In "Remember him?" we want to follow the careers of past ELF stars. Today, we take a look at Xavier Johnsons - the starting running back of the 2021 Hamburg Sea Devils.

Johnson played four successful years at Division 1 College of South Alabama. During that time, he rushed for a total of 2670 yards and 24 touchdowns, making him the school's all-time leading rusher at the time. Johnson also recommended himself with strong kickoff returns.

In 2020, he wanted to take the step to Europe. He was actually supposed to play for the Straubing Spiders in the second German league. However, the season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. He had a similar experience in Mexico. Here, Johnson was supposed to play for the Monterrey Fundidores. But the season was also canceled. He finally ended up with the Hamburg Sea Devils for the 2021 ELF season.

Johnson delivered for the Sea Devils

He delivered for the Sea Devils. Johnson ran for 979 yards and seven touchdowns, making him the third-best rusher of the regular season. After a convincing season, the team made it to the first final in league history.

He missed out on the title against Frankfurt Galaxy despite his own good performance. Johnson ran for 115 yards. He also collected 45 receiving yards. The last game for the US-American in the Sea Devils' jersey.  

Johnson planned to stay in Europe and joined Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League. “I chose Guelfi because I wanted to impact the players and get back to that championship mindset, plus Italy is beautiful,” he told "americanfootballinternational.com" at the time. A commitment that would not last long.

Johnsons happy end in Mexiko

Just a few days after announcing his transfer to Guelfi, he surprisingly moved to Mexico to play for Monterrey Fundidores in Mexico's Liga De Futbol Americano (LFA). The same team he wanted to play for before his move to the Sea Devils.

He explained his change of mind with exactly this connection: “It was just me and Fundidores had a history, and I just felt like that was the best decision for me.” He later revealed that he wanted to live closer to his US home in Tampa due to family problems.

In Mexico, Johnson was able to build on his strong performances from the European League of Football. He made the playoffs with the Fundidores three match days before the end of the regular season. He managed to establish himself as a consistently good runner.

"I just wanted to inspire kids all over the world"

However, he returned to Germany to play for the third football league Hannover Grizzlies in 2022. Here, Johnson spent another football year away from home. He left the Grizzlies again in 2023.

He once told “americanfootballinternational” about his international career: “I just wanted to inspire kids all over the world with my experience and what I've learned playing the game of football.” Another reason why the running back signed with the Sea Devils and therefore in the European League of Football back in 2021.

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