Today, we are featuring 2016 TOP 12er Damon Johnson of USC (Southern Cal)!
What is your occupation?
Just finished my EMT and starting the fire academy this fall and hoping to get fired on as a full time firefighter by January 2026
Where do you live?
Meridian, ID
Married? Kids?
Just got engaged this month and getting married in November of this year
What is your fondest memory of your time playing college football?
Probably winning the Pac-12 and getting to play in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium against Ohio State and doing it all while starting my freshman year. It taught me a lot at such an early part of my athletic career at USC.
If you could give ONE bit of advice to the current Rubio Long Snappers, what would it be? Snapping PARENTS, what would it be?
Long Snappers
– For any long snapper out there, my one piece of advice would be to stay resilient through the whole process. That goes with not only when the recruiting process starts but even before that process and after. It can be easy (and usually common) to have something not go the way you wanted it to or not how you saw it going but I think it is crucial to kick the dust off, get back on the horse and keep your chin up. The whole process of learning to long snap, try to get recruited, traveling around for the exposure, and making a decision at the end is a daunting one and one that not many get to at the end because of the ups and downs that go with it. So I would say stay resilient through the entire process and for everyone that is going to look different. For some it is going to be to lean on friends and family, for some it will be to stay organized, and others it might be to have an outlet to keep you ground but whatever it is, don’t lose that because that foundation to keep you resilient will make or break a long snapper and that will stick with you when you are getting recruited, when you are playing in college, when you are working in the workforce and when you are starting a family.
Parents
– Being patient is one of the best pieces of advice I could give. It is hard for me to give advice on the process of recruiting because the landscape of college football recruiting is much different from when I was going through the process but having patience is one of the best pieces of advice I could give but it’s also one of the hardest things to pursue in this journey. With my recruiting story, I went from being committed to a full time D-1 scholarship going INTO my senior year to quickly not having a college picked out until the summer AFTER my senior year was over and still went to a D-1 college on a full ride scholarship. I know my parents were pulling out their hair with how this went down but I kept telling them and myself that patience is key and I ended up being right. Also to stay faithful through it all because God doesn’t make mistakes.
When was the last time you snapped a ball and for what reason?
I snapped a ball a couple months ago with my future father-in-law because he was fascinated with the skill and ended up snapping for like 30 minutes in front of his neighbors and everyone was intrigued with what I was doing.
If you could go back and play football in college again, would you go to the same school or a different one? Why?
The same school, USC, was an amazing university that provided a little bit of everything for me. I was able to play in some massive games and bowl games, get 2 quality degrees and a top-10 university, I was in the epicenter of entertainment and things to do, and met some amazing people that I still talk to today.
Any regrets during college? Anything you wish you had done or hadn’t done?
I wish I would have embraced the fellowship a little bit more. When I was playing I understand how fun it was and getting to travel around and play football with my friends but I wish I could have embraced it more because when that last snap happened for me (playing in Cal Berkeley on a Saturday night game) I realized it was all over and I quickly became a football alum and was looking for a job in the workforce.
What tremendous thing have you been a part of or experienced since you graduated?
I would say moving up to Idaho from California and getting engaged has been awesome. I am thankful for how I was raised in California but being able to move up here and being able to fly fish, go shooting whenever I want, travel around, and getting to enjoy the outdoors with my fiancee has been a great experience that I wouldn’t change at all.
Rubio Long Snapping is, by far, the biggest and best resource for Long Snappers in the country. Rubio has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the USA Today, Deadspin, Sports Illustrated and countless other publications.
Offering the best instruction and most exposure in the world, Rubio Long Snapping can help you to become the best snapper you can be!
In just 20 years, Chris Rubio, President and Owner of Rubio Long Snapping, has become the #1 Long Snapping instructor in the country and the go-to man when a college coach needs a Long Snapper. Colleges from across the country rely on “Rubio’s” word day in and day out on who the best Long Snappers are in the country. Rubio Long Snapping has assisted in over 1,850 Long Snappers earning full scholarships and preferred walk-on opportunities to major colleges and universities just for Long Snapping and many into the NFL as well.
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