John was a late arrival to football. In 1978, he was in Coach Hepner’s sophomore physical education class where he showed great athletic talent and wanted to try the game. Before that could happen, however, a skeptical Mom and Dad had to be sold. Coach Hepner had, shall we say, a very interesting and enlightening meeting with John’s parents. John was given the OK, and joined the Blue Devils for the first time in the fall of 1979, his junior year.  

John was a unique athlete that combined exceptional speed, agility, and great hands with strength and toughness. He was a wide receiver in a lineman’s body and that was a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches and players. His skills allowed him to control the line of scrimmage with his blocking assignments while leading the team in virtually all receiving statistics in both his junior and senior years. John received All-League honors as a senior (First Team) and junior (Second Team) and he co-captained the Blue Chip All-State Elite 11 as a senior.