 This is the first of Biz of Football’s new “Five Questions With†series which will interview people from all parts of the world of football in order to get a perspective on the game from every angle. Craig Johnson (pictured on the left with the Biz of Football's Bill Jordan) is the defensive backs coach for the Sanford Seminole Fighting Noles in Florida. His team finished sixth in the state last year and is looking for a possible state title in the upcoming season. As is widely publicized, there really isn’t anything more important than high school football in Florida. Johnson hopes to some day move up the coaching ranks to big time college football, but he insists if that is not in the cards for him, he wouldn’t mind coaching a freshman high school team for the rest of his life. Seminole High School has produced many players including UCF defensive end Jarrod Anderson, Wake Forest running back Kevin Harris, NFL quarterback Jeff Blake and Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Jeff Faine. Content covered in the interview includes Johnson’s role on the team, what scholarships his players are receiving and who America will know about four years from now. Bill Jordan for the Biz of Football: What role do you have with your team (in terms of what exactly you do in the coaching/recruiting realm)? Craig Johnson: My role with the Fighting Noles, will be coaching the defensive backs. I will also assist in the learning process with the freshman and junior varsity teams. This is where a lot of our success comes from. The freshman team finished undefeated last season and many of those players may be moving up to play varsity as they did at the end of varsity’s season last year. BizBall: Can you put into words how important high school football is in Florida? Johnson: Florida high school sports, as a whole is very important. But with football it is amazingly important especially here in Central Florida. Football helps in the molding of kids into fine young men and that’s important to us. In Florida football is a year round sport and we take it very seriously, so the competition is always at the highest level. But putting it into words is difficult. It’s really amazing here with all these great programs. It’s just something that you would have to see in person. It’s a hotbed here for talent so these kids make up a pretty good percentage of college level players. It truly is special. BizBall: How is your team looking after coming off the number six finish in the state last season? Johnson: This year will be head coach Mike Cullison’s second year at Seminole and I think after getting last year done with a lot has been learned. Not just by the coaches but with the players as well. We have a lot of guys returning and a lot of them have been starting for the past three years, so we are excited about that. We have great team speed and we have a lot of weapons to definitely compete, but we are really excited for this team. BizBall: What offers are your players receiving from top tier colleges? Johnson: We have three guys: Andre DeBose, Dyron Dye and Ray Ray Armstrong that are really getting attention from the top schools. I believe that all three of them are somewhere up in the 20’s in offers. These guys have seen offers from LSU, FSU, UCF, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky and Georgia. Another guy getting some looks is Jarkevis Fields. We expect him to get some more looks come spring ball. BizBall: Name one of your players who America will know about in four years. Johnson: I don’t know that I could name just one of those guys. All of them have what it takes to become successful. Dyron has amazing size, strength, and reaction time. Andre is just so explosive. He reminds me so much of Percy Harvin with his speed and agility. And Ray Ray has great size and is a playmaker in his own right. I really think all three of them will make a big impact.   BizBall: To you, what’s the most important part of your job? Johnson: The kids. Definitely the kids. For more Biz of Football interviews check here.
Posted by Business of Sports staff member and Biz of Football Editor of Content Bill Jordan. (Visit the Biz of Football Author's Page for contact details) Bill Jordan can be reached by e-mail at
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