April 27, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - For the second consecutive year, the Western Kentucky University football team has had at least one player selected in the annual National Football League draft. Jeremi Johnson was the Cincinnati Bengals' fourth-round pick, the 118th player chosen overall, Sunday on the second day of the event.
Two Hilltoppers were selected in the 2002 NFL draft, with both going on to make the team and contribute last season as rookies - Joseph Jefferson was a third-round choice of the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints picked Mel Mitchell in the fifth round.
Johnson, a 5-foot-11, 275-pound fullback from Louisville, Ky., helped lead WKU to the NCAA Division I-AA national championship in his only season on the Hill. He was third on the team with 637 yards rushing, leading Western with an average of 6.2 yards per carry, and added 23 receptions for 310 yards - the combined total was the second-highest all-purpose yardage by a Topper last year, and he was also third in total offense. Johnson posted two rushing touchdowns and a pair of scoring catches.
He ran for 73 yards and collected 33 yards in receptions in Western's 31-12 victory at Northern Iowa Oct. 5, the first of 10 consecutive wins to end the year. In the regular-season finale at Southern Illinois on Nov. 30, Johnson helped the Hilltoppers clinch a share of the Gateway Football Conference championship with four carries for 86 yards and his first rushing touchdown.
One week later, Johnson led all players with 160 yards on the ground - on just 12 attempts - and scored another touchdown as WKU opened the NCAA playoffs with a 59-20 win over instate rival Murray State. And, in his last game, he posted three catches for a career-best 90 yards and a touchdown in the national championship contest against McNeese State.
Johnson is the first Hilltopper to ever be selected by the Bengals in the NFL draft. Mark Johnson played for Cincinnati during the 1987 season, and four other WKU players have signed with the squad: Malcolm Darden (1988), Darryl Drake (1983), Anthony Green (1990) and Ron Hunter (1983).
- WKU -
