Cameron Johnston (footballer)

Cameron Johnston (born 24 February 1992) is an Australian-born American football punter for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State. He formerly played Australian rules football and was a member of the Melbourne Football Club in 2011. He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL from 2017 to 2020.

For the American football linebacker, see Cam Johnson.

Cameron Johnston
refer to caption
Johnston with the Eagles in 2019
No. 11 – Houston Texans
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1992-02-24) 24 February 1992
Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:194 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:St Joseph's College
(Newtown, Victoria, Australia)
College:Ohio State
Undrafted:2017
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2023
Punts:390
Punting yards:18,355
Punting average:47.1
Longest punt:69
Inside 20:157
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life and Australian rules career

Johnston is from Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and attended high school at St Joseph's College. He played for the Geelong Falcons in the under-18 TAC Cup before being drafted to the Melbourne Football Club with the 63rd selection in the 2011 AFL rookie draft.[1][2] A midfielder, Johnston spent the 2011 season playing for the Casey Scorpions, Melbourne's affiliate team in the Victorian Football League (VFL). However, he managed only six games for Casey's senior team, instead spending most of the season in the VFL reserves (a third-tier competition).[3] Johnston was delisted by Melbourne at the season's end.[4]

College career

After failing at his AFL ambitions, Johnston signed up with ProKick Australia in 2012, an academy headed by Nathan Chapman for Australian players looking to pursue a career in the United States.[1] In 2013, he secured a full scholarship with Ohio State.[5] As a freshman, Johnston led all Big Ten punters with a 44.0 per punt average and ranked 16th-best nationally. He was named a second-team freshman All-American by College Football News later that year. In his final three years at OSU, he was part of the 2014 national championship team, earned second and first-team honors in his junior and senior years respectively, and was named Eddleman-Fields Big Ten Punter of the Year. He also ranked academically in the Big Ten his final two years.[6]

NFL career
See also: List of players who have converted from one football code to another

Philadelphia Eagles
Johnston in a game against the Washington Redskins

Johnston signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on 11 May 2017.[7][8][9] He was waived on 2 September 2017.[10] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on 3 January 2018.[11]

On 1 September 2018, Johnston made the Eagles 53-man roster for the 2018 season.[12] He made his NFL debut in the 2018 season opener against the Atlanta Falcons and had six punts for 313 net yards in the 18–12 victory.[13]

On 24 March 2020, Johnston was re-signed to a one-year, $660,000 contract by the Eagles.

Houston Texans

Johnston signed with the Houston Texans on March 30, 2021.[14]

On August 25, 2023, Johnston pulled a calf muscle. The Texans signed undrafted rookie Ty Zentner to handle punting duties while Johnston recovers.[15] On August 31, Johnston was placed on injured reserve.[16] He was activated on October 7.[17]

References
  1. Former Melbourne Demon Cameron Johnston takes a punt on American football, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 January 2015
  2. "Aussie punter and draft prospect Cameron Johnston survives intense NFL Combine". FoxSports.com.
  3. Cameron Johnston (No.52), MelbourneFC.com.au, 12 October 2011
  4. From Melbourne rookie list to NFL punter, AFL.com.au, 30 April 2017
  5. THE TALENTED MR JOHNSTON, AFLPA, 3 September 2013.
  6. "Cam Johnston OSU bio".
  7. "Check Out The Full Rookie Camp Roster". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  8. "Ohio State Punter Cameron Johnston Signs Free Agent Contract with The Philadelphia Eagles". ElevenWarriors.com. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  9. "Eagles UDFA Profile: Cameron Johnston is consistent and versatile". BleedingGreenNation.com. 9 May 2017.
  10. "Eagles Announce 17 Roster Moves To Get Down To 53 Players". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. 2 September 2017. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  11. McPherson, Chris (3 January 2018). "Roster Moves: Eagles Sign Four Players To Reserve/Futures Contracts". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  12. "NFLAustralia on Twitter".
  13. "Aussie rookie's 'absolute bomb' stuns NFL". WWOS. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  14. "Houston Texans Transactions (3-30-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  15. "Texans' Cameron Johnston: Tweaks calf". CBS Sports. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  16. "Houston Texans Transactions (8-31-2023)". HoustonTexans.com. 31 August 2023.
  17. "Houston Texans Transactions (10-7-2023)". HoustonTexans.com. 7 October 2023.
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