Tennessee
What ‘CJ2K’ means and how it got former Titans RB Chris Johnson into Tennessee Sports HOF
Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson was asked on the red carpet at the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday night if it was OK to still call him CJ2K?
“It will always be OK to call me that,” he said with a big smile.
Johnson acquired the rhythmic moniker 15 years ago after accomplishing a remarkable feat that has been done by just seven other NFL players. He rushed for more than 2,000 yards in the 2009 season on the way to being named the NFL offensive player of the year and an All-Pro.
Such a rare achievement went a long way in helping Johnson become the youngest member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame 2024 class, and at 38, one of the youngest ever enshrined.
“Going into that last game knowing how many yards I needed to get 2,000 and going into that meeting with coach Jeff Fisher, the whole coaching staff, the whole entire team was behind me,” Johnson said at the Omni Nashville Hotel. “They had my back. Everybody was doing everything in their power so I could break 2,000 yards.”
Johnson, who never hid his desire to be an NFL megastar, crossed the 2,000-yard plateau at 2,006 after rushing for 134 yards on 36 carries in a 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks. He had broken Earl Campbell’s single-season franchise record for rushing yards (1,934) in the first half.
Johnson gathered on the field after the game with his offensive linemen, fellow running back LenDale White and running backs coach Earnest Byner for a photo to mark the memorable occasion. He later purchased watches with “2000-Yard Season” engraved on them for the starting offensive linemen and tight end Alge Crumpler.
The Buffalo Bills’ O.J. Simpson was the first player to rush for 2,000 yards when he did it in 1973. Derrick Henry is the most recent to do it, in 2020, making the Titans the only team to have two 2,000-yard rushers.
The franchise has long been known for producing outstanding running backs, and Johnson said he was honored to be among the best in that group. With 7,965 career yards, he is the franchise’s fourth all-time leading rusher behind Eddie George (10,009), Henry (9,502) and Campbell (8,574).
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“You see it on the internet all the time, questions like, ‘Who’s got the best running backs of all-time as a franchise?’ ” Johnson said. “When you’ve got guys like Earl Campbell, Eddie George, Derrick Henry and myself, I feel like we’re the best. To be amongst that group is amazing.”
Johnson said he is close to those three players, as well as with White. Johnson and White established themselves as “Smash and Dash,” and Johnson is quick to give White credit for helping him be as productive as he was on the field.
“C.J. is my best friend, but more than that he’s like a brother. He’s family,” said White, who attended Johnson’s induction ceremony. “I’m amazed to see where he took his life. I’m blessed and I’m thankful to be his friend. I don’t see how I couldn’t have been here tonight when you look back at our time on the field — Smash and Dash, the combo.”
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
Entering a three-game series at Kentucky, it appeared as if Tennessee baseball’s offense had turned a corner.
After scoring at least six runs in all but two of their last nine SEC games, there was reason to believe the inconsistencies that had previously plagued the Vols’ offense had been remedied.
But in their first two games at Kentucky (29-15, 11-12 SEC), both lopsided losses, those offensive woes returned at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington. Tennessee (30-17, 10-13) has managed just four total runs in the series, dropping the first matchup on May 1, 9-2, and Game 2 on May 2 in eight innings, 12-2.
As it prepares for the series finale on May 3 (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network+), UT finds itself needing an offensive spark to avoid being swept.
“A lot went wrong again,” first-year UT coach Josh Elander said on May 2. “Not a good approach by our guys, swinging at too many pitches out of the strike zone. Good stuff by (Kentucky starter Jaxon Jelkin) today, but we didn’t get out of the gates. … Not a good formula in any capacity today.”
Tennessee has had to play from behind in both games
Slow starts have become a dangerous habit for the Vols through two games against the Wildcats. Their two runs in the series opener didn’t arrive until Henry Ford hit a home run in the eighth inning, the team by then already down 9-0.
They generated a few opportunities before but weren’t able to cash in on three separate chances with a runner in scoring position — once seeing a potential Jay Abernathy RBI single prevented by a full-extension diving catch in shallow left field.
