Brett Johnson retires
Cal defensive lineman Brett Johnson talks about his decision to step away from football.
Transcript
00:00 with a question from Jeff Verado from Cal Sports Report.
00:03 Hey, good morning, Brett. How you doing? Doing well. How are you?
00:07 I'm all right. You've obviously been through an awful lot
00:10 physically during your time at Cal, which is
00:14 setback after setback. You were able to play the entire regular season this
00:18 year and then I don't believe you played the bowl game.
00:20 Can you tell us sort of did something happen in preparation for that that
00:24 that prompted this and just how difficult is it for you to
00:28 step away from the game that you've given so much to?
00:31 Yes, I didn't play in the bowl game in the last
00:35 regular season game against UCLA. I sustained another knee injury
00:39 so I was not able to play anymore and after that I
00:43 that's when I kind of came to my decision that I need to
00:47 step away from the game, prioritize my health for just the long long term
00:52 sake of like the rest of my life. To step away from the game is difficult.
00:56 To step away from my teammates is difficult. To step away from this
00:58 lifestyle is difficult. It is definitely going to be something
01:02 that is going to be hard at first for sure but I
01:08 am very much excited, very much looking
01:11 forward to the opportunities that I'm sure will be abundant at this
01:15 next stage of my life. What are your plans? At this point I
01:20 don't have any set plans. I would say for the next
01:26 six months to the year I'll be out and about probably traveling a
01:31 little bit, going and see the world a little bit
01:34 because I've spent up until now I've spent my entire life dedicated to
01:36 football and this kind of lifestyle so I think
01:40 it'll be good and refreshing to get some new perspective, do something.
01:47 Nothing's set in stone. Obviously I'll be looking for
01:51 job opportunities and whatnot, keeping my ear to the ground with that
01:55 but at this point I'm not too set in stone
01:59 in any specific way. Are you thinking about would you coach or is that not
02:03 even on the horizon for you? Maybe at some point. That's
02:07 definitely across my mind but that's just the
02:09 kind of thing that I gotta sit with and feel it out and think about
02:14 it before I make any major decisions but
02:16 that's definitely something that I've thought about.
02:19 Thanks, Brett. Congratulations on your career. Thank you.
02:23 Okay, we'll go to Jim McGill from Bear Insider.
02:27 Brett, you've been a warrior in your time at Cal. You've been a fan favorite from the
02:32 very beginning. Your pile driver moves and some of the
02:35 things you did out in the field just really caught Cal fans' attention. Can you
02:39 talk a little bit about your feelings about their support and
02:42 some of the best memories you have as a player at Cal?
02:48 I mean all the fans have always been great.
02:51 Getting love from them always on social media and whatnot. The best though
02:55 was when I would run into them just out in the world.
02:59 I remember I'd run into them at Costco and
03:02 at some random taco shops in Martinez and whatnot.
03:07 Just seeing people and they would recognize me and
03:10 show me love. That was always great. What was the other part of
03:15 your question that you asked?
03:18 Go ahead and repeat that, Jim. If you could, you broke up a little bit.
03:25 Just a memory or two of some of the best things that will stick out
03:30 to you about your time in the program. Time in the program. The best things, I
03:34 mean, within this sport you got to
03:39 master the monotony of the everyday tasks. I would say
03:43 my best memories will just be being in the locker room with my teammates
03:46 and
03:49 winning games and whatnot. Just really sharing
03:54 this life with people that I have come to
03:58 deeply enjoy and deeply love.
04:01 We'll go to Steve Krohner from the San Francisco Chronicle.
04:07 Yeah, Brett. First, congrats on persevering and your career.
04:12 One mundane question. The knee you hurt in the UCLA game, is that the same knee
04:17 that you had the ACL or was the other knee? Same knee.
04:22 Now the kind of general question.
04:28 When you got on the field at North Texas and were able to play in a game after
04:35 missing two years, I mean, I think we talked about a little bit, but now that
04:38 you've had some time to reflect on it, how much pride, how much
04:44 satisfaction did you get from just getting on the field and playing
04:48 in that game? That was, that meant a lot to me,
04:54 I will say. Because I feel like for the first time
04:58 in my life, I was playing football for no other purpose, for
05:05 no other person than myself.
