t only what happened on the field, but what happened in the locker room, as well. The players believed in one another.

“You know, to this day, most…