
Profile of the Week: Colby Johnson

Photo courtesy of Ottawa University Football
Colby Johnson is a name you won’t forget. As the 2021 season began, his objective was not only to win but to forever be enshrined in Ottawa’s history books. Johnson, a linebacker for the Braves, has been a huge part of the Braves' defensive success for quite some time, taking his biggest leap from his 2017 freshman season with only eight total tackles to 2018 gaining 90 total tackles.
In 2020, he earned his first All-American honors, finishing 5th in the NAIA for total tackles. Football has always been a big part of his life since he started playing in the third grade.
The El Dorado, Kansas, native cites his mom as his biggest influence and motivator.
“We would always watch football on the weekends,” he says. “I would run around and tackle anything I could, mainly my siblings.”
This sparked his love for the game, ultimately making him the player he has become today.
“To see all the stuff she has gone through and still be able to support me with everything is quite amazing. She’s always been by my side through the good and the bad. And she always motivates me. Sometimes she coaches me harder than our coaches. But she just knows the goals I have set for myself,” he says.
The previous tackling record was held by Fielding Brenner with 347 total tackles in 2013, almost a decade-long record that probably seemed to be untouchable.
He was able to break the astonishing record just a few games into the season.
He says the record is, “Definitely a huge accomplishment for me, and a goal I had set for myself a while back. Still crazy to me that I was able to accomplish it.”
Johnson is playing in his fifth year for Ottawa, using the extra year of eligibility granted by the NAIA after having last year not count for anybody. With many games left in the season, he has a chance to surpass 400 total tackles.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
More oucampus News Articles
- POTW - Logan Smoot
- The Man Behind the Camera
- Profile of the Week: Reagan Lorey
- Profile of the Week: Dalton Sikes
Recent oucampus News Articles
Discuss This Article
MOST POPULAR OUCAMPUS

A Safe Holiday Season By Kylee Weber

OU Student experiences plane scare on way back to Ottawa By Brynden Grow

POTW - Logan Smoot By Brynden Grow
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST OUCAMPUS NEWS
RECENT OUCAMPUS CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- How One Nonprofit Is Changing the Way We Fight Human...
- Living Longer? Great! Now Stay Healthier, Too
- A Second Shot Blends Riveting True Crime with Emotional...
- How Financing Options Help Customers Get What They...
- Spring Yard Work? Remember Safety First
- Looking Out For Your Lungs: The Importance of Lung...
- Moving Resources For Military Families
- Understanding Your Oral Health
- “Pre-Game” to Greater Things in Your Retirement
- Menopause and Dry Eye: What Women Need to Know
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- Get the Scoop on AI Innovation
- Form, Function, Frames: Eyewear in Motion
- Most Americans Avoid Lifesaving Colorectal Cancer Screening
- BookTrib’s Bites: Jump-Start Summer with These Four E...
- BookTrib’s Bites: Something for Everyone, from S...
- 5 Effective Steps to Avoid the Summer Slide
- A Clean Energy Manufacturing Renaissance
- RECORD ENERGY USE DEMANDS AN ALL-OF-THE-ABOVE APPROACH
- LOFT App by RealPage Drives Financial Wellness for Renters
- BookTrib’s Bites: From Sci-Fi and Thrillers to H...
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- New Survey Shows College Students Overestimate Their Career Readiness
- GradGuard Launches $15,000 Scholarship Program to Promote Financial Awareness
- When It Comes to Sex and Relationships, New Multimedia Campaign Empowers Young Adults to Get Past the Awk and Get to the Talk
- CARNEGIE YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAM OPENS CALL FOR 500 GEN Z LEADERS
- The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Announces2025 Dissertation Fellows