A Conversation with Jets Pass Rusher Jermaine Johnson (11/28)

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Johnson, Great to see it, Nice to see you man.

What was it like the past weekend because typically at this point of the year you're playing on Sundays.

You had center and Sunday off.

It was great. Man.

I got a lot of family in town, so you know, I felt kind of bad just always jetting off and no handling this stuff, and they're just kind of twilling as lungs.

But it was all right. They understand that's what I do.

But it was definitely good to get home, you know, enjoy time with them, enjoy some time with my girl, you know, just chill out.

When did you have the opportunity to actually celebrate Thanksgiving because Thursday was a big workday in preparation of Friday, you guys actually stated at the team hotel the night before the game.

Yeah, so I just told my mom actually the night before Thanksgiving, I was like, Okay, we're not gonna do it tomorrow.

Let's just do it Friday night.

After the game, just have the food ready kind of we'll do it Friday night after games.

So we did.

I got home and then yeah, we started eating. We prayed, we ate and played some games and enjoyed each other.

It was dope.

How many people in town.

I don't have any open bedrooms, I'll say that. Yeah, I don't have any open bedrooms anymore.

So north of twenty you would.

Say, probably like twelve to sixteen.

Okay, now who handled the cooker?

My mom and my sister and my girl.

Yeah, what do you guys say? What's your favorite Thanksgiving?

Everything?

Like anything you can think of, bake magan, cheese, greens, corn bread, curry, shrimp, curry, chicken.

Ham. We did hens. We didn't do turkey. Actually, oh really yeah, because.

No one eats the turkey. Yeah, I'm gonna go straight for the him and then the other stuff. And then it's like you feel bad, so you got to take a little slice of turkey, you know what I'm saying. Like, I think turkey like no offense to turkey on Thanksgiving, but I feel like I just move around the turkey.

I agree.

I think it's overrated because it's not a lot of times just sitting at home saying, Hey, what are we gonna have for dinner?

Let's pull out turkey exactly.

All right, So Saturday and Sunday, what did you actually do with the family?

Chill?

Yeah, Jill sat at home watch TV Christmas movie, decorated my house for Christmas.

You got the lights on?

Got actually they one of those you know there's inflatable, big inflatable things that.

Are like usually on the front lawn.

Yeah, well, my mom and my sister decided to put it in the house.

So now I have.

Just like six foot inflatable thing just floating in the house, just sitting up in the house. And I was like, I mean, it's room for it, but it's like, why is this that's supposed to go on? Anyway, they have fun with the because my niece and nephews are in town, and you know, they have fun doing all the decorating stuff. But it's definitely good Man to enjoy the family, enjoy the people that you know helped you get here and

For sure.

You got a nine month old daughter. Now, how much attention she get from the fan.

Oh, my god, a lot. She's she's a centerpiece, one hundred percent. I mean, she's she's the best thing that ever happened to me. Definitely just gets you on the straight and arrow for sure, right because you can you can afford kind of like live a little reckless here and there when it's just you gotta worry about, right, right. But now, so as soon as she came, I was

For sure.

It's awesome because he's going to see her develop every day and something new every day that you're able to celebrate.

I mean, she's she's definitely her her daddy's daughter. She's she's this is me too, my whole horn a little bit, but she's she's like past every milestone. But I mean she she's being brought up in an amazing way. But she's she's passing every milestone that she's even supposed to hit. Crawling, She's already crawling eight months. She's she's saying her first words, like she's just doing everything so fast, and she's just so dope, bro, Like it's so cool, so cool.

It's gonna get better every single day. What's it been like for you year two?

Overall? You're with the Jets?

Man, Like I said, I don't know if it was my daughter, you know, or if I got my girl now, so I don't know what it is, bro. I mean give some credit to myself now. I work my butt off in the off season, but just locked in and you know, I hold myself to a super extremely high standard like this, you can't critique me and criticize me more than I do myself. So obviously individually, it's like, you know, which I can have places back here, place

How did you attack your first professional off season? Because I don't really think that you have an opportunity to have an off season after you get drafted, you know, you're just kind of like thrown in the next here we go.

It's crazy like after as a rookie, cause you're going, okay, so you're done playing college. If you're just like I say, you just did the regular season, you're done around late November. Right after that, you got maybe that month of December to spend with your family for the holidays, whatever have you. And then as soon as that's over, you're going to train for the combine. And then you got the combine

For camping and kind of got here. In camping, it was just like it was a breeze. I was ready. I was like just strong, like throwing everyone out of the way.

