SE: Terrale Johnson's Trials Set Up Strong Finish for Senior

For weeks, Terrale Johnson struggled to get out of bed. When he did, he never left the house. When football passed through his thoughts, quitting eventually came to mind.

This was the summer of 2013, a few months after Johnson’s father passed away at the age of 49. Johnson was expected to return to the Hutchinson Community College’s starting offensive line, but he was unsure if he could handle it.

“I wasn’t going to go back to Hutchinson my sophomore year. I was thinking about it… I wasn’t sure. I was in bed all day, every day that summer. I was just telling my mom, ‘I don’t know how I could function down there if I can’t even function here right now,’” Johnson said. “I probably didn’t leave the house all summer.”

Finally, Johnson’s mother, Regina, said enough is enough. She helped convince him to leave the house and to go to a church camp a few hours away from home. There, Johnson was with a large group of friends and took what he describes as the “first step” toward a return to normal.

“Being able to function without my mom being there, because I was attached to her all summer, that was my first step,” the Manhattan native said. “She was just preparing me (to return to football). Even when I was down (at Hutchinson), I still called her every night. I called at 3 a.m., if I needed to. She made sure I was going to finish the season out, do what I love doing and make him proud. That was the main goal.”

Recruiting Ride

When Johnson lost his father in the spring of 2013, he returned home to be with his family for a few weeks. In doing so, he gained a nearby support system but lost a few valuable weeks of recruitment.

“I really didn’t talk to anybody that spring. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do after that because I wasn’t talking to many people,” said Johnson, who had strong interest from Tennessee State, an FCS school in Nashville, Tennessee — roughly 10 hours away from Manhattan.

Eventually, Johnson’s work led to a call from K-State co-offensive coordinator Dana Dimel, wanting the Manhattan native to visit his hometown school. Johnson wasted zero time, took the visit and felt everything went well during it.

From there, it was a waiting game.

K-State, Johnson remembers being told by Dimel, only had one scholarship remaining that might be available to him but nothing was certain. When Signing Day arrived in February of 2014, Johnson said he was still unsure of what to do. Go play for a smaller school a long distance from his family and friends? Hold out hope that a last-minute scholarship offer would come through at K-State? Or the third option, move on from football?

Every minute of uncertainty became more stressful.

“I had no idea. I was thinking of going to Tennessee State, but I was skeptical about it just because I didn’t know how I was going to be able to do it, being that far away from my family after my father passed,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if that was going to be my best move, so I was just waiting, and I did think about stopping playing football, but my mom, she wasn’t having that. She stepped in and said, ‘We’re going to play football.’”

Finally, Johnson received a relieving phone call. It was Dimel, telling Johnson to check his email inbox, where paperwork for a scholarship was waiting to be filled out.

“I called my mom and I said, ‘We’re here. I’m back home,’” Johnson recalled. “It was just a blessing. I couldn’t ask for a better set up.”

Destroying Doubt

Johnson redshirted in his first season at K-State, admittedly a tougher experience than he expected. So difficult, doubt again entered into his thoughts.

“Going through my first year, I was, like, ‘Man, this is really tough. I don’t know if this is what I want to do, honestly,’” Johnson said. “I didn’t know it was that hard here.”

Much like his mother provided encouragement during his previous trials, Johnson was surrounded with people at K-State who refused to let him give in. There was Cody Whitehair, who repeatedly told Johnson to stick it out and keep moving forward. There was B.J. Finney, prodding his teammate to work harder. Deante Burton, a close friend from Manhattan High School and Johnson’s roommate at K-State, was especially helpful.

“He saw me at my worst times. When people didn’t know how I was doing at home, he was the one who always saw me,” Johnson said of Burton. “He’d always say, ‘Terrale, you got one more day. It’s another day, just get better the next day.’ He kept pushing me, saying, ‘Let’s get better the next day. Let’s try to get better. Let’s make it a station further or a workout further.’

