As Penn State and Oregon get ready to play each other in the Big Ten Championship on Saturday night, it’s difficult to find many points of agreement between them. It will still take some getting accustomed to, even though the teams are now conference rivals. There have only been four meetings between the Nittany Lions and Ducks: three in the 1960s and one for the Rose Bowl in 1995.
However, one man knows both programs and their recent history very well.
Juwan Johnson, a tight end for the New Orleans Saints, was a wide receiver at both schools. He played for Oregon in 2019 and Penn State from 2015 to 2018. He won a conference championship with both teams, and he is focused on the game this weekend.
Considering that he ended his career in Eugene, Johnson stated that he would have to support the Ducks. This week, he relived some of his best collegiate memories with PennLive. His wife Chanen, who graduated from Penn State, has 3.2 million followers on TikTok.
Johnson joked over the phone, “So we got a little family feud right now.” However, we’re eager to watch the game, dude.
However, Johnson and his spouse have no lighthearted wagers about arriving at the stadium wearing the colors of the opposite school, unlike NFL players from rival schools on rivalry weekend.
In any case, she already wears my Oregon gear. Johnson remarked, “She’s wearing my Oregon stuff around the house, and we’re both rocking our Penn State gear.” Therefore, it won’t really matter in either case. To be honest, she doesn’t really care who wins. She would, however, love for Penn State to win because she is a Penn State alum. I suppose you would say that we have a friendly, marital companionship.
Johnson spent three years at Penn State, catching 81 catches for 1,123 yards and two scores after redshirting his first season in Happy Valley. In his one season with the Ducks, he caught 30 passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns, which he later used to secure an NFL deal as an undrafted free agent. However, Johnson has had a successful five-year career with New Orleans after switching to tight end, recording 126 receptions, 1,387 yards, and 17 touchdowns.
Johnson began receiving jokes about the matchup early this week because the Saints only have a few other former Nittany Lions on the roster, along with a few other Oregon grads. However, he has acted in good faith throughout it all.
He remarked, “I just think it’s right to go for the team I was with last.” Overall, I’m excited to watch the game. It will be quite thrilling. All I want is a decent game. At the end of the day, all I want is a nice game, but I have to give Oregon credit since I ended there.
On December 14, 2018, Juwan Johnson, a wide receiver for Penn State, enters Holuba Hall for practice.
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Johnson was mostly a special team player when Penn State last advanced to the Big Ten Championship in 2016 and defeated Wisconsin in an instant classic, although he did register a tackle in the victory. In another instant classic that fans remember vividly, Penn State lost to USC in the Rose Bowl.
Johnson stated, “It was a really good game, so of course it was.” It was quite memorable to win that game after falling behind 21 points.
He participated in another 10-2 regular season at Oregon that culminated in a convincing 37-15 Pac-12 Championship victory over Utah and a final 28-27 Rose Bowl victory over the same Badgers he defeated at Penn State in 2016.
“Honestly, it felt great to play with a bunch of great guys and be a part of a Pac-12 championship for both teams,” Johnson said. However, it was also evidently enjoyable to be on the West Coast, attend a place where you didn’t know anyone, and then win a Pac-12 championship.
As a result, winning both conferences and being aware that they are mixed together somewhat caps off my time in college.
The fact that four Pac-12 schools—Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA—have now joined the Big Ten is obviously still a shock to Johnson.
A West Coast squad would never be expected to make those trips on a regular basis, but they did. “It appears that they have been managing it quite effectively,” he added. The current state of college football, its evolution, and the structure of the College Football Playoffs are all fascinating to observe.
Johnson was the third-ranked recruit in New Jersey and a four-star prospect in the 2015 class when he arrived to Penn State. He lived up to the anticipation with a single play that leaves a lasting impression on spectators. Trace McSorley glanced over the center of the field and found Johnson in the back of the end zone for a toe-tap touchdown with four seconds remaining in the 2017 Penn State game against Iowa, which finished fourth in the nation.
It was his career’s first touchdown, and it was a valiant moment that preserved Penn State’s early postseason aspirations. With 211 rushing yards and 94 receiving yards, Saquon Barkley was one of the game’s heroes.
Johnson, however, did not go so far as to say that the play was his best Penn State or collegiate moment.
Every bowl game we played was enjoyable. Johnson remarked, “That was the last time you know you’re really going to see those guys, and it was kind of the most intimate times you had with them.” I had a good time at the Rose Bowl. I enjoyed the Fiesta Bowl.
Johnson said he has seen a lot of action from Penn State and Oregon this season and, like the majority of his NFL teammates, he has a modest workload on Saturdays. He is aware that No. 3 Penn State, the nation’s final unbeaten team, and the No. 1 Ducks have produced quality play.
Johnson will initially focus on Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship, which begins at 8 p.m. on CBS, while the Saints are in New York getting ready to play the Giants. He had few predictions for the game, staying loyal to his heritage at both schools.
I’m aware that the game will have a high score. It will undoubtedly be enjoyable. I believe that I am giving Oregon the advantage, but don’t tell my wife. “Very excited,” Johnson remarked. For their efforts this season, Coach [James] Franklin and Dan Lanning have my utmost admiration. It’s incredibly difficult to win games with this schedule and this season, but they’ve handled victory quite well, so I’m interested to see what they’ll do on Saturday.
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Max Ralph
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