There are moments that shape every man’s life and for former Florida offensive lineman Roderick Johnson, his former head coach happens to be a part of several of those moments.

An Under Armour All-American coming out of Delray Beach, Fla., Johnson said he had a life-changing moment when then-Florida head coach Will Muschamp called him one afternoon.

“It was the best day of my life when I got that random 3-5-2 call,” Johnson told TheBigSpur.com. “I didn’t even know the area code at the time, but come to find out it was the University of Florida and Coach Muschamp offering me a full scholarship. It felt like I had just gotten drafted first round.”

After going back and forth in the recruitment process between Florida and Florida State, Johnson ultimately signed with the Gators. Getting to Gainesville wasn’t so easy though and his arrival to school was in question.

Johnson had to up his test scores and grades to align with the NCAA’s sliding academic eligibility scale, and that didn’t happen in the spring. He had to take a summer course before enrolling at Florida, but Muschamp stuck with the three-star tackle.

“He never gave up on me and thought he would go recruit someone else,” Johnson said. “He stayed with me and we ended up banging it out together, and I was able to play a role at the University of Florida, and it was the best thing in my life. My parents appreciate Coach Muschamp as well for sticking by my side in those tough times.”

Eligible and on campus, Johnson could focus on football in the Fall of 2013. Coming into the program late, he was behind some others on the field and Muschamp and the offensive staff decided they wanted to redshirt him.

There was an injury-plagued year in 2013 for the Gators and there was some thought to removing Johnson’s redshirt and playing him late in the season. That didn’t come to fruition as Muschamp wanted to save Johnson’s eligibility.

“He saw some kind of greatness in me and wanted me to develop into a monster,” Johnson said.

While he outwardly was content, Johnson wasn’t happy with the way his first year at Florida was going. He said he hid his emotions from Muschamp and the other members of the coaching staff. In truth, Johnson said he was ready to transfer. He missed home, missed his neighborhood and missed his friends.

It was certainly a homesick phase, he admitted, and it lasted even through spring practice that year. When the spring semester was up at Florida, Johnson believed his time as a Gator was done.

“I wanted to transfer from Florida. When I got the chance to go home that summer, I took all my stuff and left. I missed the first day of workouts and Coach Muschamp kept calling me. Coach and my dad figured out how to lure me back to campus.”

Johnson’s family has always been in the corner of Muschamp and Florida.

Johnson’s father and Muschamp worked up a plan for a return to campus to sign some paperwork to seal the deal on the transfer. The signing of that paperwork never happened.

“Coach Muschamp said, ‘I’m not letting you go anywhere. You’re too good of a player, I’m not letting you go,’” Johnson recounted. “It showed me he appreciated me a lot and it showed me he was watching me on scout team.”

After a year when the player kept his feelings inside, Muschamp made sure Johnson was being forthright going forward.

“He was on my case all the time making sure I was good,” Johnson said. “He did everything in his power to make sure I was good on and off the field. It wasn’t all just about football to him; it was real life stuff. When I was stressed out about certain stuff, I could go talk to Coach Muschamp about anything.”

Feeling better about his future at Florida, the 6-foot-6, 310-pounder began to make his mark on the football field.

Johnson played in all 12 games in 2014 with three starts. During his time on the field, the tackle didn’t allow a sack.

That year though, after a loss to South Carolina, Johnson lost his coach. Muschamp was fired at Florida after the 23-20 loss to the Gamecocks. While many outside of the program rejoined, there were many within the walls of the locker room that felt the same way about Muschamp that Johnson did.

When Jim McElwain took over, Johnson made no secret that he didn’t have the same kind of relationship with his new head coach as he did his old one.

Johnson’s feelings about Muschamp were only strengthened when another moment that shaped his life came about in the spring of 2015. Johnson suffered a practice injury that revealed a spinal condition, which kept him from playing football again.

As news hit, Muschamp, then at Auburn, kept trying to reach Johnson, who was taking some alone time to process everything happening in his life.

By the time Johnson looked at his phone, he said he had about 10 missed calls from Muschamp.

“Coach just kept telling me how sorry he was I was going through all of this. He was telling me how bad it was,” Johnson said. “I felt by myself and alone. I had Coach McElwain at the time and I didn’t really like Coach Mac, honestly. For me to have to go through that by myself but for Coach Muschamp to come through and let me know I could still call him and T-Rob, it showed me our relationship was bigger than football.”

Johnson kept in touch with Muschamp over the course of the year but the two came face to face in November 2016 when the Gamecocks traveled to The Swamp. Muschamp, in his first year as the Gamecocks’ head coach, was on the opposite sideline of Johnson, who was dressed in street clothes.

It was Senior Day for the Gators and Johnson was honored before the game. Afterwards, he made sure to find his old coach.

“I grabbed him and hugged Coach tight. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of years and it was just crazy to see him,” Johnson said. “That conversation was short and sweet, but it was one of the best ones of my life. He just told me to kept grinding and asked how I was doing in school. He just told me to keep going hard until I graduate.”

Johnson graduated in August of this year and walked across the stage after the Fall semester. He’s currently working part time at a local retailer while planning his next steps in life.

He wants to be a coach, or perhaps work for an agency down the line.

Muschamp has shaped Johnson’s past and been a big part of so many defining moments in his life. It’s uncertain what the future holds for Johnson, but he’s set up to be successful with a degree from Florida, a process that started because Muschamp didn’t give up on him.

“I appreciate Coach Muschamp has ever done for me. Having a relationship with my parents, having a great on the field and off the field relationship with me, you just don’t get many coaches like that. I just appreciate Champ for everything he did for me. I love him and I couldn’t ask for a better coach. When I have kids, I want Champ to coach my kids.”

Muschamp was a part of several life-changing moments for Johnson and given their relationship, he’s likely to be a part of more.