RB D’Ernest Johnson (10.5.20)
RB D’Ernest Johnson:
On confidence the Browns offense can keep up the success in the run game despite the tough loss of RB Nick Chubb for several weeks:
“I think we are pretty confident right now. It sucks that Nick had to get hurt. We are praying for him and praying for a speedy recovery. At the same time, we just have to continue to hold it down for the running back room.”
On the pride the Browns took in rushing for more than 300 yards yesterday:
“We take a lot of pride in running the ball. When your opportunities come, you have to make the best of it, and I think that is what we all did. Each back, me, (RB) Dontrell (Hilliard), (RB) Kareem (Hunt) and Nick, every time we have an opportunity, we try to make the best of it.”
On previously playing predominately on special teams and ultimately earning time on the offense:
“I just stayed patient. I did everything I had to do on special teams, and when my name number was called, I had to make sure I was ready. That is what I did is just made sure I was ready.”
On how he has improved since joining the Browns:
“I think I have improved a lot. This offseason, I worked a lot on my speed and a lot of little stuff like my balance and my football back down in Florida, where I was training. I worked on little things like that. I feel like I improved a lot from last year. I feel like I am a better player than I was last year.”
On where he trained in the offseason:
“I was training at a gym in Florida called NUMA Speed. It is run by a track Olympian. His name is Tim Montgomery.”
On the Browns OL:
“The offensive line, they have been doing a great job this whole season. They have been pushing guys around and moving downfield and getting us opportunities to run through holes. I give all the credit to the offensive line because without them our run game… They have just been doing a great job this whole season. We are looking forward to continuing to run behind them.”
On how he got his nickname ‘Slow Grind’:
“Slow Grind came from me, it is my brand. Slow Grind is my brand. Just coming out of high school, I always had to get it the hard way. I always had to earn everything I did. I had to stay patient no matter what. Something could be right in front of me, and I had to just wait to go get it. Slow Grind stands for staying focused on the ultimate goal. Sometimes the process does not come fast. It takes time. Right now, I am really in a slow grind process because what happened and I got my opportunity, and I am just trying to make the best of it. I have worked hard for it. It has been a long journey. I have just been trying to make sure I seize every moment of it.”
On his relationship with Hunt:
“Kareem is like a big brother. Everyone, we all have a good relationship. All the backs have a good relationship. Kareem stays on top of me. He makes sure my mind is mentally ready. When it was my time to get in the game he said, ‘Go out there and do your thing Slow Grind. Don’t think about anything. Just go out there, and when your opportunity comes, make the best of it.’ That is what I did.”
On if he has talked to Chubb since the injury:
“Yes, I talked to Nick. He is doing pretty good. His mind is right. He is just ready get back to work and work on a speedy recovery. He also told me, ‘Good game. Just keep working. Your opportunity is coming. You just have to keep working and make the best of it.’”
On the significant of the loss with Chubb’s injury, given Chubb is one of the best RBs in the league:
“It is a tough loss. Playing behind a guy like that and just seeing how hard he works throughout this whole process, it is tough. I hate that it happened for him because he is just a great, humble dude. He does not say much, but he is all about his work. I hate for something like that to happen to him. He is a good dude. I have been praying for him. I just pray for a speedy recovery. He is one of the best backs in the league, and he carries himself like that. Every day he is about his work. Every day he is about work. I appreciate a lot about that with Nick.”
On the key to being successful in the run game, regardless of the defenses they face:
“First things first, we just have to continue to keep doing what we are doing. Eliminate the mental errors. Eliminate the little mistakes that we are making. Just go out there and play football. Just go out there have fun. Do what we are doing. Just go out there and do it to the best of our best of ability. That is what we have to do. We are going to be ourselves. That is what coach preaches, just going out there and having fun and just going out there and trying to be the best on the field.”
On his ‘Slow Grind’ brand, given he is wearing a Slow Grind face mask:
“Yeah, I actually have a jacket. I have a website, it is called www.slowgrindapparel.com. I have different kinds of t-shirts and hats and stuff up on the site.”
On yesterday’s TV broadcast sharing the story of how he worked on a fishing boat in 2018 and if his family mentioned that to him:
“They did tell me about that. They said, ‘D’Ernest The Fisherman Johnson’ and stuff so that was pretty funny. Like I said, it was a tough journey for me. Going from in 2018 with the Saints through their mini-camp and not knowing what was going to happen from there so I had to get a job fishing, and I did that for like two months trying to make money. Then I had to get another job working in a gym, and that is when the AAF came along and I got the opportunity to play for them. Then the Browns came along. Now I am sitting here just trying to get better each and every day. I am thankful for every opportunity.”
On if the fishing boat experience crossed his mind after yesterday’s game:
“It crosses my mind every time. Every time I step on the field I am like, ‘Man, look how far I have come. All this hard work I have been through, not knowing two years ago where would I be.’ I am just thankful for everything. I just embrace every moment of it.”
On if Hunt telling him ‘come on I need you’ inspired him yesterday:
“It definitely inspired me just knowing that I can be a big part of helping the team. For him saying that, it made me want to go harder. Every time I was out there, it made me want to go harder just trying to make a play for the team.”
On if the Browns want to rally in some way, including to try to lead the league in team rushing, given the team’s desire for Chubb’s to win the rushing title this year and that being impacted by Chubb’s injury:
“We definitely wanted Nick [to win the rushing title] because Nick was on the way to going for the rushing title this year. We were hoping to get for him the rushing title because last year he fell short a little bit. That is a big accomplishment for him. I know he wanted to accomplish that. We just have to keep working. All the goals are still in front of us as a running back room. We just have to keep working. Next man up. You just have to step up and try to do the best that you can do.”
On if he believes the Browns can be the top rushing offense in the league this year:
“I think we have the backs to do that. I truly believe we have the backs to do that. We just have to attack every day and outwork our opponents, and then let everything come to us. We just have to work and go get it. I feel like we can do that.”
On what he has learned from Chubb and Chubb’s running style:
“I love the way he runs. He runs so aggressive. He is aggressive. He is patient. When he sees a hole, he hits it hard. He breaks tackles. Nick is just an all-around back. It is great to be in the room with him and Kareem, two of the best backs in the league. You can take a lot from them just the way they attack each day coming to work and the way they treat their bodies and the way they do things. Nick does a lot of extra work outside of practice. That is something I want to get better at doing and just following his routes and stuff like that. Nick is just a great back, one of the best backs in the league. I am just proud to be his teammate.”
On the luxury for the Browns having Hunt as the team’s No. 2 RB:
“You get the best of both worlds with Kareem. He can run the ball well and he can catch out of the backfield well. Like I said, he is an all-around back. He can do it all. He comes to work and works hard every day. He just has to keep working. He has a bright future ahead of him. I am just proud of the way that he comes to work. He is focused. I am just proud of the way of how he handles himself. He is a great leader to me and to the other backs. We just learn from each other.”
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