When safety Denzel Johnson walks out of the Superdome late Monday night, he will have closed the book on his career at Clemson.
The redshirt senior from A.C. Flora High School in Columbia was a very late addition to the 2015 recruiting class for head coach Dabo Swinney who had never heard of Johnson until one fateful day in November of 2014 when Swinney and defensive coordinator Brent Venables were at Memorial Stadium to watch their sons play for Daniel High School in a playoff game with A.C. Flora.
Swinney told Johnson he would hold a scholarship for him if he met his academic obligations which Johnson did. After redshirting in 2015, Johnson was a redshirt freshman on the 2016 national championship team. He has a chance to close out his career with a trio of national championship rings.
"It's like I'm living in The Matrix," Johnson said.
"All these things we accomplished. All these trophies and everything, the championships. Coach Swinney always says 'Seize the day'. That's what I take into my mind."
Venables says Johnson is a prime example of what can happen when someone doesn't let an opportunity pass by.
"How he got here as one of the last guys in that class to get into school, really didn't have a lot of attention of in terms of recruiting," Venables recalled.
"Coach Swinney gave him an opportunity and you have to applaud Denzel for the work he's put in, to graduate, to earn his way on the depth chart. (He's) been a great leader for us and he's really a great example of a guy believing and investing and working and putting his head down and it's really cool. Really proud of Denzel."
Counting his redshirt season, Johnson has seen 69 wins and just four losses heading into Monday night's national championship game. But behind that gaudy record are countless practices and workouts as part of a 24/7 lifestyle.
"It's been a long process, a long journey and I appreciate every bit of it," Johnson said.
"My body's definitely wore out, but it's been great. It's been great and I love the process. It taught me so much about character, work ethic, everything."
After Clemson, Johnson says he will train for the NFL Draft, but if that doesn't work out, he will put his business degree to use.