‘An honor’ – The Rock brought Jimmy Johnson to tears with heartfelt gesture on live TV

Long before he became Hollywood’s highest-paid star, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson had dreams of making it to the NFL.

Now one of the most famous faces on the planet, his early years are well documented.

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Johnson’s father and grandfather were both wrestlers, meaning he inherited the kind of genes that many others didn’t.

As a teenager, he stood at 6’4″ and 230 pounds, the perfect build for a defensive tackle.

By his senior year at Freedom High School in Pennsylvania, Johnson had played football for two years, and received a number of scholarship offers to play at college level.

He turned down the likes of Penn State, UCLA, Clemson and Florida State, before eventually deciding on the University of Miami.

Johnson accepted a full-ride scholarship to play for the Hurricanes in 1990, and in more recent years, has suggested it was the great Jimmy Johnson who influenced his decision.

Before he became a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the Dallas Cowboys, Johnson was the head coach of the powerhouse Hurricanes in the late 1980s.

He left The U for Dallas in 1989, at the time a young Dwayne was committing to play for the Canes. He sent his letter of intent to Johnson’s replacement, Dennis Erickson, instead.

And while they never stood on the sidelines together, The Rock has credited Coach Johnson as a massive influence on his life.

Back in December 2023, he even took the time to surprise Johnson on the set of Fox NFL Sunday after he was finally added to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.

“I had to come out coach, and say, number one, congratulations to you. I’m so happy, and so proud,” he said, as the pair shared a hug.

YouTube: NFL on Fox

YouTube: NFL on Fox

YouTube: NFL on Fox

“But I had to take a moment just to let you know how influential you’ve actually been in my life. When I was getting in trouble at 15 years old, getting arrested, my football coach said, ‘You come play football.’

“I committed to the game. There was one team in the country that got my attention. And it was University of Miami. And there was one man who got my attention and that was you.

“You took Miami to new heights of greatness. You had some of the best defensive linemen at that time.

“I told myself then, I’m going to earn a football scholarship to Miami and I’m going to go play football for Coach Jimmy Johnson.

“My senior year, you turned the page. You went to the Cowboys and I had one decision to make. Either go to University of Miami or Clemson.

“And I said, I’m going to go to Miami to continue Jimmy Johnson’s legacy.”

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The Rock’s heartfelt words had Johnson on the brink of tears, and he went on to hand the legendary coach a special gift.

He continued: “Coach, I’m here to tell you when I was 18, I wanted to give you this.

“This is my letter of intent to play for you. So if you ever decide to coach again, it’ll be an honor.”

Their special moment went viral, with an emotional Johnson saying ‘I don’t think there’s any way that I can ever be as happy as I am today’.

His legendary coaching career was also more recently celebrated ahead of Super Bowl LIX last month.

The Rock, meanwhile, played four years with Miami but found himself behind elite players on the depth chart, including future NFL star and Hall of Fame inductee Warren Sapp.

He appeared mostly in backup roles, and played in 39 games with one start, recording 4.5 sacks and 77 tackles.

After graduating, Johnson was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

He was moved from defensive tackle to linebacker and while he was assigned to Calgary’s practice roster, he was cut two months into the 1995 season.

Things worked out in the end, of course, with Johnson becoming a larger-than-life personality in the wrestling ring and a star of the silver screen.