Cortlen Johnson

2001 Media Guide Bio:

AT COLORADO: This Season (Sr.)-He enters his senior year with 1,632 career rushing yards, 18th on CU’s all-time list, and is tied for 32nd overall on the scoring chart (102 points). He is poised to crack the top 35 in career all-purpose yards as well, as he had 1,941 (1,632 rush, 309 receiving). He was suspended for the final days of spring practice for academic reasons, but took care of business and was reinstated during the summer. He was still bothered by a turf toe injury he sustained in the 2000 season opener, not uncommon for that particular injury to linger that long, and he had only 14 carries in two scrimmages before the suspension.

2000 (Jr.)-He led the team in rushing for the second straight year, as he had 622 yards despite missing three full games and parts of three others with assorted injuries. He also led the team in scoring with 54 points, scoring nine touchdowns in all, eight rushing, ending the year with three rushing scores against both Iowa State and Nebraska. His 155-yard day (on 26 attempts) at Nebraska were the ninth most yards ever against the Huskers and the fourth most ever by an opposing player in Lincoln. He hauled in seven passes for 117 passes, including the first TD reception of his career that went for 52 yards against Texas A&M. In earning honorable mention all-Big 12 honors (Associated Press), he opened the year with 121 yards against Colorado State for his other 100-yard game of the year, and also had 99 in the win at A&M. He suffered a “turf toe” injury in the CSU game, one that stayed with him the rest of the year. He was CU’s
offensive back-of-the-week for the A&M and Nebraska games. Street & Smith’s selected him as a preseason honorable mention AllAmerican, and along with Athlon, made him a first-team preseason all-Big 12 choice (Lindy’s and The Sporting News selected him to their second-teams). Lindy’s also ranked him as the No. 19 running back in Division I-A. He missed the last two weeks and both major scrimmages of spring drills due to a severe knee sprain he suffered in practice.

1999 (Soph.)-He played in 11 games, starting 10 including the Insight.com Bowl, as he missed the Kansas State game with a severely sprained knee. He earned second-team all-Big 12 honors from the league coaches and the Kansas City Star, as he was third in the conference in rushing with 835 net yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry with a team-high eight touchdowns. His top game was in the bowl win against Boston College, when he rushed 15 times for 201 yards and two touchdowns. It was the second most rushing yards in the 1999 postseason, trailing only Mike Anderson’s 254-yard performance in Utah’s Las Vegas Bowl win over Fresno State. Sports Illustrated selected him to its All-Bowl team for 1999 for his effort, and he was both the offensive and overall MVP of the bowl game. His best regular season effort came at Iowa State, when he rushed 31 times for 185 yards and a touchdown, along with earning six first downs on six third down rushing tries. It was one of four 100-yard games he had on the year, as he also had 104 and three touchdowns against San Jose State, 107 at Texas Tech, and 135 against Nebraska. The latter was the most rushing yards by a Buff against the Huskers since 1993, and the only 100-yard game by an opponent back against Nebraska in 1999. He earned 44 first downs on the year (39 rushing, five receiving), picking up 12 on third down, when he averaged 4.9 yards on 19 attempts. He also caught 18 passes for 168 yards, or 9.3 per reception. He won the Fred Casotti Award following spring practice, as the coaching staff selected him as the most outstanding back. He had 31 carries for 164 yards and two touchdowns in spring scrimmages.

1998 (Fr.-RS)-He played in all 12 games, including the Aloha Bowl, and had one start (against Baylor), as he was fourth on the team in rushing. He had 40 carries for 175 yards (no touchdowns), and caught three passes for 24 yards. He also completed one pass, a two-yard effort to Mike Moschetti on a little trickery against Nebraska. His top game was a 40-yard effort on just three carries at Kansas, and he had 30 yards against Baylor in his start and against Missouri in front of many family members and friends near his hometown. He carried three times for five yards against Oregon in the bowl game. He had eight tackles on special teams, including a 12- yard tackle for loss on the punter in the Colorado State game. Overall, he had 12 special team points for eighth place on the team. He rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in spring scrimmage action.

1997 (fr.)-Redshirted; practiced the entire season at tailback.

HIGH SCHOOL-As a senior, he earned PrepStar and SuperPrep All-America honors, along with Prep Football Report all-Midwest Region honors (PFR had selected him as a preseason all-America). PrepStar ranked him as the No. 4 athlete in the Big 12 Region, while SuperPrep ranked him as the No. 13 overall player in the Midlands (and the No. 23 running back in the nation). PFR tabbed him No. 14 overall in the Midwest and the No. 5 running back. He was also a first-team all-district, all-metro (St. Louis) and all-Suburban North Conference selection. He was second-team all-metro and first-team all-district as a junior, and first-team all-conference as a sophomore and junior (he was second-team all-district as a sophomore). He likely would have won several more honors as a senior had he not suffered a fractured scapula (shoulder blade) in practice after just four games; he did, however, come back to play in the state semifinal and championship games. Prior to the injury, he rushed 52 times for 767 yards (14.8 per carry), scoring 11 touchdowns. He also caught 18 passes for 389 yards and four scores, which included five catches for 181 yards and 2 TDs after he returned from the injury (he saw action only at wide receiver upon his return). He had close to 150 return yards in each of the first two games of the season and he played some cornerback early in the season, registering 13 tackles, two interceptions, six pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.  When he returned to action he caught two passes for 86 yards in a semifinal playoff game, and had three grabs for 95 yards and a score against Kansas City-Oak Park in the title game (which HCHS rallied to win, 21-20). As a junior he rushed 190 times for 811 yards and 16 touchdowns, while making 21 receptions for 683 yards and another 13 scores, and he averaged 38 yards on 13 punt returns. As a sophomore, he had 187 carries for 950 yards and 14 touchdowns, while catching 23 passes for 651 yards and 10 TDs. His top game came in a 44-6 win his senior year against Ritnour, when he set a school record for rushing yards in a game with 379 (on just 26 carries), along with scoring four touchdowns, but he injured his shoulder in practice following that game. In a last-second, 34-32 loss in the playoffs to Hazelwood East his junior year, he returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, caught 145 yards in passes and two touchdowns, and rushed for 115 yards and a fourth TD. Hazelwood Central was 13-1 his senior year, winning the state championship, was 10-2 his junior season (district and section champs) and was 9-2 his sophomore season (district champs) for coach Norm Ryan. He also lettered three times in basketball (guard), averaging 12 points and four assists per game as a junior, but he elected not to play his senior year. He earned three letters track (sprints, jumps and relays), owning personal bests of 10.9 in the 100, 21.3 m the 200 and 20-11 in the long jump.

ACADEMICS-He is majoring in Sociology at Colorado.

PERSONAL-Born June 28, 1979 in St. Louis, Mo. An older brother (Corey) played fullback at Oklahoma earlier this decade. Two cousins, Kevin Pointer and Ron Pointer, were wIde receivers at Kansas State and Missouri, respectively. Hobbies include bowling, basketball, fishing, and basically all sports.