Veteran defensive end Micah Johnson still shows no signs of slowing down at 37 years old, earning his second straight All-CFL selection this year. It’s only natural that he wants to play at least one more season – and do it with the Green-Whites.
“I know for sure I want to play one more year. After next year, I want to see how my body feels and see how things are going,” Johnson said. 3DownNation on Wednesday. “I feel like at this point (my career) should be here (with Saskatchewan). It should be here.”
The six-foot-two, 255-pound defensive back recorded 20 defensive tackles and six sacks this season, marking his fourth straight season with at least five sacks.
Saskatchewan is a perfect fit for the veteran, given his close ties to head coach Corey Mays. Johnson and Mays were teammates on the Calgary Stampeders for three seasons before Mays became the team's defensive line coach. Johnson left for Saskatchewan as a free agent three years later, but the two always shared a strong bond.
“Watching Mays grow, his transition has been huge. A lot of the qualities he showed early on when I played with him, it's like, 'You know, this guy could be a coach.' Mays would have our 8:30 meetings, he'd have meetings after practice, tell everybody what to do,” Johnson said.
“He's always had that voice, so you knew the transition would be smooth. For me, I'm just happy to see the opportunities he's gotten and continue to rise up because that's what we've seen for a long time. The success he's had hasn't shocked anyone. It just seemed like it happened so quickly.”
Johnson will turn 38 in June but continues to build his resume for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He has 309 defensive tackles, 71 sacks, six forced fumbles and two interceptions in 178 CFL regular season games, 80 of which came with the Roughriders, earning five All-CFL selections and eight All-CFL divisional selections.
The Columbus, Georgia native changed the way he prepared for the season, which he believes has contributed to his longevity.
“I work hard. I never give myself an off-season – two or three weeks after the season I go right back to training, training again. I take it seriously, I take my nutrition seriously,” Johnson said.
“The way I lift is a little different now. I don't think I'm going to get stronger, so I'm not benching 405 or 450 (pounds) every day or trying to squat 600 pounds every day. For me, I needed to bring more functionality to it, more movement, and I think that's why I can still move well and still have some fluidity in my movements.”
Another strong resource for Johnson is quarterback Trevor Harris, who is two years older than him.
“Trevor is a good resource for me. He's like an encyclopedia when it comes to the body and how it works and different things you can do. Because he's several years ahead of me, he's always ahead, so I always ask Trevor,” Johnson said. “It's crazy because I don't think (my age) is as big of an issue as it seems from the outside.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (13-6) and Montreal Alouettes (12-8) will meet in the 112th Gray Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 16, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 pm EST.
The Alouettes defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern final by a score of 19-16.Bye The Roughriders came back to defeat the BC Lions in the Western final, 24-21.. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, although Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander missed both games with a hamstring injury.
The weather forecast for Winnipeg calls for a high of two degrees, sun and clouds. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the US and CFL+ worldwide.
This is the fifth time the Gray Cup will be held in Winnipeg and the second time it will be held at Princess Auto Stadium. The stadium's first Gray Cup was held in 2015, when the Edmonton football team defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 and Michael Reilly was named the game's MVP.
