South Dakota St Alum Amar Johnson Talks Packers Opportunity

Those of us at all in tune with our South Dakota-based FCS college football programs know very well the caliber of athlete Amar Johnson is.

The NFL and the Green Bay Packers are also about to find out.

Amar Johnson wasn't drafted last weekend, but was highly regarded by many teams, and ultimately signed on as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers.

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Johnson starred at SDSU for a total of four seasons and finished last year with a career high 1,222 rushing yards. He was an All-America selection by numerous publications and finished with the season with 15 total touchdowns and a 6.3 yard per carry average.

SI.com featured Johnson in a recent write up in the wake of him signing on in Green Bay:

“I just felt the love from them, really ever since my pro day” Johnson told Packers On SI this week. “I know they reached out to a lot of my coaches, even my high school coach, during the predraft process and trying to get to know me that way. When my pro day came and I talked to Brett (Thiesen), one of the scouts, he was very high on me and saying how much he would love to have me at the Packers.

“Me and my agent (Blake Baratz) just felt the love was genuine from them, and it stayed like that the entire time. So, the whole draft, I was like, ‘Please don’t draft a running back,’ because they were telling me they wanted me before the draft. So, that was big, and I was just so happy to make it official finally and just hoped nobody else drafted me.”

Johnson said five other teams wanted to sign him but coming to Green Bay was an easy choice.

Amar Johnson will now battle the likes of Emanuel Wilson, MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks and Jalen White for roster spots behind star running back Josh Jacobs in Green Bay. The Packers rookie minicamp begins on Friday and concludes on Saturday.

Sources: Green Bay Packers on SI and GoJacks.com