Siah Hernandez

Eric Johnson has become an exemplary role model and manifestation of what many Plainfield South athletes hope to achieve.  Johnson currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts as defensive tackle. During his time at South, he compiled two consecutive all conference honors for football and a second place finish at the state tournament in his junior year. This, along with his lettering in track, garnered much attention from colleges during his junior and senior year.
Even with his success, Johnson remains grounded and is able to recall both where he came from and specific lessons from his time at South.
“I still carry a lot of my lessons learned from South throughout my career in college and even till now. Grinding through adversity, identifying and learning to improve the things I work on, and ignoring the opinions of outside influences that can knock you off your track,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he had a somewhat typical experience in the building.
“I was smart but a bit lazy, so I didn’t learn to apply myself in studying like I should have. I enjoyed the time reading Manga in the library and talking to some of the friends and people that I knew. More of the first than the latter though,” Johnson said.
According to his former track coach Marcus Allen Normant, Johnson was able to see the world as if it was an anime. He was the protagonist, and was so successful because he never second guessed himself nor his abilities.
Johnson comes back to South often in the summers to talk to athletes, coaches, and put in some offseason work. He also shows up on occasion and keeps in contact with various coaches and alumni that he met at his time here.
“Many of the people I connect with the most are the ones I met from sports, both coaches and players alike. We spent so much time with each other with all the practices, games and matches that I was hardly with anyone else. I still keep up with the wrestlers to this day. We’ve developed a tighter bond than most,” Johnson said.
Johnson recalls when and why he first became interested in football.
“I got into sports because of my dad. We share a lot of similarities besides our first name and when I was little I wanted to be like him. That’s how I started football when I was young. I believe around 7 years old,” Johnson said.
Both Johnson and his father played collegiately. Although his father never played for the NFL, both he and his son had very successful college careers. His father was All-MVFC defensive lineman at Illinois State in 1996, playing professionally in the CFL, XFL and indoor football league for 10 seasons.
A Plainfield South memory that Johnson can’t forget was when he decided to sneak into another teacher’s classroom. He did so by hiding in a cabinet then slithering his way across the room into a seat. At that time, he was a 6’5 230 pound high schooler wearing bright green neon in the middle of a cackling class. In the end, the whole class couldn’t stop laughing to which his English teacher finally realized what was going on. According to Johnson, her reaction was almost unfazed as he was sure every teacher who knew him was aware of his playful personality.
“What makes me nostalgic about South is my memories of my times with my teammates. The jokes, the laughs, the fights, the wins, and the losses. All the things we went through and the joy I had going through them. The times when I come back to the school and walk through the halls, I’m reminded of it all,”  Johnson said.
He leaves a message for the current students at Plainfield South.  “Make the most of your time in school. It’s an important time that doesn’t last forever and because of that you need to be smart as well. It’s time to prepare for the future. Get to know people and make connections with each other. Try to learn who you are and what it is that you want for your life. You don’t have to have the answers now but to start thinking about it now goes a long way.”