THE FLATS – In his first year of eligibility, Georgia Tech football legend Calvin Johnson has been selected for enshrinement to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the National Football League announced during its annual NFL Honors ceremony on Saturday night.
Johnson will become the third Georgia Tech letterwinner in the Pro Football Hall of Fame – and the first to enter the Hall in 22 years – when he is enshrined in July. He’ll join Joe Guyon (HB/T: Georgia Tech – 1917-18; Canton Bulldogs – 1920; Washington Senators/Cleveland Indians – 1921; Oorang Indians – 1922-23; Rock Island Independents – 1924; Kansas City Cowboys – 1925; New York Giants – 1927; inducted in 1966) and Billy Shaw (G: Georgia Tech – 1958-60; Buffalo Bills – 1961-69; inducted in 1999) as Tech’s Pro Football Hall of Famers.
Johnson, a wide receiver who starred at Georgia Tech from 2004-06, was selected by the Detroit Lions with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He caught 731 passes for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns in nine NFL seasons (2007-15), all with the Lions.
Known widely by his nickname “Megatron,” Johnson’s 11,619 receiving yards rank fourth in NFL history by a player in first nine seasons and his 5,137 receiving yards from 2011-13 remain the most ever by an NFL player during a three-season stretch. In 2012, he set an NFL single-season record with 1,974 receiving yards (on a league-leading 122 receptions). He led the NFL in receiving yards twice (2011 and 2012), was a three-time first-team All-Pro selection (2011-13), made six Pro Bowl appearances (2010-15) and was a member of the NFL’s all-decade team for the 2010s.
Prior to becoming one of the NFL’s all-time great receivers, Johnson set several receiving records in his three seasons at Georgia Tech. A two-time first-team all-American (2005 and 2006) and winner of the 2006 Biletnikoff Award (college football’s top receiver), he remains the Yellow Jackets’ all-time leader for receiving yards in a season (1,202 in 2006) and career (2,927) and touchdown receptions in a season (15 – 2006) and career (28).
Johnson is no stranger to Hall of Fame inductions, as he went into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018, the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
The 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony is set for Sunday, August 8 in Canton, Ohio.
Calvin Johnson Photo Gallery
Legendary WR becomes third Georgia Tech letterwinner selected for enshrinement to Pro Football Hall of Fame
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