“Knowing he was there, it helped me out a lot. I was struggling so hard, and he was always, ‘All right, T, it’s another workout. We’ll be all right the next day. We know it’s tough right now, but once you get through it, it’s going to be so much better.’”

When Johnson’s teammates weren’t in his ear, offensive line coach Charlie Dickey was drilling him, letting him know he had yet to scratch the surface of his potential. To begin building himself as a player, however, Johnson was told to shed any doubt he still held.

“Going into my first winter, I did really well. He said, ‘You see how you did? There’s no more doubt in your head. There’s no more,’” Johnson said. “Going into the summer again, I knew how hard it was going to be, but he just told me, ‘There’s no doubt because you’ve done it before, so make sure you have that mentality to keep finishing. We’re not going to quit anymore.’ I think after my first year, any doubt really went away.”

Where It Ends

Johnson now enjoys workouts he used to dread, and the improvement he’s made has been fairly remarkable.

“Terrale’s changed a lot. Go look at pictures from when he showed up. That man has lost some serious weight and put on some serious muscle. He’s a man, he’s changed, and Dickey’s been on him throughout the process,” redshirt sophomore right tackle Dalton Risner said. “Terrale’s driven, that’s one of the best things about him. He wants to go play in the league, he wants to be the best for the team, he wants to go win a bowl game, and he’s a competitor.”

With rugged technique and without his current commitment to his craft, Johnson was an Honorable Mention All-Jayhawk Conference player in 2013. With Dickey’s help and a matured work ethic, Johnson evolved into a starter on K-State’s offensive line that has paved the way toward one the best rushing seasons in school history.

“He’s a young guy that, when he plays as hard as he can, he’s really a very, very talented player, and he’s made improvement, that’s part of it,” K-State head coach Bill Snyder said. “He’s made improvement throughout the course of the year, and consequently has developed the capacity to be able to do that, to enhance his performance level as far as effort is concerned. When he does, he’s a very fine player.”

After playing in 10 games and making four starts last season, Johnson solidified himself as a starter in 2016. His play not only helped power K-State’s overwhelming rushing attack but also earned the senior a First Team All-Big 12 selection from the Associated Press.

“Seeing him get better and better over the years, he’s come a long way from when he first came here,” senior running back Charles Jones said. “And he’s a great leader; I love the way he leads on the O-line. I love his confidence and the way he plays, his swagger, so I’m really proud of the year he’s had.”

“He’s an unselfish player out there. He’s trying to help you make plays,” Risner added. “In the heat of the game, we’re talking about what we have to do better on plays, the footwork we have to take; if I trip him, he lets me know I got to pick my dang feet up, all that kind of stuff. He’s a great football player and I really enjoy playing next to him.”

Johnson, who grew up in Manhattan, always dreamed of playing football in front of thousands of fans. It didn’t have to be for K-State, necessarily, just in front of a large crowd.

Now, he can’t imagine playing for any other team.

“I love playing in front of the fans; the fans here are amazing. I just love playing in front of people. Being able to do that and come back home, it’s crazy,” said Johnson, who will finish his career in a K-State uniform on Wednesday, December 28, when the Wildcats face off with Texas A&M in the 2016 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl. “A lot of people didn’t think I would be here right now, so just knowing I did that and accomplished so much being here, it feels great.

“I didn’t know I was going to make it this far, honestly. There were times when I thought, ‘Is this where it ends?’ Knowing I got this far and people stuck with me the whole time, it feels good. It’s really a blessing.”

Public tickets for K-State fans to the Wildcats’ 20th all-time bowl appearance are still available at the K-State Online Ticket Office and through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum or via phone at 1-800-221-CATS. Fans are strongly encouraged to order through K-State’s official allotment to ensure that all Wildcat fans are seated in the official K-State sections of the stadium. The location for K-State’s ticket allotment at the Texas Bowl is among the best of any bowl game with prime sideline seating locations available for $85.

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Terrale Johnson's Trials Set Up Strong Finish for Senior

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