So I was I was like, all right, I did something right, because it's kind of reassuring because you don't know you like freestyle. It's not like college where you're like, you got to come here, you got workouts at six in the morning, you gotta do this, you gotta do that.

It was like, all right, you're on your own pretty much for all.

These months, and then you know you can only I didn't know if I was doing it right or if I was doing it wrong, and obviously when I got here for camp, I was like, I must have did something right.

Who would you train with their off season and what specific part you're doing Did you say, hey, listen, this is what I really want.

To hold in.

Most important thing to me was just explosiveness, because if you're an explosive If I'm an explosive player at two sixty and I'm explosive fast, obviously I have'n't always been naturally strong. And then technique just pass rushing, because you know, that's what I could paint to do right.

On top of other things.

But now it was just important to me that I became extremely explosive and then I got you know, I got on my technique in terms of pass rushing and get off and just optimizing what my body can give to me because I'm an athletic individual. But it doesn't mean anything if you're not getting that out of your body because your technique's not right. So just focus on my technique, become explosive, and just be discipline, be diligent in my work. Because I knew you know this, I

So I had so I had no regrets. You know, during the season.

As a pass rusher, what's the importance of the get off? And like you said, that was something that you stressed. You emphasize an off season and you can see that out on Sundays. What goes into that because you've always been athletic, but having that first step off the snap.

I mean, definitely the first step off the snap. But I think more than anything, especially in today's game. I mean, guys don't really want to be physical. Yeah they don't. They got paid already. So you know, why would I grind is like I did in college to get to this point. Why would I be physical like that anymore? I got paid. That's how I think a lot of those guys think. So I was like, Okay, well, I'm gonna be physical. I don't care. That's that's that's who

Yeah, And that's always been an element of your game, as far as you stand it up or maybe going down in your stance.

Yeah.

How much freedom do you have?

All the freedom in the world. Yeah, And let's just a tribute to you know, my coaching staff. They trust me. It's pretty much all right, Jermaine, But definitely operating the framework of the defense and and.

Do it like that. So I definitely appreciate it.

And you know, they let me apply my game to the defense and not the other way around, which I think can put some players in a box. But I mean the staff does a great job of taking individual players and understanding that they do some things really good and you know, playing the scheme of defense to those strengths. And in this case, it's like standing up, you know, letting me use my athleticism and kind of like my

I've always liked to added tode you've had as far as rushing pass or you said you got to earn the right to rush the pass, or can you talk about the mentality you have against the run, because that's something that you've excelled in day one even entered the National Football League.

Right it actually it actually started. I think it was after my twenty nineteen season at Georgia. Because I've always been physical, obvious thought I played the run pretty good. But when I was designing to come out for that draft instead of the twenty twenty one draft, I came out for it got my fileback because you know, the league, the scouts, whatever, they have a file on you. I was reading my file and kind of said, like I was a good pass rusher or whatever, but he's not

Thank you. You know what I'm saying.

Like it because the thing about this is it's about who gets who gets someone to break first, because we're all very gifted athletically.

It's about what's in here and what's in here?

So what's it like on the pro level dealing with the chips. It's just not okay, I'm one on one with the tackle that a lot of times, especially the more successful you are, the more tension you're gonna get.

Yeah, like you just said, I kind of take it as a compliment because all the best pass rushers are getting chipped. They're not just gonna, you know, let you tee off, right, So I mean, but that's a that's a tribute to our whole defensive line. Everybody in there is a dog and gets sit a quarterback at a high rate. And you know, offenses aren't just gonna let

Had some chips too, So now I don't nobody care.

So take it as you know, take it as it is, and you know, figure out to get through it.

Can you talk about how close you guys are. I mean, you and Bryce are always together in the locker room. You got JFM. I like to call the gray beard. Even though he's in maybe maybe his late twenties, he's only been in the league for a few years, but he's the vecher in the megs.

You got.

Carl's still there obviously, Will McDonald much like yourself, a first round pick who's going through his first steps in the National Football League.

It's a family. It makes it makes it really makes the time.

It makes the experience because I mean before I came in the league, I always heard about these rooms that weren't great rooms. They call him or you know, it's not a good room, and that usually mean all right, like you got some some a holes in the room, some selfish guys in the room, but you know the good players so deal with the kind of thing. But we have none of those guys. It's really a family. We're all selfless and we all help each other. We

Doing with Will. Like nobody's like, oh, Will's here, like da da D. Don't help it, Like no, we're helping.

Like this's just how we are, and we're all very kind and loving and you know, we just want to see each other win.

