Marquis Adrian Johnson is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 cornerback

Cornerback

A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

 for the St. Louis Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

. He was drafted 211th overall in the 7th round of the 2010 NFL Draft

2010 NFL Draft

The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...

.

Johnson played his collegiate football at the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

, where he was a member of the 2009 National Championship team

2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 77th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 18th within the SEC Western Division...

.

Early years

Johnson played for Booker High School (Florida), leading his team to a 13-2 record as a senior, had five interceptions, 15 pass breakups and 39 solo tackles. He also returned punts, averaging 37.6 yards per return. He was named All-State as a cornerback and punt returner. As a junior, he registered 50 tackles and 11 pass break-ups. He was a three-sport star, playing on a state-champion basketball team in addition to competing in the triple jump in the Florida state track & field championships.

College career

As a senior in 2009 Johnson played in all 14 games, starting 10. He finished the season with 29 total tackles (25 solo) with one interception, and led the team with passes defensed (18) and passes broken up (17). In 2008, as a junior, Johnson served as Alabama's third cornerback in nickel and dime defensive packages. He played in all 14 games with three starts and recorded 49 tackles on the year, which ranked sixth on the team, had two interceptions, a tackle for loss and five pass breakups. In 2007 he played in nine games as a back-up in the secondary and had four tackles, one pass breakup and a fumble recovery on the season. As a freshman in 2006 he appeared in all 13 games and finished the season with seven tackles to his credit.

Professional career

Johnson was not invited to the NFL Combine and despite coming off meniscus surgery Johnson ran a 4.51 forty-yard dash.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams drafted Johnson in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft

2010 NFL Draft

The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players. Unlike previous years, the 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first round on Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30 pm...

. On June 28, 2010, Johnson signed with the Rams. On September 4, 2010, Johnson was waived and then signed to the Rams practice squad.

External links

• St. Louis Rams bio