Victor Johnson

[Boroneer10]

Is Victor Johnson the best Offensive lineman in school history. Started at Left Tackle for 4 straight years, 4 straight conference champions, 4 straight bowl wins, kept the QB clean the vast majority of the time.

Dude has been an anchor at one of the most important positions for four straight years, you don’t see that in college much anymore.

[Mjohn1988]

Kilgore graduated in I think 2008 and is still playing in the NFL...starting....gona have to think about him

[appstatealum]

Kilgore graduated in I think 2008 and is still playing in the NFL...starting....gona have to think about him

Agree. Kilgore was a special player, I really haven't seen anyone match his skill and strength.

[AppStFan1]

Is Victor Johnson the best Offensive lineman in school history. Started at Left Tackle for 4 straight years, 4 straight conference champions, 4 straight bowl wins, kept the QB clean the vast majority of the time.

Dude has been an anchor at one of the most important positions for four straight years, you don’t see that in college much anymore.

I'm going to give you guys a few names to consider for this. Johnson is not the best in school history most likely. Just look at some of the guys we have had who played in the NFL.

Derrick Graham- 5th round pick in 1990. Played like 9 years in the NFL. 1989 All-American. Graham was a dominant player. Had good feet and was sound. I am not sure he gave up a sack his senior year. If he did it was 1 at the most.

Larry Hand- NAIA All-American, 10th round pick by NFL and 21st round by AFL. He played 13 years in the NFL. Larry could play both sides of the ball. He was not heavily recruited out of HS. In fact, he was a mason and was brought to App by Duncan. Those who were around App and saw him play said he was so dominant and it was no shock he lasted 13 years. I think that alone makes him a candidate.

Shawn Clark- 2-time All-American and the ONLY reason he did not have a long NFL career was his back injury. He was likely going in the 3rd round if he did not hurt his back. He will not admit this publicly because he is modest but he was highly coveted. NFL teams flocked to Boone his senior year to watch him.

Daniel Kilgore- All-American. Had a fantastic senior year. Former TE. Had great feet and was strong and mean. He was literally not on the NFL radar coming into his senior year. He weighed like 275 or so in the spring prior to his senior year and bulked up to 305. He flat out dominated that year. He was a surprise invite to the NFL combine for many but those who saw the NFL teams come on campus knew he was going to get strong looks. He was the guy teams asked about most. Simply amazing at the improvement. He basically went from a reject to a mid round pick in 12 months.

Kerry Brown- 2-time All-American. Had the most dominant senior year of any App OL. I think he had like 130 knockdown blocks, which is ridiculous. He signed with the Redskins, I believe, and had an injury that got him cut. He also had a condition I will not put in print because the media has no clue and I don't want to put it out there. Just know without that and his injury he would have made a NFL team. His senior year was probably the best I have seen at App.

Victor has been very good but I think he is an undrafted free agent who makes a practice squad or gets cut in the final wave.

[Mjohn1988]

All great players but we have to remember that none of them competed day in and day out against the same kind of talent that Vic has. Either way I love Vic, from everything I saw he was a model player who truly gave his all for Appalachian State!!!!! I think most of all I will miss seeing him on the sidelines, encouraging his teammates and fans.

[goapps93]

Vic is a great one. Surprised he can even walk much less block FBS scholarship defensive ends considering his ankle/feet injuries. He is an inspiration in perseverance and what it means to be a Mountaineer. He may not it be physically able to play on Sundays. He truly gave his all.

[ASUPATCH]

Most athletic/best feet ever on an App lineman would be Kendall Lamm imo. Wayne Smith was also a stud and long time CFL player.

[Rekdiver]

Victor joins the list of greats.....Everything else is subjective

[John-N-Houston]

Is Victor Johnson the best Offensive lineman in school history. Started at Left Tackle for 4 straight years, 4 straight conference champions, 4 straight bowl wins, kept the QB clean the vast majority of the time.

Dude has been an anchor at one of the most important positions for four straight years, you don’t see that in college much anymore.

I'm going to give you guys a few names to consider for this. Johnson is not the best in school history most likely. Just look at some of the guys we have had who played in the NFL.

Derrick Graham- 5th round pick in 1990. Played like 9 years in the NFL. 1989 All-American. Graham was a dominant player. Had good feet and was sound. I am not sure he gave up a sack his senior year. If he did it was 1 at the most.

Larry Hand- NAIA All-American, 10th round pick by NFL and 21st round by AFL. He played 13 years in the NFL. Larry could play both sides of the ball. He was not heavily recruited out of HS. In fact, he was a mason and was brought to App by Duncan. Those who were around App and saw him play said he was so dominant and it was no shock he lasted 13 years. I think that alone makes him a candidate.