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You guys have different body shapes and you're different players, but do you see similarities between you and jfam as far as the pad level and the sheer power.

That you guys bring to the position.

Yeah, for sure.

When I first got here, I was just you know, John is, like you said at gray Beard, Like he says the standards in terms of, you know, kind of the physicality and edge set in and stuff like that, and it shows on film and in game, like guys don't want to run his way because he's just gonna punch your tackle in the face and then the run's gonna not be worth it worth anything anyway. So one hundred percent I kind of was watching that and you know, like I said, I'm critical. I'm more critical of myself

And JFM is very strong. He's very explosive.

So that's like it goes in hand in hand and why I worked on what I worked on the offseason. I mean when I came in camp, it was just like I felt it like I didn't care who was in front of me, like I'm gonna You're either gonna be on your back or I'm gonna move you from in front of me kind of thing. And yeah, like I said, it's a tribute to who we have in our room. Those guys set a good example and we all have a standard, like we all hold each other to the same standard.

It's really cool actually.

So like they operate that way and I'm over here, like you know, I can't let these guys down, you know what I'm saying like, if I'm going to be on the field, like I have to uphold the same standard, right, Like I have to go out there and it's got to look the same. It's got to be the same attitude. Like you know, our d line is feared. I really believe that, and it's a standard at the end of the day.

I told you this before earlier the season. One of my favorite Jermaine plays this year came in Dallas.

Paton and Zach Martin Paul and you met it head on.

It took not only Martin out but an additional cowboy and then Mosley comes in and makes the play. How much did you enjoy not only that play, but any of those plays like that, which is okay, here's a fierce collision. I'm bringing the violence to the game and one of my teammates is making the final play.

It's actually funny. I knew that play was coming then. I told you that already. But I only knew that play was coming was because they ran the same play and the opposite end zone. At that time, I like didn't really feel it as good. I mean, I still sat it down and like, you know, hit Zach, but he kind of got in.

My ear hole a little bit.

He hit me a little hard, which is good, great, but I was like, okay, like I just kind of like, you know, did that kind of thing, like all right, let's do it. Let's do it again next opportunity. I'm I'm gonna mess you up. So it's perfect, Like it's the same layout, same everything, same motions, whatever. And I seen it and I was like, he's about to pull so I ain't on my body right at where he was gonna be.

And like you said, I just ran straight at him.

And at the end of the day, it's just there's like you got to make that decision, like what kind of man at.

The end of the day are you going to be?

Are you gonna puint something in the face, you know, after you get hit in the face, or are you gonna be like you know, you felt it before because Zach is a good football player, he's strong whatever, right, so I felt it. By the end of the day, he was gonna have to feel me too. So that's

So yeah, that's a good, good transition right there, because I watch you and watch the way you interact with your team. Man's feel like, man, Jermaine's a guy. I'm one on my team, but if I'm playing against him, I can't stand him because your motor and you're not afraid to tell people, hey, what's up.

Yeah, I mean one hundred percent at the end of the day, Like it really, it's bigger than football. You know, who you are on the field is kind of who you are off the field. If you shire away from certain things, you're gonna shire away from certain problems you have else in your life. So I mean it's perfect. It just works hand in hand. So I'm never gonna be one to shy away from a problem or fight. After I get punched, I'm always going to be the

Have you and Bryce had a competition here as far as who's gonna end up having the more sacks.

Because you're at five right now, he's at six.

I know you guys are gonna celebrate no matter who has the team league right at the end of the day.

Uh.

Now, to be honest, one hundred percent honest, I don't think any of us is like, oh, I'm gonna end up with more sacks than you. We always just joke though, like cause we all kind of it's very rarely only one of us just gets the quarterback.

Right, you know what I'm saying, So we all kind of get there at the same time. We are like like who got it? Like it's at a forty five, Like what is it that you know? We all just kind of joke like that, like nah, I got the whole thing, I got the whole thing. Stuff like that.

But nah, it's never no, it's never like a competition like in terms of I'm gonna get more sacks than you at the end of the year. It's just like I'm getting sacked today and get two sacks today, like match me kind of thing. And then it just goes hand in hand with like it's a great room, like we hope each other that standard. It's like a healthy competition because if one of us gets exactly like, no, I'm about to get with you. But it comes from a place of love, and you know, a very healthy place.

Who's got the best celebration?

Oh I do?

Come on, yeah, come on, come on, Okay, he'll come.

Second. I don't know Quincy. Second. Yeah, are you talking about the whole team or yeah?

