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Youngstown State staffer banned from sideline after making contact with opposing player
A Youngstown State football staff member has been disciplined after an incident in Saturday’s game against Northern Iowa.
In a joint announcement from YSU and the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Tim Johnson, YSU’s director of player personnel, has been barred from the sidelines for the remainder of the spring football season. The decision comes after Johnson made contact with an opposing player during Saturday’s game.
The incident in question occurred following a reception by Northern Iowa’s Quan Hampton. Hampton caught a pass in stride, evaded a few Youngstown State defenders and ran out of bounds for a nice gain.
As Hampton’s momentum carried him out of bounds, Johnson, a former NFL linebacker, leaned in with his shoulder and hit Hampton on the shoulder pad. Hampton went down to the ground.
Quan with a big gain and gets out of bounds. #UNIFight pic.twitter.com/q27G7U9cQO
— UNI Football (@UNIFootball) February 27, 2021
No penalty was called and Hampton remained in the game, which Northern Iowa won 21-0.
Johnson apologized in a statement released by Youngstown State on Monday.
"I apologize to UNI, Youngstown State, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and our community for what occurred on Saturday,” Johnson said. “As a member of the YSU Football staff, my actions are held in high regard and that should have never occurred. Again, I deeply apologize to all who have been impacted by my actions."
Johnson was an All-American linebacker at Youngstown State and is in his first season with the program as a member of first-year head coach Doug Phillips’ staff. Johnson accumulated a whopping 401 total tackles during his career with the Penguins before spending six seasons in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens. He also played in the Canadian Football League.
Youngstown State opened its spring season with losses to North Dakota State and Northern Iowa. The Penguins will return to action at home on Saturday against Southern Illinois. SIU is coming off a huge upset over North Dakota State that snapped NDSU’s 39-game winning streak.
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