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Daryl Johnston

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Daryl Johnston
refer to caption
Johnston in 2022
United Football League
Position:Executive vice president of football operations
Personal information
Born: (1966-02-10) February 10, 1966 (age 58)
Youngstown, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Lewiston-Porter (Youngstown, New York)
College:Syracuse (1984–1988)
NFL draft:1989 / round: 2 / pick: 39
Career history
As a player:
As an executive:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:753
Average:3.2
Touchdowns:22
Receiving yards:2,227
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Daryl Peter "Moose" Johnston (born February 10, 1966) is an American former professional football player (running back/fullback) who is currently the executive vice president of football operations for the UFL. He played college football at Syracuse University. He was the general manager of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, the director of player personnel for the Dallas Renegades in 2020, and served as the executive vice president of football operations for the revived incarnation of the USFL for its inaugural season.

Early life

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Johnston was named Western New York Player of the Year in 1983, while playing for Lewiston-Porter High School (locally known as Lew-Port) in Lewiston, New York. The Lancers won the division during his senior year in 1984. His Lew-Port jersey (number 34) was retired on September 1, 2006. In 2008, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.[1]

College career

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Johnston attended Syracuse University. As a redshirted freshman, he started playing on special teams and would earn the starting fullback position by his sophomore season in 1986.

While playing for Syracuse, Johnston was an All-Big East selection in 1987 and an All-American in 1988. He rushed for 1,830 yards and caught 46 passes during his collegiate career. He once gained 138 yards rushing, the most by a Syracuse running back since Larry Csonka rushed for 154 yards in 1967.

He graduated with a degree in economics.

College career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving
GP Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD
1985 Syracuse 11 10 28 2.8 0 0 0 0.0 0
1986 Syracuse 11 102 469 4.6 0 17 114 6.7 0
1987 Syracuse 11 116 614 5.3 4 6 87 14.5 1
1988 Syracuse 11 128 645 5.0 5 20 250 12.5 0
44 356 1,756 4.9 9 43 451 10.5 1

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+3⁄4 in
(1.87 m) 		232 lb
(105 kg) 		31+1⁄2 in
(0.80 m) 		9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 4.17 s 28.5 in
(0.72 m)		 9 ft 5 in
(2.87 m)		 17 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2][3]

Johnston was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (39th overall) of the 1989 NFL draft.[4] As a rookie, he received his nickname "Moose" from backup quarterback Babe Laufenberg because of his large stature compared to the rest of the running backs.[5] The name caught on among Dallas fans who would chant "Moooooose" whenever he made a play.

As a Cowboy, Johnston played in 149 consecutive games from 1989-1997. He also became one of the greatest special teams players in franchise history.

He scored 22 career touchdowns and had more receptions than carries. His 294 receptions is the third-highest number among Cowboys running backs, totaling 2,227 yards for a 7.6 yards average, compared to 232 carries for 753 yards for a 3.2 yards average. In 1993 Johnston had 50 receptions and averaged 7.4 yards per catch.

Due mainly to Johnston's contributions, the NFL created the fullback position in the Pro Bowl.[6] Prior to this change, blocking fullbacks had little chance of beating out traditional running backs, who had better statistics. Johnston was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1993 and 1994.

Johnston retired at the end of the 1999 season, after suffering a neck injury in 1997. He was a member of three Super Bowl winning teams.[7]

NFL career statistics

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Season Team GP Rushing Receiving
GP Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
1989 DAL 16 67 212 3.2 13 0 16 133 8.3 28 3
1990 DAL 16 10 35 3.5 8 1 14 148 10.6 26 1
1991 DAL 16 17 54 3.2 10 0 28 244 8.7 22 1
1992 DAL 16 17 61 3.6 14 0 32 249 7.8 18 2
1993 DAL 16 24 74 3.1 11 3 50 372 7.4 20 1
1994 DAL 16 40 138 3.5 9 2 44 325 7.4 24 2
1995 DAL 16 25 111 4.4 18 2 30 248 8.3 24 1
1996 DAL 16 22 48 2.2 7 0 43 278 6.5 23 1
1997 DAL 6 2 3 1.5 3 0 18 166 9.2 21 1
1998 DAL 16 8 17 2.1 6 0 18 60 3.3 9 1
1999 DAL 1 – – – – – 1 4 4.0 4 0
Career 151 232 753 3.2 18 8 294 2,227 7.6 28 14