I think I guess we include the all time Quincy.

Second.

Yeah, Quincy almost upper cut.

Quincy almost has me. He almost has me. Just see it a little more because it's more of a big hit celebration. But he almost has me.

But I still I think I have the best celebration because who doesn't like thor and and who doesn't like you know.

All of it's dope. You can interact with the fans. It's dope. It's a great time. Bryce's is good. Yep, Brycius is good.

I remember he told me he was gonna do it, Like when he decided like that was his I was like, yeah, like, it's nice.

Think it's because I knew mine was better than a little bit. So nah, I'm joking. But and then quinnis.

Yeah, I like quinnis Okay.

How challenging has this been for you? You love playing ball, you love them room. Yeah, you guys started four and three. We've lost four consecutive games. Just being in this position overall.

How difficult is it.

I mean, it's difficult, but you know it's not the first time I've been on the team. And then we have big expectations and then you kind of get punching them out a little bit like Florida State in twenty twenty one, like everybody was like, oh, they look good this year.

They look good this year.

Bro, we started off on four and and you ask anybody there, like you have a decision to make and I and I definitely could have just been like, well, I'm only here for one year. You know, I'm to make sure I play good and get up out of here. But NA, like, you still gotta you have you have a duty for your you know, for your teammates, everybody that poured into you, and that being this organization that you know now, I'm gonna still keep doing things the right way and if not, I'm gonna fix what I

You are a young guy.

How have you been able to do all these moves throughout throughout your life former the whole years when you're talking about Hey, I grew up in Dean Prairie, Minnesota. I go to Independence, Kansas and Independence Community College.

I transfer to Georgia. You know, I want to get some I like it at Georgia.

I want to get some more run, a little bit more run, because I think that's going to be better for me professionally down the line.

I transfer to Florida State.

I'm a best player in the ACC and then the next year, before you know it, you're up here in New York. I mean this, people treat you guys like robots. But that's a lot of moves for a young dude, it's like here, here, here, how have you been able to at every level? Like we've gotten a better Jermane.

Yeah, I mean it's a life I chose. That's what I told myself, gard Where do you want to be? What do you want to do? Okay, let's do it.

Yeah, no room for complaining because at the end of the day, nobody cares, and I want to I want to be.

I want to be great man.

And you know I told I made that decision a long time ago. So however many moves what I needed to do, you know what I had to go through. I just charged it to the game. You know, just kind of you gotta you gotta sacrifice what you want now and you know, be strong for how you want to live later and how you want to be remembered. So I kind of told myself that at a young age and the yeah, I went to work.

What do you tell people about Eaton Prairie, Minnesota?

Uh? Beautiful? Yeah, first off, and great football program.

And winning football program, high expectations, stuff like that.

But yeah, it's pretty much it.

What do you tell people about Kansas?

I don't talk about it much, No, man, Like I said, I charged it to the game. It was, it was how it looked on Netflix. Nobody there.

How many people still bring that up with you. Any of your teammates watched last ye.

Yeah, I'm sure they did. I'm sure they did. But I wasn't really in it much.

My choice kept asking me to do interviews and follow me here and there, and I'm like, nah, really no, Yeah. I was like no, no, no, thank you, because I didn't really I've seen kind of how some of the other guys, how that some of the other like from the other seasons were portrayed like some of the what you called feature guys, And I mean, it's a show at the end of today, right, so they're going to pay attention to anything good or bad.

And I didn't want to be like, remember for that.

I didn't want to be known for that because we're all human, right, And I didn't want to leave that perception of who I am up to a show that wasn't a good idea. So I want to be remembered for being, you know, a great person and a great football player. So I just felt like it was best for me to focus on my schoolwork and my football

Yeah, you didn't want anything additionally featured, so you could have gone anywhere after what you did on the Juco scene.

Yeah, why Georgia. What do you learn from Kirby and Dan Lanney?

Yeah, d Dog. Yeah.

So it was Georgia because I believed in what they were building and I believe that, you know, we could go win a national championship, and I wanted to compete against the best. I mean I've kind of always been like that, Like you could say you're one thing, but then you're never gonna really know what you are until you you're throwing in a fire and.

Competing against the best, then you can.

That gives me confidence at the end of the day, because now no one can say nothing about me, and I can't say nothing about myself in terms of doubt. I did it against the best. What am I gonna How am I gonna doubt myself? So it's kind of how I went about choosing Georgia. And then, like you said, kind of you know, didn't really see myself as the same player as they saw me a little bit kind of thing. So it's like all respect, you know, it's all good. And and I decided to go to Florida State.