Shawn Clark- 2-time All-American and the ONLY reason he did not have a long NFL career was his back injury. He was likely going in the 3rd round if he did not hurt his back. He will not admit this publicly because he is modest but he was highly coveted. NFL teams flocked to Boone his senior year to watch him.

Daniel Kilgore- All-American. Had a fantastic senior year. Former TE. Had great feet and was strong and mean. He was literally not on the NFL radar coming into his senior year. He weighed like 275 or so in the spring prior to his senior year and bulked up to 305. He flat out dominated that year. He was a surprise invite to the NFL combine for many but those who saw the NFL teams come on campus knew he was going to get strong looks. He was the guy teams asked about most. Simply amazing at the improvement. He basically went from a reject to a mid round pick in 12 months.

Kerry Brown- 2-time All-American. Had the most dominant senior year of any App OL. I think he had like 130 knockdown blocks, which is ridiculous. He signed with the Redskins, I believe, and had an injury that got him cut. He also had a condition I will not put in print because the media has no clue and I don't want to put it out there. Just know without that and his injury he would have made a NFL team. His senior year was probably the best I have seen at App.

Victor has been very good but I think he is an undrafted free agent who makes a practice squad or gets cut in the final wave.

Thanks for the breakdown of some of the great linemen that App State has produced! And thanks too for going back in history to mention Larry Hand. To most on this board, he is simply a black and white picture in the Media Guide. But, in fact, he was a real life monster on the field! As you mentioned, in those days, the best players played both ways. When the Apps were on defense, Hand and Greg Van Orden played on the right side of a 4/3. They would absolutely MAUL offensive linemen! Hand had a great career with the Lions, including 5 interceptions: three returned for TDs!

[AppStFan1]

All great players but we have to remember that none of them competed day in and day out against the same kind of talent that Vic has. Either way I love Vic, from everything I saw he was a model player who truly gave his all for Appalachian State!!!!! I think most of all I will miss seeing him on the sidelines, encouraging his teammates and fans.

You have to remember that I picked players who played in the NFL with the exception of Brown who dominated Michigan (a top level of competition team) and Clark who had a back injury. They competed at the highest level there is.

With that said, I agree Victor is a great player and I really wish he had just shut it down and redshirted this year. It would have been nice to see him play healthy. I think he can play in the NFL but he will have a tough time as an undrafted free agent. Hopefully he can test well enough at pro day that a team wants to sign him quickly and keep him on their roster. I think he has the ability. I felt he was the top linemen in the SBC this year until the injury and I saw what those two at Louisiana did. Hunt and Dotson at Louisiana had great seasons. Those two guys are possible NFL Draft picks in their own right.

[AppStFan1]

Most athletic/best feet ever on an App lineman would be Kendall Lamm imo. Wayne Smith was also a stud and long time CFL player.

I left Lamm off only because he was not the physical mauler like Kilgore and others were. He was very good though. Wayne Smith was very underrated. Played out of position and did not get the best development as his last year was Shawn Elliott's first year coaching and Shawn spent more time on the young guys because he knew Wayne was the best we had. Wayne was not critiqued and coached up like he needed to be in his last year. He has had a great career in the CFL.

[AppStFan1]

Is Victor Johnson the best Offensive lineman in school history. Started at Left Tackle for 4 straight years, 4 straight conference champions, 4 straight bowl wins, kept the QB clean the vast majority of the time.

Dude has been an anchor at one of the most important positions for four straight years, you don’t see that in college much anymore.

I'm going to give you guys a few names to consider for this. Johnson is not the best in school history most likely. Just look at some of the guys we have had who played in the NFL.

Derrick Graham- 5th round pick in 1990. Played like 9 years in the NFL. 1989 All-American. Graham was a dominant player. Had good feet and was sound. I am not sure he gave up a sack his senior year. If he did it was 1 at the most.

Larry Hand- NAIA All-American, 10th round pick by NFL and 21st round by AFL. He played 13 years in the NFL. Larry could play both sides of the ball. He was not heavily recruited out of HS. In fact, he was a mason and was brought to App by Duncan. Those who were around App and saw him play said he was so dominant and it was no shock he lasted 13 years. I think that alone makes him a candidate.

Shawn Clark- 2-time All-American and the ONLY reason he did not have a long NFL career was his back injury. He was likely going in the 3rd round if he did not hurt his back. He will not admit this publicly because he is modest but he was highly coveted. NFL teams flocked to Boone his senior year to watch him.