Legacy

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Johnston was considered one of the greatest fullbacks of his day,[citation needed] while blocking for Emmitt Smith, as Smith went on to become the all-time NFL rushing leader. However, Johnston was not the lead blocker for Smith's entire career. A neck injury prematurely ended Johnston's career. Johnston was present the day Smith broke the rushing record; he was in the broadcasting booth, but came down onto the field to hug Smith and congratulate him afterward. As Smith made his victory lap of Texas Stadium after the record-setting carry, Johnston hung back in the shadows. When Smith saw Johnston, the two joined in an emotional embrace, with Smith telling Johnston, "I couldn't have done it without you." Johnston replied, "It was my pleasure. I couldn't imagine doing it for anybody else."[8]

In 2010, Johnston was in the audience for Emmitt Smith's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. During his acceptance speech, a visibly emotional Smith spoke directly to Johnston, calling out the fact that, as a fullback, he had sacrificed himself for so many years to block for Smith. "Without you", Smith said, "I know that today would not have been possible."[9]

Broadcasting career

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Johnston in 2007

In 2003, Johnston joined the program Players Inc Radio when it moved to Fox Sports Radio. The program was sponsored by NFL Players Inc.[10] Since 2013, Johnston has worked as a color commentator alongside Kenny Albert and formerly Dick Stockton. Previously, Johnston was on the second broadcast team with Stockton from 2001 to 2006 and Albert from 2007 to 2013. He also worked with Tony "Goose" Siragusa, until Siragusa's firing from the network following the 2015 season. In 2000, Johnston got his start calling NFL games by working the regular season and doing the High Definition broadcast of Super Bowl XXXV with Kevin Harlan for CBS Sports. He was an analyst for the NFL Network's "Total Access" until 2012. Johnston also began calling the collegiate Cotton Bowl Classic game for Fox in 2009, first with Pat Summerall, and then eventually Kenny Albert. He also was a guest star of the PBS television series Wishbone in its episode "Moonbone". He appears as a regular guest on First Things First on FS1 (2017/2018) with Cris Carter, Nick Wright, and Jenna Wolfe. In 2017, he continued his esteemed broadcasting career with NFL on FOX, teamed with Chris Myers and Laura Okmin. In 2020, he became paired with Kevin Burkhardt and Pam Oliver.[11] He was paired with Joe Davis and Pam Oliver as the number 2 crew with FOX, but, for 2024, with Tom Brady’s arrival at FOX, he was demoted to the #5 team alongside Kevin Kugler.

Executive career

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In 2018, Johnston became the General Manager of the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football.[12]

On May 15, 2019, he was named Director of Player Personnel for the Dallas Renegades of the new XFL.[13]

On November 17, 2021, he was named Executive Vice President of Football Operations.[14]

On April 6, 2023, he was named the President of Football Operations for the second season of the newest incarnation of the USFL.[15]

Personal life

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A native of Youngstown, New York, Johnston now resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife Diane, son Aidan, and daughter Evan.

References and notes

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  1. ^ "Daryl Johnston- Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame". buffalosportshalloffame.com. Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. July 25, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  2. ^ "Daryl Johnston, Combine Results, FB - Syracuse". nflcombineresults.com. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Daryl Johnston RAS". ras.football. December 27, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "1989 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "Daryl Johnston NFL All-Pro and Fox Sports Net Analyst". MCPSpeakers.com. Retrieved May 29, 2005.
  6. ^ "Top 10 Best Draft Although Fullback position in the Pro Bowl goes back as far as Jim Brown! Picks of the Jerry Jones Era". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  7. ^ "Neck injury forces 'Moose' to leave Cowboys". a.espncdn.com. ESPN, Inc. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "Daryl Johnston bio". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "Emmitt Smith HOF speech". NFL.com. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  10. ^ "Closing Bell". Sports Business Daily. July 22, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  11. ^ "Fox Shakes Up NFL Broadcast Teams for 2020 Season". Radio.com. September 28, 2020.
  12. ^ Thomas, Terrence (September 25, 2018). "Commanders ready to call San Antonio home". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  13. ^ "Ex-Cowboys FB hi isDaryl Johnston hired as director of player personnel for Dallas' XFL team". The Dallas Morning News. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  14. ^ Fischer, Ben (November 17, 2021). "USFL to reboot in April under Fox ownership". Forbes. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  15. ^ Fedotin, Jeff. "Former Dallas Cowboys Star Daryl Johnston Is New USFL President". Forbes. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
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