Boston College Athletics
With A Little Help From My Friends
August 14, 2020 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Zion Johnson and Matt Applebaum are reunited and it feels so bad for opponents.
Matt Applebaum didn't quite comprehend what his eyes witnessed.
Dozens of offensive linemen went through camp drills before, he reasoned, but none ever did what that scrawny kid from Bowie, Maryland did. It was incomparable, incomprehensible, and unbelievable.
Plenty of recruits ran fast, he knew, but they all used specialized starts that coaches taught them. They trained to do well, he knew, in the 40-yard dash and other drills typically referenced as combine-style standards. The kid in front of him lined up like an offensive lineman, exploded out of a stance, and sprinted 40 yards in five seconds.
Applebaum immediately scribbled Zion Johnson's name down and placed him into a list of his offensive linemen.
"If you watch combine training, guys use that specialized stance," Applebaum told the media this past spring, "but Zion got into his lineman stance and ripped off a (five-second) run. That twitchiness and athletic ability jumped right off the bat."
Applebaum wouldn't let Johnson go from his list and dutifully ensured he would coach this potential diamond at Davidson College, where he was the position coach. Three years later, they're still together, though now reunited in Chestnut Hill. Johnson, the transfer from Davidson, is in his second year with a program known for producing NFL-caliber lineman, while Applebaum is now a first-year line coach in the ACC after spending the last two years with the FCS-level Wildcats.
"The world works in weird ways," Johnson said of his second stint with Applebaum. "My last offensive line coach was (former BC assistant) Phil Trautwein, who I knew for a year while he was on staff at Davidson. Now Coach Applebaum is my offensive line coach, and he was my O-line coach (at Davidson). It's wonderful because he taught me a lot of my fundamentals about zone blocking and pass setting. Getting into the habit again and showing him how I've grown as a blocker is great."
Johnson's "growth" is an understatement for one of the best blockers in the nation. He transferred to BC prior to last season and debuted in the opening game after receiving an eligibility waiver. He played 42 snaps in that game, a win over Virginia Tech, and began steadily increasing his workload on the powerhouse line. In the season's third game, he played 60 snaps against Kansas before earning his first start against NC State by the year's halfway point.
By year's end, he was an important cog in a line that piled nearly 700 yards on Syracuse. Against Pittsburgh, he plowed the road for AJ Dillon's 178 yards as the Eagles clinched bowl eligibility in the last game of the season. That earned him ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors, his first in a year during which he was recognized as a Second Team All-ACC selection.
ÂGallery: (8-1-2020) Zion Johnson
It's a long way from when Applebaum saw a scrawny kid who didn't know how to run a dash at a football camp, though Johnson always flashed the potential. The undersized kid at Davidson camp arrived in North Carolina as a 265-pound machine, substantially bigger than that first meeting. He remained at that weight for an offense that rushed the ball for over 400 yards per game in 2018 before adding more than 50 pounds of bulk to block at the Power Conference level.
"We didn't start him the first couple of games (at Davidson)," Applebaum said, "but he was one of the most talented linemen. He played great for us. I knew, when he came (to BC), he was going to be successful. I knew (there would be skeptics) about transferring from Davidson, but he is super gifted. It doesn't surprise me at all that he's had a good run."
Johnson's journey began more than four years ago when he first appeared on Davidson's radar. Applebaum knew the limitless potential from his time on NFL staffs in both Washington and Jacksonville, and it now has a new opportunity to continue in one of college football's biggest offensive line factories. It's one more go round for a player bound for the next level and a coach and recruiter who helped make that dream possible.
"I go back to his recruitment from the beginning," Applebaum said. "Phil Trautwein and I were on the same staff, and Zion was from his local area. Phil told me he wasn't worth watching from his junior film, but we needed to get him into camp.Â
"Going through his recruitment," he said, "his mother was a phenomenal person. I fell in love with the family."
