Damaris Johnson is an American college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 player. He is currently a wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 and return specialist

Kick returner

In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...

 for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Tulsa Golden Hurricane athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports team of the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane...

 of the University of Tulsa

University of Tulsa

The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...

.

Early years

Johnson was born in Norco

Norco, Louisiana

Norco is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,579 at the 2000 census. The community is home to a major Shell petroleum refinery. Its name is derived from the New Orleans Refining Company....

, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 where he was raised by his single mother Lori Johnson. According to Johnson, his first cousin Mark Young acted as a surrogate father and taught him how to play football. He attended Destrehan High School

Destrehan High School

Destrehan High School is a public high school located in Destrehan, Louisiana, United States. The St. Charles Parish school serves all students on the East bank of the Mississippi River in grades 9 through 12.-History:...

 in Destrehan

Destrehan, Louisiana

Destrehan is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2000 census. It was named after Jean N...

, Louisiana where he became a three-year letter winner in football. He eventually became the all-time leading receiver at Destrahan High School with a career record of 154 receptions, 2,620 yards, and 30 touchdowns. In his senior year alone, he made 81 receptions for 1,228 yards, and 12 touchdowns. That year, Destrahan High School achieved a 14–0 record and won the state championship. Johnson was named the Louisiana Championship game Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 Metro MVP, and was twice named an all-state and all-New Orleans Metro player.

Johnson was highly-ranked as a college prospect by several websites, but was not shown much interest by the major football schools due in part to his small stature. His high school coach Stephen Robicheaux said, "If he were two inches taller, he could have gone anywhere in the country." Rivals.com

Rivals.com

Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...

 assigned him a four-star rating and named him the 11th-ranked college prospect in Louisiana and the 28th-ranked athlete in the nation. Scout.com

Scout.com

Scout.com is an integrated sports publishing company that produces both an Internet and print product. Scout has more than 2.1 million visitors...

 assessed him as the 21st-ranked college prospect in the state. Johnson selected Tulsa over Texas Christian

TCU Horned Frogs football

The TCU Horned Frogs football team is the intercollegiate football team of Texas Christian University. TCU competes as a member of the Mountain West Conference in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, but will move to the Big 12 Conference for the 2012 season. TCU began playing football...

, Memphis

Memphis Tigers football

The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Tigers compete in Conference USA...

, and Louisiana Tech

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football program represents Louisiana Tech University in Western Athletic Conference. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Since the Bulldogs first season in 1901, Louisiana Tech has compiled an all-time record of 554 wins, 422...

.

College career

Against UTEP

UTEP Miners football

The UTEP Miners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Texas at El Paso . With a history dating back to 1914, UTEP currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of Conference USA . UTEP currently plays their home games at the Sun Bowl...

, Johnson set a Tulsa school record for single-game kickoff return yards with 211 yards on six returns. In the first quarter, Johnson returned a kick 98 yards for a touchdown to equalize the game at 28 and shift the momentum in favor of Tulsa. By the game's end, Johnson had accumulated 296 all-purpose yards and was named a Conference USA

Conference USA

Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...

 Player of the Week. Against New Mexico, Johnson caught five passes for 109 yards and three touchdowns. Tulsa head coach Todd Graham

Todd Graham

Todd Graham is the head football coach of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was previously the head coach at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma.-Playing career:...

 said that true freshman "Damaris Johnson is as explosive of a freshman or any player I've seen, freshman or senior." He led his team and the conference in all-purpose yardage with 2,201 yards. Johnson set a Tulsa school record for single-season kickoff return yards with 1,319.

In 2008, Johnson was named to the All-Conference USA second-team as a kick returner and All-Conference USA honorable mention as a wide receiver. The Sporting News

The Sporting News

Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...

 named him a first-team freshman All-American

College Football All-America Team

The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...

. Rivals.com named him a first-team freshman All-American as an all-purpose player and Phil Steele's College Football magazine named him a second-team freshman All-American kick returner. On December 24, 2010, in the Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii Bowl

The Hawaii Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2002. Typically played on either Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the game matches teams from either...

 game, Johnson broke the NCAA record for all purpose yardage with 326 in a 62-35 win for Tulsa.
He is also the NCAA leader in kick return yards for a career and total yards gained for a career.

College statistics

Tulsa			Receiving						Rushing
Season	GP		Rec	Yds	Avg	Lg	TD		Att	Yds	Avg	Lg	TD
2008	13		47	608	12.9	42	9		38	251	6.6	48	1
Totals	13		47	608	12.9	42	9		38	251	6.6	48	1

Embezzlement Charges

On August 25, 2011, Johnson was suspended indefinitely following questions about his role in his girlfriend's arrest for felony embezzlement. Johnson's girlfriend, Chamon Jones, was accused of ringing up over $2800 worth of merchandise over the course of two purchases at the Tulsa Macy's

Macy's

Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

 she worked at, but only charging Johnson just over $13 in total. Johnson was initially questioned and released, but on August 31 Johnson was also charged with felony embezzlement

Embezzlement

Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....

by the Tulsa County District Attorney's office.