Here’s yet another example of how there are many things much more important -- and precious -- than football.
A highly-touted transfer from Clemson, Hunter Johnson was Northwestern’s season-opening starter and started the next three games as well. However, what has been described as a minor knee injury suffered in the late-September loss to Wisconsin has played a role in the quarterback being sidelined for the past three games. It wasn’t, though, the sole reason.
As it turns out, and following a “heart-to-heart” conversation with head coach Pat Fitzgerald, Johnson decided to put football on the backburner recently as his mother battles cancer, something the player revealed to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune following Tuesday’s practice.His mother, Shana, was diagnosed with breast cancer and is recovering from chemotherapy and a mastectomy less than two weeks ago.
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"[The head coach and I] cleared the air a little bit,” Johnson said. “Since that conversation, things have been great.
According to Johnson, his mother “has a couple of more procedures” but "[a]t this point things are good.”
Johnson has been practicing throughout his in-game sabbatical and hopes to return to the playing field soon -- NU heads to Johnson’s home state of Indiana to play the Hoosiers this weekend -- if for nothing more than to follow through on his mom’s edict.
“She doesn’t want what’s going on back home to affect what’s going on here,” Johnson told Greenstein. “As hard as that is, you’ve got to find a way.”
