Calvin Johnson’s legacy may not be only records and Pro Bowl invitations. It may well also be young men such as Major Smith.
Smith, a rising senior at Georgia State, has received scholarship money from the foundation started by Georgia Tech’s legendary wide receiver to defray costs at LaGrange College and then Georgia State.
“I had a 3.0 (GPA in high school), but I knew I could have done better,” Smith said. “Now that I’m not doing football and knowing that somebody outside of my family believes that I can get through college and get finished with it means a lot.”
Smith, 22, is a managerial science major from Fayette County High who has made dean’s list three of the past four semesters and wants to become an entrepreneur. Next weekend, he’ll take part in a leadership conference for scholarship recipients and also deliver a speech at a fundraising dinner June 22 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center.
“Youth in general appeals to me,” Johnson said, “and being able to help anyone possible.”
The scholarship program is perhaps the most prominent thrust of Johnson’s foundation. Johnson also runs free football camps every summer and helps feed needy families in the Atlanta and Detroit areas (the latter where Johnson plays in the NFL).
“He’s hands-on,” said Arica Johnson, Calvin’s mother. “One thing I can say, he is involved with everything.”
The foundation has an annual budget of about $150,000, with Johnson contributing, Arica Johnson said, and is completely volunteer-driven. The foundation also will award mini-grants to teachers. Johnson has a particular eye on helping teachers implement math and science technology in the classroom. The educational bent of the foundation is no surprise — his mother has been an educator for 21 years. His sister, Erica, works in HIV research at Emory’s school of medicine. His brother, Wali, is in medical school at Morehouse.
The scholarship program targets high school football players in metro Atlanta and Detroit and provides help with tuition and book fees. Johnson’s intent was to help young men who have played high school football and want to attend college, but don’t receive full scholarships as Johnson did. Some recipients continue to play football. Others, such as Smith, don’t.
“We’ve seen it pay off,” Johnson said of the scholarship recipients. “They want to be role models themselves.”
They return for the annual leadership conference and help with his football camp. Smith, the first in his immediate family to go to college, describes Johnson as an older brother and takes pride in representing him as a scholarship recipient.
There is, Smith said, “just the motivating factor that you’ve got to do good because Megatron believes that you can do something.”
In addition to discussing the foundation, Johnson offered a few thoughts about Tech and his career.
- On Tech's spread-option offense:
“It’s tough to defend when you don’t know which way that ball’s going to come from.”
- Would he have gone to Tech to play in that scheme?
“It would have definitely been there as a consideration, just because it’s so close to home.”
- On playing through injuries last season to gain 1,964 receiving yards to break the single-season NFL record:
“Broken fingers, whether it be stuff with your quad or your shoulder, your neck. There’s a lot of things. I don’t want to make a long list of things. It was definitely a battle, though.”
- On, having broken the record, what drives him:
“You want to win. We haven’t really won too much. We had a pretty good season two years ago. We just want to win. I’ve had guys that I’ve played with in college that have won Super Bowls. … It’s kind of things like that that keep you going.”
For more information about the dinner and foundation, visit calvinjohnsonjrfoundation.org.
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