Tommy Birch

tbirch@dmreg.com

AMES, Ia. – Former Iowa State star and current Buffalo Bills cornerback Leonard Johnson has something cooking for life after football.

Literally.

Johnson is hoping to turn his passion of cooking into a television show. He has an idea for the show, a name for it and has even shot some bits that he’s pitching to the Food Network and others.

“We’ve already made a lot of progress cooking for some big networks,” Johnson said.

Johnson, an All-Big 12 pick while at Iowa State, has played parts of five seasons in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s now with the Bills.

He was back in Ames this weekend as one of the honorary captains for Iowa State’s spring game. While he looked back on his career at Iowa State, he looked ahead to what his future may look like after football.

One of the things he’s trying to get going is his cooking career. It was a passion of his growing up. Johnson began cooking when he was around 7 years old. His family’s fridge wasn’t full, but a friend of his would have plenty of uncooked food. So, Johnson started cooking and hasn’t given it up.

Johnson’s passion carried over to Iowa State where it made him popular among his teammates.

“I did a lot of cooking here,” Johnson said. “It was funny because I had no money. A lot of people would be like, ‘hey man, come over, I’m going to the grocery store. Let’s go shopping. I’ll buy, you cook.’”

Johnson even recalled cooking for former Iowa State assistant Bob Ellilott and his wife who came over to his apartment on Welch Avenue. Johnson served some homemade chopped salad and spaghetti — one of his specialties.

“It was hard for coach to make it home that night,” Johnson said. “It’s a good thing his wife was there because he was too full.”

Johnson even bonded with Carolina quarterback Cam Newton with his cooking. His cooking has been so popular that Johnson wants to turn it into a television show. He has a name for the show: Behind the Helmet. His idea for the show is to cook with a football player and have them tell their story. Johnson said he’s even filmed some spots and is pitching the idea to the Food Network.

“I’m kind of letting them tell their story about what they’re doing in the community and what they do on the field, and things they want to talk about throughout their career,” Johnson said.