Hard work, never giving up, and refusing to be denied. Those are the three things that got Tyrell Johnson where he is today. That hard work and determination started 18 years ago in the small South East Arkansas town known for football. That small town is the home of the 8 Time State Football Champions, Rison Wildcats, a team that Johnson played running back for from 2000-2003, being part of one of those State Championship teams in the 2000 season.

Johnson, who suffered from a reoccurring high ankle sprain that nagged him through his high school days, was able to push through and make his way to college at Arkansas State University, and eventually into the National Football League, where he was taken in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

In high school, Johnson earned All-State and All-Conference honors in 2002, despite being hampered all season by a nagging high ankle sprain. He helped the team to a perfect record as the Wildcats captured the Class 8AA title, adding All-District accolades in each of his final three seasons. He was a two-time All-Southeast Arkansas choice and a Marine Scholar. He rushed for 1,085 yards (7.7 avg) and 16 touchdowns, while returning 22 punts for 198 yards as a senior.

Johnson's hard work and determination carried on into college, as he currently holds the Sun Belt Conference career records for most tackles (363) and most interception return yards (309), as he also established league records for most yards gained on interception returns in a season (142 in 2007) and most tackles in a game (25 vs. North Texas, 2005).

Johnson has experienced many ups and downs in his career, and recently sat down with ArkansasVarsity.com to talk about those ups and downs.

"Since early on in my life, I have always been very goal oriented." said Johnson. "I knew what I wanted to do, and that was play football. Coach (Clay) Totty (Johnson's high school coach) always taught me to put myself in a position to be great, and they (the scouts) would find me. Being from a low key school, I had to do a lot in order to do that. I had to get my tape out to a lot of schools, and I had to prove myself on the football field. Arkansas State took a chance on me, and gave me an opportunity, and I took advantage of it."

Johnson also spoke about what it was like going from a school in the smallest classification in Arkansas, to college.

"It was very difficult coming from a small high school." said Johnson. "I mean, yeah, Rison was known to be a dominate team in Class 2A, but when I went to college, I was playing with and against guys who played on dominate teams in bigger classifications in and outside of Arkansas. A lot of them were bigger and tougher than I was when I first got on campus, so I had to work hard and learn the techniques better and had to get better in the weight room and put forth 110%. I had a lot of accolades coming out of high school, but when I put those 2A accolades up against the 5A and 6A athletes and their accolades, it showed me real quick that I was going to have to work hard and refuse to be denied."

He also spoke about going from college to the NFL.

"You know, to be perfectly honest, going from Arkansas State to the NFL was a lot like going from Rison to Arkansas State." said Johnson. "Arkansas State is a mid-major school, and I excelled there as I did in 2A Rison, but once again, when I went into my rookie season last year in the NFL, I was going against guys from the SEC, Big 12, and other bigger conferences who played tougher players and tougher schedules than what we played at Arkansas State. In the NFL, it is all about keeping up. Everyone is on the same level as you, or on a higher level than you. You have to work hard, and you have to give extra. Everyone in the NFL works from 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, and if you want to be a star, you are going to have to put in the extra hours after 5:00 PM. It might be watching film, working on fundamentals, or working in the weight room, but you have to work overtime in the NFL if you are going to make it."

Johnson also spoke about what it is like to get burned on a play in the NFL, and have to read about it in the papers, or see it on the highlight reel on television.

"As a reporter, you know that you are always looking for a story. That is your job." said Johnson. "In the NFL, it is the same way for their writers. They are always looking for a story, and if you make a good play, or if you get burned, you might be that story. The thing about it though, is that everyone that plays in the NFL gets burned eventually, regardless of who they are. No one in my position has not been burned. It is all in how you respond to it. Do you let it stick in your head and mess you up even more, or do you just forget about it and go on to the next play, then go watch film after the game to find where you made your mistake, and do what you can to correct it? I personally like to use my philosophy of refusing to be denied, and just forget the play, and go on to the next one. I will worry about it when it is time to watch film, and I will do my best to correct my mistake."

Johnson also wanted to give credit to those who have helped him the most along the way.

"Man, God has really blessed me." said Johnson. "He has blessed me so much, and has allowed me to see what I want to do, and has given me the ability to do it. I believe that I can do this as well. My family has been great as well. They have always stood with me, and pushed me though when I have had struggles. I am blessed to have them in my life."

When asked if he had any advice to the young athletes coming up today, Johnson pointed out that he hopes he can be an example to many of them.

"I hope that I can continue to set a good example, and be a role model for the kids coming up." said Johnson. "I know there are a bunch of boys in Rison who want to be the next Tyrell Johnson, and I am happy about that, but at the same time, I want to be able to reach out beyond just Rison, and be an example to kids around the country. If there is one thing that people know about me, it is that my favorite thing in life is to refuse to be denied. If I can get a few extra yards for my team after picking off a pass, I will refuse to be denied, and get those yards. If I have to make a tackle to help my team win a game, I will make that tackle, and refuse to be denied. I refuse to quit, I refuse to fail. I simply do not believe in failure."