Tag Archives: Denver Broncos

AAF, NFL, XFL

Johnson, Steven (LB)

Card: Topps AAF 2019
Acquired: 2019, EBay

Looks like Steven was getting a bit tired of signing cards at this point. The autograph looks a bit shortened- but I’ll take it!

Steven Johnson is a great football story- as he’s managed to succeed against all odds. He didn’t receive any college opportunities out of high school, and after playing both ways at Wyoming Seminary, he suffered a devastating knee injury that tore it essentially from the socket. After rehabbing, he walked-on at Kansas and fought his way up the depth chart. By his Junior year he was an entrenched starter at linebacker. He finished his college career with 225 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass deflections and an interception in 35 games.

Undrafted, Steven signed with the Denver Broncos in 2012 and managed to make the 52 man roster playing primarily on special teams. He started 7 games in 2014 at middle linebacker, posting 39 total tackles, .5 sacks, and a fumble recovery. He’d then embark on a series on stops with the Titans (2015), Steelers (2016), Steelers and Ravens (2017).

He’d join the Alliance of American Football for the 2019 season and be assigned to the Arizona Hotshots. Steven had a banner season for the Hotshots. He’d lead the team in interceptions with 3, and finish 3rd on the team in combined tackles with 48.

After the AAF folded suddenly, Johnson was selected by the Seattle Dragons of the XFL 2020. Over the course of the 5 game season, Steven posted 48 tackles to lead all players in the league. Unfortunately due to the Coronavirus outbreak- the XFL cancelled the remainder of the season

NFL

Marshall, Trey

Card: Panini Contenders 2018
Acquired: 2018, Box Breaker

Trey Marshall is another defensive back from FSU. While both Texas and LSU claim hegemony over defensive backs, Florida State over the past few years has been on somewhat of a roll. Sort of an afterthought to then starter Derwin James at safety, Trey came in in a pinch for the Seminoles during 2016, and recorded 58 tackles. Playing in 9 contests as a Senior in 2017, he had 44 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. An aggressive in the box safety, Marshall only had 6 pass deflections over his career and no interceptions. Still his physical tools graded out well enough that the Broncos decided to bring Trey into camp. He impressed enough to be brought back on the team’s practice squad for 2018, and was promoted to the regular season roster at the end of the year. Through 2019 he has 25 tackles, and is 1/1 on fumble recoveries.

NFL

Buckley, Terrell (2) ‘T-Buck’

Cards: GameDay 1992, Classic 1992, ProSet 1992
Acquired: TTM 2018, C/o Mississippi State
Sent: 9/8  Received: 9/29    (21 days)
See Also: Terrell Buckley ‘T-Buck’ 

After his stint at Florida State filling a variety of different roles through a 5 year stint, Terrell has had various 2 year stops around college football as a positional coach. He quietly coached Cornerbacks at Akron from 2012-2013, then was with Louisville from 2014-2015. Since 2016, Terrell has served as the positional coach for safeties at Mississippi State.  In 2018 he was named as a finalist for the College Football Hall of Fame- and had his ticket punched shortly thereafter for the 2019 class.

I had been wanting to get back to Terrell since I was a kid. Honestly after all these years I had wondered if those autographs that I had gotten from the Packers were ghost signed, but much to my relief they were not. 

I had wanted to get both the base Classic 1992 and the blister pack card signed, but couldn’t find the blister, so I went ahead and substituted in the ProSet 1992 card. I am fond of the look of none of these cards in particular, though I do like the Classic 1992 because he is in his FSU uniform. His ProSet 1992 card is humorous to me, strictly because he is wearing a jean shirt and the expression on his face makes me think that he was just blindsided by being drafted by the Packers.