Editor's Note: This is the final installment of a four-part series on senior offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone and the two knee injuries that have kept him from game action since Dec. 30, 2013. Many thanks to Tyler Johnstone, his family, friends, teammates, coaches and girlfriend for their help with the largest writing project I've taken on to date. It's an honor and a privilege when someone allows a journalist time and access to their story, one I hope I never take lightly. Additional thanks to Kenny Ocker for editing the series outside of his job at the Tacoma News Tribune. Anyone who dines with a life-size cutout of Sim Bhullar is cool in my book.

Part One, Part Two and Part Three

Tyler Johnstone watched with friends and teammates in Eugene last night as former Oregon teammates Marcus Mariota and Arik Armstead all heard their names called during the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

The offensive tackle had planned to play last season as what amounted to his senior year. Mariota, center Hroniss Grasu and fellow tackle Jake Fisher turned down early entry to the 2014 draft along with defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu in favor of one last push toward Pac-12 and national titles. Before he retore his right ACL in August, he was supposed to be along for the ride before joining them this year.

Without having played for a season, Johnstone didn’t request an evaluation from the NFL’s Draft Advisory Board and never seriously considered leaving. But as highlights of Mariota’s Heisman Trophy-winning season and Armstead blowing up opposing backfields played on the screen, Johnstone wished he could feel nothing but pure joy for them. According to the Oregon program’s “Win The Day” mantra, he wasn’t supposed to dwell on the past or peer far into the future.

“Being best friends with those guys, it’s tough when they’re moving on and I’m still here,” Johnstone said. “I’m very excited to still be here; this is really the last time you get to be around an atmosphere that’s not all business. At the same time, it would have been fun to go out there with friends and get my shot, but my time will come.”

Johnstone’s ability to refocus his football efforts in both the short and long terms was a concern for those close to him. For someone who had known little but an upward trajectory and wild success while avoiding serious injury to absorb blows on all three fronts, it would be among the biggest challenges he’d ever faced.

That process started for Johnstone when girlfriend Ashley Laing took him on a walk after learning the diagnosis, where they sat on a bench on a footbridge near Autzen Stadium inscribed with “Good morning. It’s never too late to begin again.” It was furthered when a rash of injuries presented Johnstone with a clear directive, that his working with the remaining, inexperienced offensive tackles could make a tangible impact on the field. His emotional presence was felt as he supported Fisher and Grasu through their own injuries during the season.

“He realized, really when the line was struggling, he could be important by supporting those younger players as much as he could,” said his mother, Wendy Johnstone. “I think part of it was that it was an outlet for all of his pent-up energy. Those kids were going to have to do all the work. It gave him his sense of purpose.”

When Tyler Johnstone wasn’t unloading his competitive drive working with freshman Tyrell Crosby and former walk-on Matt Pierson, he was in tireless competition with himself. In a way, he was following the Oregon creed, battling his yesterday. After feeling like he could have done more during his first rehabilitation to prevent a second ACL injury, Johnstone tried to ensure he could do nothing but go above and beyond in the weight room and every aspect the process.

Johnstone tapped into what he loving referred to as Laing’s “Type A” personality to help make that happen. He knew his laid-back personality lent itself to his finding excuses not to work out – he’d find reasons to avoid the pain and sweat like washing his car or hitting golf balls at the driving range. Once he handed Laing the keys to his workout plan, both knew she wouldn’t hesitate to shove him out the door.

“I’ll subliminally find excuses,” Johnstone said, “and she’ll be like, ‘You said you wanted to work out every day this week, twice a day, right? So when are you going to do it?’”

Added Laing: “I think he really took it upon himself. Not that what if he could have been playing, but more so that he needed to contribute again and be a part of the team, a positive part of the team.”

Another pivotal moment in Johnstone’s recovery came just before Oregon thrashed Florida State in the 2015 Rose Bowl. Knowing he had just one or two games left with Grasu, Fisher and starting guard Hamani Stevens, graduate assistant coach Joe Bernardi sat down for one of many meetings with Johnstone during his entire rehab process. Bernardi considers himself and Johnstone as two peas in a pod – both are larger-than-life, energetic men who don’t have very good poker faces.

