Johnson Seeks Sixth Year Of Eligibility

HARRISONBURG — Cardon Johnson is going to give it another try.

The James Madison running back is planning on returning for a sixth season, Dukes coach Mike Houston said on Monday.

Johnson ultimately must be granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA in order to gain another season. Houston said JMU would apply for one for Johnson.

“We feel like there is going to be no problems with the NCAA and that he should get an additional year of eligibility,” Houston said. “We feel confident about that.

“We talked to the doctors and they feel like it was a much better repair than the previous ones. And with having the time to rehab properly and prepare him, we feel like and the doctors feel like he should make a full recovery and be full speed in time for the season next year.”

Johnson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury for a second-straight year in the Dukes’ Sept. 16 75-14 win over Norfolk State.

In 2016, he tried to play through pain in the month of November but his season was cut short, having to miss the final six games of the campaign.

“It’s something he and his family want to do and I talked to him at length about it because, at the end of the day, he’s going to be two years older than our oldest kids,” Houston said. “But it’s something that he really wants to do and he’s committed to really being the leader of the team next year and being that kind of guy.

“He felt like he could be back to his top form and he really wanted to try to make a go at it.”

When Johnson was at his best, not many could match his speed.

In JMU’s 34-14 season-opening victory at FBS East Carolina, the Newport News native rushed for 265 yards and two touchdowns. He had touchdown runs of 85 and 80 yards.

Over 25 games in his time at JMU, he’s rushed for 2,088 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“He’s had such a great career,” Houston said. “And at the same time, he’s had some really difficult injuries. Anybody would understand if he just wanted to move on with life.

“But his thing was, and he thought about it for a long time, and he came down and sat with me and we had a really, really long talk early last week and he just said it wasn’t how he wanted to end his career at JMU.”