CHESTER, Va. β Former NFL Pro Bowl running back Rudi Johnson has died at the age of 45, stunning both the Thomas Dale High School and Cincinnati Bengals communities where he left lasting impacts.
Johnson was an All Metro running back for the Knights at Thomas Dale in the mid-1990s and is one of just three players at the school whose number has been retired. His family still lives in Chesterfield and were on hand last Thursday when Johnson was inducted into the Chesterfield Sports Hall of Fame.
Thomas Dale head coach Kevin Tucker, who played for the Knights alongside Johnson, remembers the ease with which Johnson dominated on the field.
"Rudi, again, made it look easy," he said. "That's when, I think, everybody realized he was going to be the great back that he was. It's just how easy he made it look when everybody else sounded like they were standing still."
Tucker believes Johnson's legacy extends far beyond football statistics.
"You never know when it's going to be your last play, your last day. I think Rudi would want the kids to go out and give it their all every day. He would encourage them to be great men, great brothers, great fathers, great sons. That's who he was, and that's what our players are trying to live up to," he said.
Rudi Johnson's final message: 'Never give up'
With the Bengals, Johnson finished with the fourth highest rushing total in franchise history and went to the Pro Bowl in 2004. Former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis praised Johnson's character and leadership in the locker room.
"He was great with his teammates. He had a big heart. He's one of the guys, I think all the guys in the locker room love Rudi J. So when he got the opportunity, they were so supportive, so happy for Rudi J," Lewis said.
Johnson played two years in junior college before one season at Auburn, where he was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. From every level of the game, from rec league to the NFL, Johnson was not only one of the best players on the field but one of the favorites in the locker room.
He would have turned 46 on Oct. 1.
Email tributes or memories of Rudi Johnson the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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