Jason Johnson passing against the Palermo Sharks
This article appeared in the Sunday, May 18, 2008 edition of the ARIZona daily star and was written by staff writer greg hansen as part of his weekly Sunday column
REALLY PLAYING FOR PIZZA
Former UA quarterback remains upbeat about life
Until Sonny Dykes and Willie Tuitama came along, Jason Johnson held many of the UA's top passing records, including most passing yards in a season (3,327) in 2002.
Johnson was a district first-team academic All-American in '02, a smiling, upbeat personality — he refers to himself as a "positologist'' — who spent three years as a substitute in the Canadian Football League and became a TV producer in Edmonton, Alberta, and, later, a marketing executive for Canada's equivalent of Jamba Juice.
Two months ago, piqued by an e-mail from former UA tight end Peter Hansen, who briefly played pro football in Italy, Johnson applied for an opening in the Italian Football League. He soon became quarterback and co-offensive coordinator for the Catania Elephants, a pro team on the Italian coast.
Johnson read John Grisham's best-selling book "Playing for Pizza," and discovered that he has become a real-life Reek Dockery, who was Grisham's quarterback-playing protagonist.
How's it going? A week ago against Palermo, Johnson, 28, threw five touchdown passes. The Elephants are 5-1.
If you wish to learn more about his adventure, his blogreallyplayingforpizza.blogspot.com is fabulous. Once his football days are over, he would be a terrific travel writer.
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