Tennessee football: Ranking NFL careers of six Vols previously drafted by Seahawks

He’s a beloved figure in Tennessee football’s secondary. Steve Johnson was the veteran of the group in 1998 as up and comers like Deon Grant, who was a sophomore, along with juniors starting for the first time in Dwayne Goodrich and Fred White. Goodrich and Grant were the elite, speedy playmakers, somewhat overshadowing Johnson.

However, Johnson was the glue guy for that unit and a huge reason for the defense being so good on the back end. Everybody forgets about this unit of the Vols’ defense, which carried the 1998 team, largely due to the incredible talent in the front seven with guys like Al Wilson, Darwin Walker, Shaun Ellis and Raynoch Thompson.

Because of all that, Johnson was overlooked in the pros as well. The Seattle Seahawks took a chance on him in the 1999 NFL Draft in the sixth round, and he was actually drafted ahead of Jeff Hall and Corey Terry. However, there is a reason all three were late round draft picks.

Johnson’s career never amounted to anything. He never played a single game at the next level, leaving his accomplishments in the college ranks. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t a valuable part of the 1998 Vols, though. He was actually part of Phillip Fulmer’s 1994 class and stayed with the program for five years, and he had an interception forced fumble and fumble recovery in 1998.