Daryl Johnston

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Daryl Johnston
refer to caption
Johnston in 2022
United Football League
Position:Executive vice president of football operations
Personal information
Born: (1966-02-10) February 10, 1966 (age 58)
Youngstown, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Lewiston-Porter (Youngstown, New York)
College:Syracuse
NFL draft:1989 / Round: 2 / Pick: 39
Career history
As a player:
As an executive:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:753
Average:3.2
Touchdowns:22
Receiving yards:2,227
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston (born February 10, 1966) is an American former professional

Dallas Renegades in 2020, and served as the executive vice president of football operations for the revived incarnation of the USFL for its inaugural season
.

Early years

Johnston was named Western New York Player of the Year in 1983, while playing for Lewiston-Porter High School (locally known as Lew-Port) in Lewiston, New York. The Lancers won the division during his senior year in 1984. His Lew-Port jersey (number 34) was retired on September 1, 2006. In 2008, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.[1]

College career

Johnston attended

fullback
position by his sophomore season in 1986.

While playing for Syracuse, Johnston was an All-Big East selection in 1987 and an All-American in 1988. He rushed for 1,830 yards and caught 46 passes during his collegiate career. He once gained 138 yards rushing, the most by a Syracuse running back since Larry Csonka rushed for 154 yards in 1967.

He graduated with a degree in economics.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
20-yard shuttle
Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+34 in
(1.87 m)
232 lb
(105 kg)
31+12 in
(0.80 m)
9+12 in
(0.24 m)
4.17 s 28.5 in
(0.72 m)
9 ft 5 in
(2.87 m)
17 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2][3]

Johnston was

1989 NFL Draft.[4] As a rookie, he received his nickname "Moose" from backup quarterback Babe Laufenberg because of his large stature compared to the rest of the running backs.[5]
The name caught on among Dallas fans who would chant "Moooooose" whenever he made a play.

As a Cowboy, Johnston played in 149 consecutive games from

special teams
players in franchise history.

He scored 22 career

running backs, totaling 2,227 yards for a 7.6 yards average, compared to 232 carries for 753 yards for a 3.2 yards average. In 1993
Johnston had 50 receptions and averaged 7.4 yards per catch.

Due mainly to Johnston's contributions, the

fullback position in the Pro Bowl.[6] Prior to this change, blocking fullbacks had little chance of beating out traditional running backs, who had better statistics. Johnston was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1993 and 1994
.

Johnston retired at the end of the 1999 season, after suffering a neck injury in 1997. He was a member of three Super Bowl winning teams.[7]

NFL career statistics

Season Team GP Rushing Receiving
GP Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1989 DAL 16 67 212 3.2 13 0 16 133 8.3 28 3
1990 DAL 16 10 35 3.5 8 1 14 148 10.6 26 1
1991 DAL 16 17 54 3.2 10 0 28 244 8.7 22 1
1992 DAL 16 17 61 3.6 14 0 32 249 7.8 18 2
1993 DAL 16 24 74 3.1 11 3 50 372 7.4 20 1
1994 DAL 16 40 138 3.5 9 2 44 325 7.4 24 2
1995 DAL 16 25 111 4.4 18 2 30 248 8.3 24 1
1996 DAL 16 22 48 2.2 7 0 43 278 6.5 23 1
1997 DAL 6 2 3 1.5 3 0 18 166 9.2 21 1
1998 DAL 16 8 17 2.1 6 0 18 60 3.3 9 1
1999 DAL 1 1 4 4.0 4 0
Career 151 232 753 3.2 18 8 294 2,227 7.6 28 14

Legacy

Johnston was considered one of the greatest fullbacks of his day,[

NFL rushing leader. However, Johnston was not the lead blocker for Smith's entire career. A neck injury prematurely ended Johnston's career. Johnston was present the day Smith broke the rushing record; he was in the broadcasting booth, but came down onto the field to hug Smith and congratulate him afterward. As Smith made his victory lap of Texas Stadium after the record-setting carry, Johnston hung back in the shadows. When Smith saw Johnston, the two joined together in an emotional embrace, with Smith telling Johnston, "I couldn't have done it without you." Johnston replied, "It was my pleasure. I couldn't imagine doing it for anybody else."[8]

In 2010, Johnston was in the audience for Emmitt Smith's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. During his acceptance speech, a visibly emotional Smith spoke directly to Johnston, calling out the fact that, as a fullback, he had sacrificed himself for so many years to block for Smith. "Without you", Smith said, "I know that today would not have been possible."[9]

Broadcasting career

Johnston in 2007

In 2003, Johnston joined the program Players Inc Radio when it moved to

Laura Okmin. In 2020, he became paired with Kevin Burkhardt and Pam Oliver.[11] He is currently paired with Joe Davis and Pam Oliver as the number 2 crew with FOX, but his status for 2024 is unknown with Tom Brady
’s arrival at FOX.

Executive career

In 2018, Johnston became the General Manager of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football.[12]

On May 15, 2019, he was named Director of Player Personnel for the

XFL.[13]

On November 17, 2021, he was named Executive Vice President of Football Operations.[14]

On April 6, 2023, he was named the President of Football Operations for the second season of the newest incarnation of the

USFL.[15]

Personal life

A native of Youngstown, New York, Johnston now resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife Diane, son Aidan, and daughter Evan.

References and notes

  1. ^ "Daryl Johnston- Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame". buffalosportshalloffame.com. Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  2. ^ "Daryl Johnston, Combine Results, FB - Syracuse". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Daryl Johnston RAS". ras.football. December 27, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "1989 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "Daryl Johnston NFL All-Pro and Fox Sports Net Analyst". MCPSpeakers.com. Retrieved May 29, 2005.
  6. ^ "Top 10 Best Draft Although Fullback position in the Pro Bowl goes back as far as Jim Brown! Picks of the Jerry Jones Era". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  7. ^ "Neck injury forces 'Moose' to leave Cowboys". a.espncdn.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "Daryl Johnston bio". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  9. NFL.com
    . Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  10. Sports Business Daily
    . July 22, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  11. ^ "Fox Shakes Up NFL Broadcast Teams for 2020 Season". Radio.com. September 28, 2020.
  12. ^ Thomas, Terrence (September 25, 2018). "Commanders ready to call San Antonio home". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  13. ^ "Ex-Cowboys FB hi isDaryl Johnston hired as director of player personnel for Dallas' XFL team". The Dallas Morning News. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  14. ^ Fischer, Ben. "USFL to reboot in April under Fox ownership". Forbes. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  15. ^ Fedotin, Jeff. "Former Dallas Cowboys Star Daryl Johnston Is New USFL President". Forbes. Retrieved April 6, 2023.

External links