In the second game, Tennessee didn’t manage a baserunner off Jelkin until the fifth and were caught trying to make up an early deficit again. During a mid-game flurry that saw the deficit lessened to 4-2 by a Blaine Brown home run, Tennessee worked the tying run to the plate in the sixth with the heart of the order up.
That was the closest they would get; the next nine batters went down in order and Kentucky pounced on the Vols’ bullpen to run-rule them.
Postseason stakes put extra importance on series finale
In Tennessee’s first 12 SEC matchups, it averaged 5.7 runs per game, contributing to a 4-8 start in league play. But in the nine following conference games, beginning with a sweep of Mississippi State, that number jumped to 7.3 runs per game and included two series wins, boosting the Vols’ SEC record to 10-11. That stretch removed doubt from their NCAA Tournament resume and put them in position to earn a bye in the single-elimination conference tournament.
Now, Tennessee enters the series finale needing a result before facing No. 4 Texas next week – which owns arguably the most feared pitching staff in the SEC.
“At this point, there needs to be more sense of urgency and a little bit more pride,” Elander said. “Very, very frustrating day all the way around, especially after the performance last night. We have to come into tomorrow and basically throw this game in the trash and reset and be ready to go and salvage the weekend tomorrow.”
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_
Tennessee is recruiting toward its 2027 football signing class.
Three-star defensive back Carter Jamison committed to Tennessee, according to Chad Simmons of On3.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound prospect is from Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia. Former Vols Eric Berry, Evan Berry and Elliott Berry are also from Creekside.
247Sports ranks Jamison as the No. 101 safety in the class and No. 115 player in Georgia.
Tennessee was the first school to offer him a scholarship on Feb. 17. The 2027 prospect unofficially visited the Vols for a spring practice on April 2 and will officially visit Tennessee on June 19.
Other schools to offer Jamison scholarships include USF, Charlotte, UNLV, Western Michigan, Liberty, Colorado State, Eastern Kentucky and East Carolina.
Tennessee has six other commitments in its 2027 football recruiting class: linebacker JP Peace, offensive tackle Princeton Uwaifo, defensive lineman Kadin Fife, quarterback Derrick Baker, athlete Jaden Butler and wide receiver KeSean Bowman.
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At the behest of President Donald Trump, Tennessee’s Republican supermajority is returning to Nashville next week to redraw the state’s congressional maps, carving Memphis into multiple safe-Republican seats.
The session is made possible by the Supreme Court’s decision ending protections in the Voting Rights Act, made April 29.
Gov. Bill Lee issued a call for a special legislative session to approve new redistricting maps on the evening of May 1, one day after Trump announced on social media that Lee had promised to do so.
Lawmakers will return to Nashville on May 5.
“We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said.“After consultation with the Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, I believe the General Assembly has a responsibility to review the map and ensure it remains fair, legal, and defensible.”
Once in Nashville, the Republican supermajority legislature will have the votes to crack Memphis and draw nine new safe-Republican congressional seats in Tennessee and eliminate the last remaining Democrat-held seat.
Candidates are already campaigning in the 9th Congressional District — which will likely be redrawn during the special session. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, and state Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, have both gathered and filed qualifying signatures and have been actively campaigning.
Redrawing maps would suspend those campaigns and require candidates in every congressional district to gather new signatures and re-qualify for their races.
“Donald Trump wants an extra seat. And he wants to get it by directing how the districts are drawn and to say they should not be drawn as they are now — they should be drawn the way he wants to draw them to give him the vote,” Cohen said on May 1.
“Civil rights are being attacked through this Supreme Court case. It’s taking away potentially a goodly half of African American and African American-chosen representation in the United States Congress,” Cohen said, pledging to launch a legal fight.
Lee’s call came hours after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session to redraw the maps there, as predominantly Republican Southern states begin to take political advantage of the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back protections for Black voters in the Voting Rights Act.
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