Johnson catching again after ACL injury

Browns receiver Charles Johnson is among the team's more intriguing prospects based on his size, speed and athleticism.

(John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio – No adversity seems potent enough to still 63-year-old Fredrick Charles Johnson.

Not the electrical fire that destroyed his family's farmhouse or the accidental poisoning that left him hospitalized for weeks. Not the cancer or diabetes or disease that's hardened his small arteries.

The old Northern Kentucky construction worker just smiles in the face of affliction and believes tomorrow will deliver a better day. Now, you know where Browns receiver Charles Johnson inherited his name and ability to endure tough times.

No wideout in Berea has run a more circuitous route to training camp. His return from an anterior cruciate ligament tear is only the latest in a series of mettle-detecting moments that have shaped his life. The 25-year-old, who the Browns signed off the Green Bay practice squad a year ago, is trying to win a roster spot and do a father proud.

"What I've learned from watching my dad is God doesn't give hard obstacles to people He doesn't think will overcome them," Johnson said Sunday after practice. "God gave me battles in life He knows I can overcome . . . I have the mindset that nothing can stop me and that I'm willing to work until I die."

His size, speed and athleticism make the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder an intriguing prospect at a position of need. The Browns have spent the offseason trolling the waiver pool and bracing for a potential year-long suspension of All Pro Josh Gordon.

While it's too early to say whether Johnson wins a job, he's traveled quite a road just to get here, a journey rarely accompanied by stability.

His family splintered when he was a child. He played for three college football programs, suspended by Eastern Kentucky for refusing to snitch on a friend. He left a junior college in 2009 to care for his father -- making ends meet by working at Olive Garden and Arby's -- before finding structure, happiness and the mother of his three daughters at Division II Grand Valley State.

"Typically, guys that bounce around you start to question who they are in terms of their character," Grand Valley State football coach Matt Mitchell said. "That was never the case with Charles. He's wise beyond his years having had to become self-dependent at an early age."

'Quitting is forever'

A year ago, Johnson was catching passes from Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay's training camp. The Packers, a franchise known for developing receivers, had selected him in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Knee and hamstring problems, however, never allowed them to get a good read on him. Despite reoccurring knee pain, he toiled through mid-October on the Packers' practice squad.

"I've got people that depend on me, so (I was) out there working," said Johnson, whose fiance and three girls are with him to Berea. "The pain is temporary, but quitting is forever."

Fredrick Charles Johnson, left, has served as a role model to his son Charles Johnson, right. The picture was taken at a family reunion.

The Elsmere, Ky., native never had to look past his father for a role model. When Frederick Johnson's house was gutted by fire he built another one for his family. He didn't allow misfortune to dull his work ethic.

While at a construction site, he nearly died after unwittingly drinking from a soda can containing a poisonous substance. The Browns receiver remains fuzzy on the details, but acknowledges his dad "has had some crazy things happen to him."

After his parents divorced, Johnson – one of nine kids – chose to live with his father.

Even as his health began to erode, Fredrick Johnson wouldn't complain. Rather than trouble a family member, he drove himself to the hospital late one night in 2009.

"I knew something was wrong because I had spoken to him that evening on the phone and I could barely understand him," Johnson said. "He got out of the car, left it running, got inside the hospital door and planted right on floor. His mouth was full of blood."

The Browns wideout said his father masks his pain with dark glasses he frequently wears. Fredrick Johnson loves his Westerns, leans on his faith and brags about the son who spent the summer strengthening his knee running routes with Travis Benjamin, Miles Austin and Brian Hoyer in preparation for the upcoming season.

"(My father) can barely move his hands any more, but he is the driving force in my brother's life," said April Kariuki. "He's watched him struggle and fight to give Charles solid ground."

Humble times

The Grand Valley football coach admires many qualities in his former player, but one stands out.

"Charles is one of the most loyal people you'll ever meet," Mitchell said.

It's a trait that also got him into trouble.

Johnson enrolled at Eastern Kentucky in 2007 after originally committing to the University of Louisville. (He didn't qualify academically prior to national signing day and the Cardinals pulled their offer.)

He was suspended from EKU when authorities found a stolen laptop in a dorm room he shared with a high-school classmate. Neither student claimed responsibility and both were disciplined.

His father understood why Johnson had covered for his friend, Kariuki said, but told his son he had to accept the consequences for his actions.

"There were some other immature things going on and I was part of it," Johnson said. "I learned lessons from that experience."

He transferred to Antelope Valley (Calif.) Community College near Los Angeles, but came home to help tend to his ailing dad.

As friends pursued their football dreams, Johnson prepared sandwiches at Arby's and worked as a host at Olive Garden while also taking classes at a community college in Florence, Ky.

They were humbling yet illuminating times.

"It opened my eyes," Johnson said. "It made me ask myself, 'Is this what I want to be doing the rest of my life, making sandwiches at Arby's?' It wasn't a bad thing for me and I enjoyed the people I worked with, but I knew it wasn't enough."

A Google search for top Division II programs led him to Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich. He caught 128 passes and scored 31 touchdowns in two seasons with the Lakers.

Although he didn't earn an invite to the 2013 NFL Combine, he wowed scouts at his pro day by clocking a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash and measuring 39-1/2 inches in the vertical jump.

"Those are the easy pieces, but when you watch the tape you like his hands," said Browns general manager Ray Farmer whose team worked out Johnson before the draft. "You like the fact that he can run the routes, and right now it's a young man that put a lot of work to recovering from an ACL injury. You can see that he's big. He's still fast and he can run routes and catch the football."

The Browns took grief for signing Johnson to a three-year, $1.49 million deal in October before discovering the ligament tear. Instead of cutting their losses, they stuck by the commitment.

The receiver hopes to reward the Browns' loyalty at a time the coaching staff needs a playmaker to surface.

'Family, faith and football'

Seated under an orange canopy outside the locker room, Johnson called attention to one of his tattoos.

It features a football encircled by a ring and reads: Married To The Game.

"I don't care about nothing else but family, faith and football," he said. "I'm not a guy who needs to party, a guy who needs to go do all this stuff to look cool. I'm here to provide for my family."

Johnson and his college sweetheart Kalyn Hardcastle plan to wed next year. He understands what kind of security a productive season could mean for daughters Hayden, Hayleigh, Hayzel.

Coach Mike Pettine admits he knew so little about Johnson that he needed to watch his college highlight video on YouTube. The wideout could not ask for a better chance given the paucity of high-end talent absent Gordon.

He's looked good in the first few practices, but the serious tests arrive with the preseason games.

"There's opportunities out there for everyone," Johnson said. "It's unfortunate what happened with Josh and we're hoping we have him on our team because we're a better football team with Josh Gordon.

"But I'm not looking for no handouts, I don't want nothing given to me."

Behind those dark glasses, the eyes of Fredrick Charles Johnson see a son rising to another challenge.