- 2002 -
First Team All-American - First Team All-Big Ten - Doak Walker Award Winner
Johnson and his offensive line put it all together for his senior season which blindsided everyone to etch the year as one of the most iconic performances ever by a Nittany Lion football player. His physical abilities were always there but didn't produce a lot in his sophomore and junior seasons probably due to the lack of overall team success. But in 2002, Larry became the unquestioned feature back in an offense that also had a very capable and complimentary passing attack. Johnson's 2,087 yards that year are just about 500 more than then next highest single-season total in Penn State history. And he did it while averaging an incredible 7.7 yards per carry. He had four games where he rushed for 200+ yards and a game where he rushed for 300+ yards. Larry Johnson was a big running back, with really good speed to pull away from most defenders. Yet he ran with patience and balance while being extremely difficult to tackle for most one-on-one defenders. He seemed to have it all, while assembling one of the best seasons for a school that has produced an incredible amount of awesome tailbacks!