Bernardi could sense that Johnstone was thrilled for his teammates and enjoying the Rose Bowl experience, but having not been involved on the field and being unable to play against the Seminoles was weighing on him. The two had become close over the past year as Bernardi’s experience returning from four ACL injuries at Fresno State made him an invaluable mentor and success story for Johnstone to follow. Whenever Bernardi pulled Johnstone aside, Johnstone listened, and Johnstone knew his coach was a trustworthy ear when he needed motivation or to vent his frustrations.

If healthy, Johnstone could shoot up draft boards during the season.

Sometime during the team’s preparations for the Rose Bowl, the two sat down to discuss Johnstone’s future and the future of the offensive line. Bernardi made it clear that he needed his senior-to-be left tackle to be all-in from then on out.

“Joe told me that, as hard as it was to believe, I helped them get there,” Johnstone said. “Now the question was, what would I do to help us get back? What I would be willing to do in the offseason to put myself where I wanted to be as a leader and a player on this team?”

After Bernardi gave Johnstone the kick in the backside he sorely needed, Johnstone redoubled his efforts as the season ended and winter conditioning began. He spent more time in the weight room than in previous offseasons, worked out at least once a day and pushed his weight to nearly 300 pounds by the start of spring practice.

His knee is strong – Johnstone says he’s passed the same benchmarks that cleared him for practice last August – but he and the training staff are taking it slowly this time around. He hasn’t participated in full-contact drills and likely won’t do so until the start of fall camp.

Unlike last year, Johnstone says his mind isn’t on the fall or the 2016 NFL Draft. He’s also adamant that he never considered quitting football after his second injury, though his perspective having gone through a long stretch of down time lent him more sympathy when fellow lineman and best friend Andre Yruretagoyena came to him to talk through his desire to retire. Johnstone and his family haven’t spent much time discussing the long-term implications of continuing to play football, though his father Kevin Johnstone admits it may be the elephant in the room.

“I think we’re aware that for right now, he may be fine, but who knows what the long-term effects could be down the road,” he said. “There are a lot of jobs in this country that come with inherent hazards. It’s their passion, and I think there’s still that passion of playing the game and the rewards from it.”

When Tyler Johnstone does return to game action, it won’t be as fun for his mom to watch him play. Having seen her son go through multiple serious injuries firsthand and knowing the toll the game has taken on his body, she’ll be experiencing Johnstone’s games with a different perspective.

“I think it’s going to be harder to watch the game at first until I see the knee hold up and I know it’s going to do OK,” Wendy Johnstone said. “You’re going to be watching it a little bit differently, especially since the second injury happened so easily.

Johnstone (front right) walks out to begin Oregon's first spring practice of 2015

“It makes it a little harder to watch for fun because you’re watching to make sure they don’t get hurt.”

If any long-term concerns or doubts about his knee weigh on Tyler Johnstone, they don’t show. He says -- and everyone backs him up -- that going through the two injuries have only made him more competitive and driven to succeed. Kevin Johnstone goes so far as to say that having to work as hard as Tyler has to be in a position to play next fall has only affirmed his passion for football and desire to make an impact in the sport for as long as he can.

Johnstone’s support system has been there through the ups and downs of the past 15 months. They’ve picked him up when he’s been down, pushed him to better himself and his teammates, and made every effort to put him in positions to succeed and thrive in an Oregon uniform come September. He goes out of his way to outline how all the different personalities, but more so the different styles of leadership, have been irreplaceable in his life.

With the spring game tomorrow – which Johnstone says he’ll suit up for but not play in – signaling the end of mandatory workouts until August, it’s on him to finish the job. It’s hard to imagine he’ll need anyone to needle him about taking care of business this time around.

Bernardi and Greatwood consider Johnstone to be one of the best linemen in the Pac-12 Conference when healthy. His knee will certainly be a point of attention a year removed from its relapse.

Johnstone still holds the goal of going high in the draft, but he has more than that to play for this fall.

“I love the game a lot, but more than I love the game, I love being around my teammates,” Johnstone said. “I didn’t want to leave them or the program after not playing for a full year.

“I’m going to end it on a good note, just you watch.”