Daniel Kilgore- All-American. Had a fantastic senior year. Former TE. Had great feet and was strong and mean. He was literally not on the NFL radar coming into his senior year. He weighed like 275 or so in the spring prior to his senior year and bulked up to 305. He flat out dominated that year. He was a surprise invite to the NFL combine for many but those who saw the NFL teams come on campus knew he was going to get strong looks. He was the guy teams asked about most. Simply amazing at the improvement. He basically went from a reject to a mid round pick in 12 months.

Kerry Brown- 2-time All-American. Had the most dominant senior year of any App OL. I think he had like 130 knockdown blocks, which is ridiculous. He signed with the Redskins, I believe, and had an injury that got him cut. He also had a condition I will not put in print because the media has no clue and I don't want to put it out there. Just know without that and his injury he would have made a NFL team. His senior year was probably the best I have seen at App.

Victor has been very good but I think he is an undrafted free agent who makes a practice squad or gets cut in the final wave.

Thanks for the breakdown of some of the great linemen that App State has produced! And thanks too for going back in history to mention Larry Hand. To most on this board, he is simply a black and white picture in the Media Guide. But, in fact, he was a real life monster on the field! As you mentioned, in those days, the best players played both ways. When the Apps were on defense, Hand and Greg Van Orden played on the right side of a 4/3. They would absolutely MAUL offensive linemen! Hand had a great career with the Lions, including 5 interceptions: three returned for TDs!

He was absolutely unreal. Our younger fans really need to learn about him. I think he, Dino, and John Settle are three players way too underrated by our fan base.

[ericsaid]

Is Victor Johnson the best Offensive lineman in school history. Started at Left Tackle for 4 straight years, 4 straight conference champions, 4 straight bowl wins, kept the QB clean the vast majority of the time.

Dude has been an anchor at one of the most important positions for four straight years, you don’t see that in college much anymore.

I'm going to give you guys a few names to consider for this. Johnson is not the best in school history most likely. Just look at some of the guys we have had who played in the NFL.

Derrick Graham- 5th round pick in 1990. Played like 9 years in the NFL. 1989 All-American. Graham was a dominant player. Had good feet and was sound. I am not sure he gave up a sack his senior year. If he did it was 1 at the most.

Larry Hand- NAIA All-American, 10th round pick by NFL and 21st round by AFL. He played 13 years in the NFL. Larry could play both sides of the ball. He was not heavily recruited out of HS. In fact, he was a mason and was brought to App by Duncan. Those who were around App and saw him play said he was so dominant and it was no shock he lasted 13 years. I think that alone makes him a candidate.

Shawn Clark- 2-time All-American and the ONLY reason he did not have a long NFL career was his back injury. He was likely going in the 3rd round if he did not hurt his back. He will not admit this publicly because he is modest but he was highly coveted. NFL teams flocked to Boone his senior year to watch him.

Daniel Kilgore- All-American. Had a fantastic senior year. Former TE. Had great feet and was strong and mean. He was literally not on the NFL radar coming into his senior year. He weighed like 275 or so in the spring prior to his senior year and bulked up to 305. He flat out dominated that year. He was a surprise invite to the NFL combine for many but those who saw the NFL teams come on campus knew he was going to get strong looks. He was the guy teams asked about most. Simply amazing at the improvement. He basically went from a reject to a mid round pick in 12 months.

Kerry Brown- 2-time All-American. Had the most dominant senior year of any App OL. I think he had like 130 knockdown blocks, which is ridiculous. He signed with the Redskins, I believe, and had an injury that got him cut. He also had a condition I will not put in print because the media has no clue and I don't want to put it out there. Just know without that and his injury he would have made a NFL team. His senior year was probably the best I have seen at App.

Victor has been very good but I think he is an undrafted free agent who makes a practice squad or gets cut in the final wave.

If Kendall Lamm is on an NFL roster, so to will Johnson.

[AppStFan1]

In fact here is a good exercise. Come up with an All-Time App State OL. 1st and 2nd team. Just the 5 best OL and 2nd group of 5 OL.

Here is mine.

1st team
Larry Hand
Daniel Kilgore
Shawn Clark- An interesting note in 1996 we had 3 All-American OL. That is just an amazing accomplishment.
Derrick Graham
Gill Beck- In addition to being an All-American on the field he was a 3-time Academic All-American.

