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SALT LAKE CITY — As the NFL draft prepares to take center stage this week, scouts across the league are trying to find this year’s hidden gem — an under-the-radar prospect from a smaller school who can blossom into a high-level NFL player.
Weber State linebacker Tre’von Johnson believes he can be that guy — and he has a host of teams that are starting to believe him.
“I can play football,” he said from the home of his wife’s parents in Utah County. “I can run fast. But NFL teams think that because I played at Weber State, something has to be wrong.
“Trying to break away from that has been the hardest challenge. I think I’m starting to get away from it now. I think they are going back and watching my film, and the NFL PA game helped me.”
Johnson is used to being overlooked. He was a three-sport star at Hunter High School, and he excelled on the gridiron and the basketball court. The only thing he lacked was one school that would give him a chance.
The Wildcats relented. In four years at Weber State, Johnson flourished under the guidance of head coach Jay Hill. He made 257 career tackles, including 27 tackles for loss, and earned first-team all-Big Sky honors as a senior in 2016 while leading the Wildcats to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
“Once Weber came along, it was a dream come true,” Johnson said. “Sign, and ready to go.”
Scouts started to take notice, too. He was one of a handful of small-school standouts invited to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, and the 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker has seen his stock soar.
He had six tackles, including one for a loss, a pass deflection and a quarterback hurry in that game — one that scouts and general managers still mention to this day. He followed it up by running a 4.5 40-yard dash at Weber State’s Pro Day, and he’s heard from 13 NFL teams since then.
“They’re still talking to me about that game,” Johnson said. “The Tennessee Titans' GM and vice president said that’s when they fell in love with me, at that game.
“It helped me a ton to raise my stock.”
Johnson isn’t just shooting for a pro football career for himself. He’s motivated by something higher — to provide a better life for his wife and daughter.
“I want to give them everything they deserve in life,” he said. “I get up every day with them in mind. It’s not for me anymore; it’s for them.”
