Kayden Johnson is already an accomplished athlete. He is a well known hurdler and track and field athlete, along with his potentially prosperous football career. Some of his accomplishments include a first place finish in the 60m hurdles at the U SPORTS Championships in 2018, and a 5th place finish at the Pan American Junior Championships in 2015 in Edmonton. He was a U SPORTS first-team all-Canadian for track in 2018, along with being named York University's male athlete of the year award for the same year.

Johnson committed to York University in Toronto in 2015, after spending a year as a redshirt in his home province at the University of Saskatchewan. He would transfer to York the following year, as the appeal of the city as well as the opportunity to compete in both track and football was to good to pass up.

Kayden is obviously known as a multi-sport athlete, but his talents don't end there. He entered the schools theater program which he described as "renowned"; choosing a major not particularly associated with post-secondary athletes. He only began acting to gain some extra credits, but professors recommended a switch upon his move to Toronto.

The First Step

Some familiar faces were present at York, as a big part of his recruitment was the fact that Johnson played for head coach Warren Craney over two years with Team Canada, as well as his close relationship with the Lions track and field staff. He was recruited to play for Team Canada after being an all-star for Saskatchewan at the Canada Cup in 2013. Playing for the Canadian U-18 and U-19 teams opened up a lot of eyes toward Johnson, as he stood out offensively in multiple international competitions against the U.S, as well as at the IFAF (International Federation of American Football) World Cup. Johnson played in the 2014 IFAF World Cup in Kuwait. Johnson would also be joined at these events by eventual York U teammate Rossini Sandjong-Djabome, a duo that would celebrate the draft together after spending their university careers together.

His last season with the York Lions was unfortunately cut way short due to an injury, but his York career saw him finish 10th all time in rushing yards, and 7th all time in rushing touchdowns. His success ensured he would be one of the top Canadian talents available at the running back position. His draft stock in no doubt fell due to the lost season, but also took a hit because of the cancellation of the CFL National Combine, where he was set to dominate.

Setting the Bar High

Johnson spent the entire month of February in Los Angeles, California training for the draft, with accomplished trainer Jamal Liggin. Liggin has worked with NFL stars such as Odell Beckham Jr and James Conner, and Johnson himself actually got to meet and train with superstar RB's Saquon Barkely of the New York Giants, and Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers. He was astounded with the opportunity to meet these next level athletes, and working out with the best just reassured his goals and standards for himself.

"I was feeling good going into the National Combine" said Johnson, "Hopefully by the combine I was going to be running a 4.3 forty(yard dash), put up 20 reps on the bench, and around a 40 inch vertical. I was really ready to go to the combine and compete"

Player testing often raises ones draft stock, and for an athlete like Kayden could have made all the difference. He talked about how he stacks his numbers up to not only the best CFL scores, but the NFL as well. There would have been NFL scouts present at the National Combine. His baseline testing with his York coaches before his trip to California, saw him run a 4.40 forty, 36 inch vertical, a 3.97s 20 yard shuttle, and a 6.57s 3 cone drill.

"From those numbers alone, that would have placed me among the top at even the NFL combine" boasted Johnson, "That's where I set my limits. I don't want to just be the best running back at the CFL combine, I compare my numbers to previous NFL combines. I want to beat those numbers, and that is where I put my standards at."

Draft Day

After the combine was cancelled, Johnson had no choice but to let fate take its place come draft night. One mock draft from CFL.ca had him going as early as the third round to Hamilton, and Johnson believes a great combine would have made him a first round contender. Kayden was forced to wait a little longer than he wanted, but some dramatics took place and his name was called in the seventh round by the BC Lions.

"Before I was picked, I got a call from Geroy Simon (that was surreal), who I had talked to during the draft process. They had asked me earlier what I was doing for the draft. To get the call before my name popped up was an amazing feeling"

The late rounds of the CFL draft saw three York Lions taken, as Johnson was selected at 58 by BC, and his teammate Rossini Sandjong-Djabome was selected with the next pick by Edmonton.

"I was with some of my friends, he (Rossini) got drafted right after me to Edmonton, so it was just bam-bam one right after another and it was amazing to be able to celebrate together."

The Lions next pick saw them take another former lion, as linebacker Damian Jamieson was selected to join Johnson in Vancouver. Jamieson and Johnson played together the East-West Bowl this past year, and are good friends. He is excited for their move from the vibrant eastern city of Toronto, to the west coast capital of Vancouver.

"To be picked by the BC Lions was amazing, because being a York Lion, and then a BC Lion, it was like a dream come true."

Obviously as a Saskatchewan native, Johnson grew up a Roughrider fan. The team selected running back Johnathan Femi-Cole from Western University with the 53rd pick, 5 spots before Johnson was selected. He had talked to every team prior to draft day, so every pick that went by had him on his toes.

Now that he has been picked, his focus will turn back to competing. With the CFL's future in limbo, he doesn't know when he will begin training with the team, but knows the impact he can make as a national player. A certain number of Canadians or "national" players are to be ratioed onto all CFL rosters. He talked about how excited he is to get to play behind a pro-caliber offensive line, and a great quarterback in veteran Mike Reilly. The Lions also selected Canadian QB Nathan Rourke, as it is always great when a team takes a stab at developing a national player at the QB position.

"I know I can make a lot of great plays happen, so that's what I'm looking forward to this season" said the playmaker.

He knows that CFL teams often choose their Canadians on who can compete best on special teams, and he is ready to make his stamp in that regard.

"I'm ready to do any special teams they throw me at, even as a returner"

For the Love of the Game

Back when Kayden was just a local product, he made the move to LCBI in Outlook. The LCBI Bisons team plays 6 man football, and he made the most of the open field by tearing up the football competition, as well as track and field for LCBI. Some may find the condensed versions of football to be less of a game, but whether it's 6, 9, 11, or 12 man, there are positive outcomes.

He talked about how playing 6 man football influenced his football future, as the 6 and 9 man versions are great for developing players, because you can play all over the field. Just being able to try all different types of positions and keep playing, helped coax him into his love for the sport.

"I had such a fun time playing it, and that's what made me fall in love with the sport" reminisced Johnson, "Being able to make all kinds of big plays, and play on a field with so much space. You have to be in amazing shape and it was just a great time, and is definitely what started my love for the sport."

Family Affair

Johnsons pro football career may be just beginning, but it is just another in a list of his families sporting accomplishments. His father is an accomplished decathlete, and his mother played a variety of sports for the University of Saskatchewan. Kayden's brother Kolby, has played major junior hockey with the Prince George Cougars, Prince Albert Raiders, and Sherbrooke Phoenix of the CHL, and made the move to join his brother in Toronto last year, committing to York's hockey program. Even their younger brother Carter is attempting to make a move in sports. Carter has been playing baseball for the Badlands Badgers Baseball Academy in Oyen, and recently made a move to further his baseball future.

The Johnsons are a unique family as they all love competition, and have put in the time and effort to excel themselves into the world of sports.

One debate is where this family's roots should actually be planted, as a majority of information has the children's hometown as Kerrobert, Saskatchewan. The Johnson's moved to Kerrobert, but all of the kids attended school and competed out of Kindersley, as their mother has been a gym teacher at Kindersley Composite School for some time. Wherever the west central product is from, he will have solid support and no doubt an interested community to follow him, wherever his career takes him.