We're going to talk about college here.

Dance my dog. I just need to let that be know for sure. But uh, yeah, then I went to Florida State.

And that was a cool thing because I talked to guys you played with at Georgia and everybody loved it. It wasn't like it not Jermaine d to get out of here whatever. You had a great relationship with people there. But for you, I imagine you talked to your family about this and said, you know what's best for me here is that we got to do something because I want to continue to grow.

Yeah, and it was one of the hardest decisions in my life.

Man, because they go on and win a national championship.

I mean not even that.

Yeah, you know, and those are my brothers, and you know, we all sacrifice bluss one tears to get to that point.

And you know, shout out to those guys. They never made me feel left out or anything.

You know, they always hit me up and let me know like you know, now, Bro, like you helped us and you know whatever. So you know, kudos to you know, my former teammates for that. But yeah, it was just it was a hard decision because obviously I love Georgia.

Bro.

I chose them out of anybody to go to and you know, I had a great time there and a lot of friends, family, you know that I made there. So it's a hard decision. But at the end of the day, like I told you earlier, it is like I had to charge the decision to the game, like I have a I have a vision of who I want to be and what I'm going to accomplished, and hard decision had to be made, and and I'm glad I made.

It when you see what Florida State is right now.

Yeah, do you go back and say, you know what, Norvell looked at me as somebody that I'm a foundational piece.

Did you know it at the time that this thing was going to turn?

Yeah? I did.

I believed in him because he believed in me, and you know kind of how I can lead those guys, and and it was reassuring. Yeah, it's just emotional thinking back on it, because.

Really, yeah, I mean, he he had a tremendous belief in me, both as a person and a player. And and he never lets me forget kind of the the the change.

That I had, you know, the hand and the change that happened there.

And they never lets me forget, you know, kind of or anybody else for that matter, how strong that was for where they are now.

And man, I.

Love the guy for it because it's very easy, because it's easy for anybody just to be like, oh, like, you know, I did this and it's because of me.

But I mean, he's not like that at all.

And you know, he always reminds me like thank you, Like he'll just look me anytime.

I go back. Yeah, he just tells me thank you.

And it's like at a telepathic level, like like he's telling me thank you for all the things that I didn't have to do but I chose to do.

And that's an incredibly deep connection, isn't.

Yeah, Yeah, that's my guy.

What do you think about the college football landscape right now?

So you got Kirby going for his third straight national championship with the Dogs. You got your guy Dan Lanning out there in Eugene. They're playing for the Pac twelve championship and they got a chance and then you got Florida State right there undefeated.

Yeah, it's crazy, but it's not surprising because obviously Kirby smart held me to an extremely high standard and you know didn't let me, you know, straight from that. Obviously, Coach Lanny was my position coach in the DC at the time. He did the same thing, operated the same way, expected greatness. And Coach Norvel did the same thing, operated the same way, and expected greatness from me, both on

I can tell you this now we're at the end here the pod and said, I went to grad school at Florida so.

I watch that game Saturday night. That's kind of disappointed. But hey, man, you guys gotta die.

Final thoughts here, and you've been really gracious with your time. How much are you looking forward to not just Sunday, but whatever's ahead over.

These final six games?

Because I know the fans are frustrated right now. They look at it and say, four game lives, a straight four and seven, then probable to go to the playoffs, things like that. But for you, just and I think that anybody's gonna appreciate listening to you in this kind of setting, is that you love every time you had that opportunity to get out there in between the white lines.

Yeah.

Like I said earlier, man, it's a it's a great opportunity to show who we are, what kind of team we are. Yeah, Like the season isn't going at all, how any of us imagine from an injury standpoint, from wins and losses standpoint, But we're faced with a great opportunity to be able to become this adversity and I think we have the people in the fight and the talent to do so. So I mean we're gonna attack it. And we met as a team today. I think we're

All right, So you just celebrated Thanksgiving with their family, but you're gonna go out here in the community over the next couple of weeks to help out kids with some of their wishes.

Why are you doing that?

I mean, it just kind of reminds me of of me as a kid. It's not to any detriment of my parents, but you know, there's some things that a lot of things that I wasn't able to have or partake it just because you know, it wasn't in the cards. But if I'm able to help, you know, kids out, especially around the holiday season, because that was a big, huge Christmas holiday head as a kid, Like as soon as it's November, like, I'm like, mom, we put the

If your man really appreciate your time today, had fun, good luck the rest of the we appreciate you. B