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.

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.

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.