Richard Johnston (1978) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Richard Johnston

Induction:
1978

As a middle lineman you must have a certain type of mental makeup. First you know that you must have a toughness about you that allows you to bang with and wrestle with your opponents for 60 minutes and then also realize that you won’t get much attention. They are the unsung heroes of college football.
   But a few, like Richard Johnston emerge from the shadows that seem to cover the middle linemen and earn special recognition and they are able to do it because they gain the respect of their coaches and teammates and eventually even the fans because they are able to make the contributions that help to put their team in a position to win week in and week out.
   Johnston joined the Southern Miss program out of Biloxi, Mississippi, and after sitting out the 1954 season as a red-shirt, he began to really attract the attention of Coach Pie Vann and his staff during spring drills of 1955. He had the size and the strength to compete, but he also had the speed and quickness that made him difficult to get around as he blocked on offense and difficult to block when he played on defense.
   His first action came during the 1955 season as a reserve and a part of the kicking teams, but action was difficult to come by behind veterans like Lesley Clark and Bill Martin.
   That 1955 team would record a 9-1 record, but it was 1956 before Johnston really got the playing time to make a contribution. As Martin’s backup that season he really started to come into his own. His desire was unquestioned and he displayed a knowledge of the game that made him a valuable player on both offense and defense. The 1956 team posted a 7-2-1 record. Offensively the team averaged 349.8 yards a game and 20.6 points, while on defense they allowed only 193.9 yards a game and 7.2 points. That 1956 team advanced to the Tangerine Bowl where they met West Texas State.
   Johnston took over as the starting center and middle linebacker during the 1957 campaign and helped lead the team to an 8-3 record and another berth in the Tangerine Bowl, where Southern would meet East Texas State. Although the offense struggled at times that year, Johnston and the defense had another great year, allowing only six points in the first seven games and only 62 points all year.
   Because he had been redshirted, Johnston was eligible for the 1958 NFL Draft and was taken in the 15th round by the Los Angeles Rams.
   Southern Miss and Johnston won the 1958 UPI College Division National Championship with a perfect 9-0 record as the defense was again tremendous, allowing only 55 points and shutting out five opponents. Johnston was a key performer on that defense but it was his great leadership on offense from his center position that allowed the team to come on down the stretch and win the championship, scoring 109 points in the final four games.
   He was elected as captain of the 1958 team and was also selected to play in the Senior Bowl All-Star game, where he played for the South Team coached by the legen