"He's the guy who recruited me as a freshman so that bond is really there," Johnson said. "He's a real guy. He's really about getting people blocked the best way possible. You can communicate with him and talk to him, and he wants you to be the best player possible. That's why I like working with him. He's a great coach and a great guy."
Dozens of offensive linemen went through camp drills before, he reasoned, but none ever did what that scrawny kid from Bowie, Maryland did. It was incomparable, incomprehensible, and unbelievable.
Plenty of recruits ran fast, he knew, but they all used specialized starts that coaches taught them. They trained to do well, he knew, in the 40-yard dash and other drills typically referenced as combine-style standards. The kid in front of him lined up like an offensive lineman, exploded out of a stance, and sprinted 40 yards in five seconds.
Applebaum immediately scribbled Zion Johnson's name down and placed him into a list of his offensive linemen.
"If you watch combine training, guys use that specialized stance," Applebaum told the media this past spring, "but Zion got into his lineman stance and ripped off a (five-second) run. That twitchiness and athletic ability jumped right off the bat."
Applebaum wouldn't let Johnson go from his list and dutifully ensured he would coach this potential diamond at Davidson College, where he was the position coach. Three years later, they're still together, though now reunited in Chestnut Hill. Johnson, the transfer from Davidson, is in his second year with a program known for producing NFL-caliber lineman, while Applebaum is now a first-year line coach in the ACC after spending the last two years with the FCS-level Wildcats.
"The world works in weird ways," Johnson said of his second stint with Applebaum. "My last offensive line coach was (former BC assistant) Phil Trautwein, who I knew for a year while he was on staff at Davidson. Now Coach Applebaum is my offensive line coach, and he was my O-line coach (at Davidson). It's wonderful because he taught me a lot of my fundamentals about zone blocking and pass setting. Getting into the habit again and showing him how I've grown as a blocker is great."
Johnson's "growth" is an understatement for one of the best blockers in the nation. He transferred to BC prior to last season and debuted in the opening game after receiving an eligibility waiver. He played 42 snaps in that game, a win over Virginia Tech, and began steadily increasing his workload on the powerhouse line. In the season's third game, he played 60 snaps against Kansas before earning his first start against NC State by the year's halfway point.
By year's end, he was an important cog in a line that piled nearly 700 yards on Syracuse. Against Pittsburgh, he plowed the road for AJ Dillon's 178 yards as the Eagles clinched bowl eligibility in the last game of the season. That earned him ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors, his first in a year during which he was recognized as a Second Team All-ACC selection.
Â
It's a long way from when Applebaum saw a scrawny kid who didn't know how to run a dash at a football camp, though Johnson always flashed the potential. The undersized kid at Davidson camp arrived in North Carolina as a 265-pound machine, substantially bigger than that first meeting. He remained at that weight for an offense that rushed the ball for over 400 yards per game in 2018 before adding more than 50 pounds of bulk to block at the Power Conference level.
"We didn't start him the first couple of games (at Davidson)," Applebaum said, "but he was one of the most talented linemen. He played great for us. I knew, when he came (to BC), he was going to be successful. I knew (there would be skeptics) about transferring from Davidson, but he is super gifted. It doesn't surprise me at all that he's had a good run."
Johnson's journey began more than four years ago when he first appeared on Davidson's radar. Applebaum knew the limitless potential from his time on NFL staffs in both Washington and Jacksonville, and it now has a new opportunity to continue in one of college football's biggest offensive line factories. It's one more go round for a player bound for the next level and a coach and recruiter who helped make that dream possible.
"I go back to his recruitment from the beginning," Applebaum said. "Phil Trautwein and I were on the same staff, and Zion was from his local area. Phil told me he wasn't worth watching from his junior film, but we needed to get him into camp.Â
"Going through his recruitment," he said, "his mother was a phenomenal person. I fell in love with the family."
"He's the guy who recruited me as a freshman so that bond is really there," Johnson said. "He's a real guy. He's really about getting people blocked the best way possible. You can communicate with him and talk to him, and he wants you to be the best player possible. That's why I like working with him. He's a great coach and a great guy."
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