Lions’ Johnson brothers lift each other up
Receiver Shaq, defensive back Hakeem share desire to continually improve
The scene: Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, B.C. Lions 2019 training camp.
Hakeem Johnson looked across the line of scrimmage through the dry desert air at his brother, Shaq, who’s only 11 months older than the CFL rookie, but was already a three-year vet by that point.
The ball is snapped and Shaq, the receiver, hits a hard jab step outside, then breaks hard inside on the slant. One. Two. Three steps. Like clockwork, the shoulders and eyes snap inside toward the quarterback, then — boom! — the hard break back downfield on the sluggo route. Touchdown. Six points. Welcome to the league, Hakeem. “That was the first big play I gave up. Coach was not happy,” Hakeem said with a laugh, relating the experience of his first CFL camp.
“With me, especially, (Shaq’s) not going to talk. He’s just going to give me a little look or a tap on the back. He knows how to get under my skin.
“We’ll talk about it after, but not on the field,” added Hakeem, who was drafted 33rd overall in the fourth round of the 2019 CFL draft, just one spot later than his brother was taken in 2016.
“We always talk about everything. I’ll bring it up after, and be like ‘I know what you did there … it ain’t going to work again.’”
It was a rough initiation for Hakeem, getting matched up against a receiver who has the third-most yards of any Canadian receiver over the past three years — behind teammate Lemar Durant and Ottawa’s Brad Sinopoli — and one who was about to embark on a career season with the Lions.
“It was just a little welcome,” Shaq said, chuckling. “Actually, we were talking about that exact route a couple weeks before that, and I was telling him that I’ve really been killing people with that type of route because I could just run it very well. I told him … and then the football gods matched me up out there with him, (and I hit him) with that double move.
“I’m just doing my part to keep him sharp. I’ve got to keep him on point. I’m not going to let him win easy. If he’s going to win, he has to earn it.”
Shaq, 27, and Hakeem, 26, are the fifth brother duo to play for the Orange and Black, but the first to do it on opposite sides of the ball.
The most famous would be, unquestionably, the Fluties.
Doug Flutie put up a still-unbeaten single-season passing record of 6,619 yards in 1991 — 860 of those to receiver brother Darren Flutie — in the lone season the CFL legends played together.
Offensive linemen Craig and Scott Hendrickson, sons of Lions legend Lefty Hendrickson, played together on the 2000 Grey Cup winning squad, with stats showing both hoggies with a touchdown reception that season.
Twins and defensive backs Raphael and Raphaol Ball, who ironically both attended Ball State University — also played on that 2000 squad that also featured Mike and Jason Crumb of Kelowna, who lined up in the defensive backfield for three seasons together.
Brothers, especially those who play sports, are almost always locked in a perpetual battle for sibling dominance. This holds true with the Johnsons, who, by nature of their positions — field corner and “Z” receiver — often line up head-to-head on the practice field.
But you can’t get one to take a verbal cheap shot at the other. It just doesn’t happen.
“I look up to Shaq, in terms of being a role model,” said Hakeem. “He’s experienced a little bit more than me, so I would say I look up to him. He’s a self-driven dude. He remembers where he came from, so he knows nothing given, you gotta earn it. That’s what he lives by. You have to earn whatever you want in this world. That’s why he works so hard.”
Shaq repaid the compliment. “(Hakeem’s) got the work ethic to be a pro. He’s got the athleticism,” Shaq said.
“You just have to work at it, and that’s really what it is at this level. People can’t be complacent with being OK, and just being up here. You can’t have that chill mentality, that lack of attack.
“I feel like he just kind of tries to follow by that (aggressive) mindset and keeps going. I think he’s getting better each day.
“I’m just excited to see him go out there and be able to play and just show his game this year — if we get the chance to.”
Making the pro level is a difficult enough journey, and both brothers took the path less travelled.
Hakeem didn’t start playing until he was 19, but still played three years of U Sports football with the Western Mustangs. A strong showing at the CFL combine helped overcome the doubts cast by him missing most of his final season with an ACL injury.
After being drafted by the Lions, the six-foot, 193-pound DB was signed to the practice roster, but broke through to the active roster to play eight games on special teams and as a depth corner.
Shaq took up the sport in Grade 9 after his friend Nathaniel Mackenzie convinced him to try while they both sat in French class.
“I looked at him like he was crazy, like, ‘Man, what? I’ve never played football in my life,” Shaq said, laughing. “I’m happy that he told me. He never fails to remind me, ‘Hey man, like you just remember who told you to get on the field.’ I won’t forget — ever. It keeps me moving forward.”
The six-foot, 185-pound receiver played for Mcgill after high school, but without the financial support from OSAP, and with mom Karen at home with three children, he returned to Ontario to help her and played junior with the GTA Grizzlies. He caught on at Western the following season, but left after a year and played junior again, this time with the London Beefeaters.
He had a strong combine, running a 4.39 forty-yard dash, and caught the Lions’ eyes. They drafted him 32nd overall, and he spent most of 2016 on the practice squad before finding a home with the deep receiving corps.
“My journey was really unorthodox. Definitely not the typical journey that anybody should go through,” said Shaq, who signed a contract extension at the end of 2019 to avoid free agency.
But he blazed a path his brother now hopes to follow.
“His journey to the CFL was … not ideal,” said Hakeem. “I saw my brother go through it a couple years before, so I knew I just have to stick with it, and keep working.”