2nd team
Kerry Brown
Victor Johnson- 3-time All-SBC. Likely to be a PFA. Good athlete who played injured so we never truly saw what he might could do as a senior. I expect him to make it in the NFL but he will have to be healthy.
Wayne Smith- Long time CFL player. One of the best OL in the CFL for a decade. Got a shot with the Bears out of college. Played OT at App but was an OG. Very smart player and hard worker. Developed big time from the time he got on campus.
Kendall Lamm- Plays in the NFL- Multi all-conference pick.
Colby Gossett- NFL Draft pick. Playing a few years in the NFL.

Honorable Mention
Mike Callaway
Billy Young- Very underrated player too. Plays with Jaguars. Very good tackle.
Scott Kadlub- Not a NFL player but the best center ever to play at App State. Scott was a 3-time All-SoCon pick and 2-time All-American.
Ted Reitzle
Greg Van Orden
James Hardman
Ed Boyd
Brad Ohrt
Matt Isenhour
Chad Groover
Joe Patrick- Had a chance to be among the top 5 OL in school history. Was great as a freshman and partied way too much. He never was All-SoCon until his senior year despite being named preseason every year. Had a much better senior year. He was a guy who could have been in the top 5-7 of all-time but underachieved. Super fun guy to know and talk to. Had a great personality. Just never took football as serious as he should have.

And I believe Cooper Hodges and Noah Hannon would need to be mentioned among these guys when their careers are done if they keep up what they are doing now. Hodges has a shot to develop into a legit NFL linemen.

[AppStFan1]

Is Victor Johnson the best Offensive lineman in school history. Started at Left Tackle for 4 straight years, 4 straight conference champions, 4 straight bowl wins, kept the QB clean the vast majority of the time.

Dude has been an anchor at one of the most important positions for four straight years, you don’t see that in college much anymore.

I'm going to give you guys a few names to consider for this. Johnson is not the best in school history most likely. Just look at some of the guys we have had who played in the NFL.

Derrick Graham- 5th round pick in 1990. Played like 9 years in the NFL. 1989 All-American. Graham was a dominant player. Had good feet and was sound. I am not sure he gave up a sack his senior year. If he did it was 1 at the most.

Larry Hand- NAIA All-American, 10th round pick by NFL and 21st round by AFL. He played 13 years in the NFL. Larry could play both sides of the ball. He was not heavily recruited out of HS. In fact, he was a mason and was brought to App by Duncan. Those who were around App and saw him play said he was so dominant and it was no shock he lasted 13 years. I think that alone makes him a candidate.

Shawn Clark- 2-time All-American and the ONLY reason he did not have a long NFL career was his back injury. He was likely going in the 3rd round if he did not hurt his back. He will not admit this publicly because he is modest but he was highly coveted. NFL teams flocked to Boone his senior year to watch him.

Daniel Kilgore- All-American. Had a fantastic senior year. Former TE. Had great feet and was strong and mean. He was literally not on the NFL radar coming into his senior year. He weighed like 275 or so in the spring prior to his senior year and bulked up to 305. He flat out dominated that year. He was a surprise invite to the NFL combine for many but those who saw the NFL teams come on campus knew he was going to get strong looks. He was the guy teams asked about most. Simply amazing at the improvement. He basically went from a reject to a mid round pick in 12 months.

Kerry Brown- 2-time All-American. Had the most dominant senior year of any App OL. I think he had like 130 knockdown blocks, which is ridiculous. He signed with the Redskins, I believe, and had an injury that got him cut. He also had a condition I will not put in print because the media has no clue and I don't want to put it out there. Just know without that and his injury he would have made a NFL team. His senior year was probably the best I have seen at App.

Victor has been very good but I think he is an undrafted free agent who makes a practice squad or gets cut in the final wave.

If Kendall Lamm is on an NFL roster, so to will Johnson.

Johnson is good enough. I thought he might be a draft pick coming into the year but need to see him get healthy and how bad he wants it. Some players in his position may give it a shot but not truly fight for it hard enough. It all depends on if the ankle heals 100%.

[huskie3]

From the early 70's, Larry Butler - had the best foot work I have seen. He kicked around with several pro teams.

[Rekdiver]

Acatelli had the best footwork I ever saw.

[AppStFan1]

Acatelli had the best footwork I ever saw.

He was a very good FCS OL in his era. I just have a hard time putting these smaller guys up there very high unless they were a multi-year All-American.

[T-Dog]

Colby Gossett needs to be mentioned as well.

[AppStFan1]

Colby Gossett needs to be mentioned as well.

I had a brain fart on him. Duh he belongs. I put him on 2nd team and dropped Kadlub down. Gossett was very good. I expect Hodges and Hannon to find their way on here as well.