SAN ANTONIO — A week after his father's funeral, Texas A&M backup quarterback Jerrod Johnson takes comfort in knowing how many lives the former Aggies player influenced.
Larry Johnson, 50, died on Dec. 17, two days after suffering a stroke. He was a receiver and defensive back for A&M from 1976-79 and had worked in the Humble school district since 1985. Formerly the offensive coordinator at Humble High School, Johnson was in his first year as the principal.
Johnson's funeral drew more than 3,000 mourners, his son said. Some of them were ex-teammates and coaches from A&M, others were old friends and former students mentored by Johnson.
"Once I went through that, I kind of realized he touched so many people's lives, there's not really anything you can be sad about," said Jerrod Johnson, whose Aggies (7-5) play Penn State (8-4) in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday. "He made a difference in a lot of people's lives. I just look at it like that. You can't help the situation. Hopefully, I can do what he always wanted me to do on the field."
The day of Larry Johnson's funeral, interim A&M coach Gary Darnell moved an afternoon practice to the morning so players could attend. Former A&M coach Dennis Franchione was there, and former Aggies basketball coach Billy Gillispie sent his condolences. Jerrod Johnson was a reserve for Gillispie last season.
"It really helped my family because I've been up there for two years," said Johnson, a redshirt freshman. "I have a huge family back home. But it's up here, the A&M guys, a lot of them came and they all called me and talked to me."
Johnson appeared in two games, throwing seven passes, with his only two completions going for touchdowns. He's waiting for his chance to play behind junior Stephen McGee.
Johnson was talking to his father only minutes before the stroke. Naturally, they were talking about football.
"He was my whole reason for playing football," Johnson said. "He always talked about how much he loved (A&M) and that really helped me out at the funeral."
About 20 minutes after Johnson hung up, his brother, Marquis, called with the news. Marquis Johnson is a senior at Prairie View A&M.
Jerrod Johnson left College Station without packing and drove to the hospital where his father was being treated.
"The whole time I was driving down there, it was kind of surreal," Johnson said.
Doctors performed surgery on Dec. 16, but Larry Johnson died the next day.
"He had perfect health. He was completely fine," Johnson said. "He just had a blood clot in one side of his brain. That's what kind of set it off. He was always conscious, but he was always in an in-and-out state. There's always a chance that blood will get to the brain, but it never happened."
Johnson spoke easily about his father before Thursday's practice, joking that he would've been mad that his son skipped practice to visit him in the hospital.
Johnson said he was "mentally ready" to play in the bowl game. Well-trained by his father, he was focused on football this week more than anything else.
"I've got to do whatever I've got to do to help the team," Johnson said. "I know he'd want me to do that and think about him last. I'm going to think about him a little bit. Right now, I'm just thinking about the game."