Denton's Mountain of a Man Headed to the Desert

Denton's own Herman "The House" Johnson selected by Arizona

By ADAM BOEDEKER

Updated 9:51 AM CST, Tue, May 5, 2009

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He's the biggest baby ever born in the state of Lousiana, and the tall tale goes that his mother was told by her doctor that he was destined to be an LSU Tiger moments after being born. Now, the 6 foot 7 inch monster of a man is headed to the NFL as he was selected on April 26 in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals with the 167th overall pick.

At 365 pounds, Johnson, who was an All-American guard for LSU last season, has actually slimmed down since arriving in Baton Rouge, when he weight in excess of 400 pounds.

But as monstrous as Johnson's frame is, the lovable guy is far from being a monster, and is one of those classic heart-warming stories of a good guy getting a good opportunity.

Johnson is still beloved in Denton. He often goes to visit high school players in the summers, and has even been known to visit kids in the hospital from Denton's rivals who are recovering from offseason surgeries. And despite the fact that his Broncos have won one game in the previous two seasons, he still follows his alma mater and thinks they'll be out of the doldroms sooner or later, as he told the Denton Record-Chronicle before the draft.

Herman Johnson

Despite being told by his agent that he'd be a likely first-day draft pick (first two rounds), Johnson ended slipping to Sunday, which spoiled a draft-watching party Johnson held in a Dallas hotel on Saturday. But he still seemed happy on Sunday, when he was watching the telecast with family in his hometown of Denton.

“I was hoping to get taken earlier, but I am really excited to get picked up,” Johnson told the Record-Chronicle. “It was nerve-racking to wait that long.”

And though Johnson played guard in college, it appears the Cardinals might be giving him a shot at tackle, where his enormous frame, and especially his height, seem to make him a better fit.

Adam Boedeker is a sports writer/award-winning blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. He thinks Ovechkin and Crosby just might save hockey. Maybe.