05:08 Every other time it's always been, "Okay, I feel like I have to do this because of
05:13 such and such a thing for this person or for whatever. It's because it's what's
05:16 expected of me. It's because it's what I was been told to do." But that was the
05:20 first time where it's like, I'm truly here on my own accord. I
05:26 have nothing, I don't have anything to prove to anyone except for myself.
05:32 So that was satisfying and just a lot of fun to be able to do that
05:36 again, to get the chance to do that again.
05:40 Congrats. Thank you.
05:44 Okay, other questions for Brett? You might not have the chance for six months to
05:51 to a year. If you got another one, make sure you get it in.
05:55 Hey Brett, Doug Parrish, Football Organically. Do you think you're going to
05:58 be sticking around the Cal-Berkeley area or will you be heading back to
06:03 Phoenix? I will definitely be in Cal-Berkeley area for the, at least until
06:09 like summer. And at that point, I'm not sure exactly
06:13 where I'll go. I'm sure I'll be back in Arizona at some point.
06:16 But otherwise, I mean, I'm definitely
06:21 keeping my eyes and ears open for jobs out here
06:24 and find a way to make a life out here potentially.
06:28 Otherwise, I mean, I'll definitely always be
06:32 around the bay to a certain degree. And a follow-up to that, as an alumni at Cal,
06:38 you know, there's a lot of networking going on. What is your focus in
06:42 terms of your major and any interests that you have in terms
06:47 of a job? So I majored in American Studies,
06:51 wrote my thesis about Title IX and wrestling,
06:54 how we can revamp and kind of save college wrestling.
06:58 That was a big passion of mine at some point in my life as well.
07:03 In terms of jobs and whatnot, definitely like working with people,
07:07 definitely like helping people. I've
07:10 thought about like maybe like mentoring, like within my experiences that
07:15 I've even just had here at Cal, I feel like I could be able to help people
07:17 that are struggling with mental, emotional, physical
07:24 issues. I guess I feel like I could be a good perspective and a good help
07:28 for people in that way. So that's definitely something that I've thought
07:30 about.
07:32 Otherwise, nothing too specific. I feel like I'm in a position where I
07:37 feel like I could put my feet anywhere and do okay.
07:41 I just got to figure out where I want to put my feet, you know.
07:46 With that in mind, if you guys didn't see, Brett was the winner
07:50 in December of the Cal Hope Courage Award.
07:54 There's a bunch more about that online if you want to check it out. We'll go to
07:57 Maria Coladoma with Rivals. Kyle, that was what I was
08:01 going to ask about. Can you just talk a little bit about
08:04 receiving that award and kind of being able to give that
08:07 sort of platform to other people and kind of what that meant to you?
08:12 What I will say is I had no idea what Cal Hope even really was or what the
08:17 Courage Award was before, like up until I got nominated for it. I truly had no
08:23 clue what it was. But after kind of looking into it a little
08:28 more, I mean, I'm honored to receive it for
08:33 sure. I feel like
08:37 that sort of, like what that award represents is something that I
08:41 want to share with others. I understand that
08:47 I received the award, but what got me through, I've said this
08:52 before in other interviews, what got me through
08:56 all of this hardship and whatnot throughout my career
09:00 was the people around me. I want to be a person that is around
09:06 people that need support the way I did.
09:11 I want to be able to be there for people the same way that people were there for
09:14 me.
09:17 Pretty tough to finish any better than that, but if anybody has a final
09:22 question, let me know.
09:25 All right, Brett, we just want to say thanks for all you've done for all of us
09:28 that have worked with you in the media and I'm
09:31 sure all your teammates feel the same way, plus a lot
09:36 more. So thank you for everything. Best of luck
09:39 with everything and don't be a stranger. We'll make sure to
09:41 interview you at a spring game or something.
09:44 Sounds good. Appreciate you guys.