Buddy Johnson selected in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers

Buddy Johnson was selected by Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday to end an eight-year drought of drafted Texas A&M linebackers.

Johnson was taken in the fourth round, 140th overall, to become the first A&M linebacker to be drafted since Sean Porter was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

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The selection of Johnson caps a successful and perhaps surprising career for the former three-star rated prospect from Dallas.

A quarterback at Kimball High School, Johnson transitioned to linebacker in his freshman season at A&M and steadily grew into a prominent figure on the A&M defense.

Johnson was the heart and soul of the A&M unit that last season was ranked ninth in the nation in total defense.

The heavy-hitting 6-foot-2, 240-pounder closed out his career in a big way, leading the Aggies with 86 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss. That included four sacks.

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Johnson also forced key fumbles in victories over Florida and Mississippi State and returned an interception for a touchdown against LSU.

Overall, he totaled 210 career tackles with 24.5 stops for loss and 6.5 sacks. He also returned a fumble 62 yards for a touchdown in a victory over Ole Miss in 2019.

Yet, what might have really caught the attention of NFL scouts was Johnson’s Pro Day workout.

He ran a 40-yard dash with 4.59 seconds, posted a 10-feet, 8-inch standing broad jump, a 38-2 vertical leap and clocked a very impressive 4.07 seconds in the shuttle.