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Lindsey Thiry, ESPN
COSTA MESA, Calif. — With his parents Sherry and Carl Johnston standing at his side, Quentin Johnston watched on television as commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the Los Angeles Chargers were selecting him with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
“Yesss!” Carl shouted amid boisterous cheers at his son’s draft party in Dallas.
“You did it baby!” Sherry screamed.
When emotions simmered, the wide receiver stood up to deliver a speech to his family and friends.
“I just want to give a big shout-out to my mom,” he said in a steady voice. “She’s going to be putting her two weeks’ notice in today. She can retire. I don’t want you working another day.”
Thursday is Sherry’s final day at the VA Hospital in Temple, Texas, where she has worked as a secretary for 24 years after serving in the U.S. Army. She will now join Carl in retirement.
“When he said that to me, I couldn’t believe it,” Sherry said, describing Quentin’s draft-night speech. “It was mind-blowing.”
The Chargers selected the 6-foot-3, 208-pound Johnston with a first-round pick to provide a deep-threat target for quarterback Justin Herbert and round out a receiving corps that includes Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer.
His four-year rookie contract, with a fifth-year team option, is worth $14.19 million and fully guaranteed. It also includes a signing bonus of $7.32 million.
“The money is cool, but I don’t plan on sitting there and blowing it,” Johnston said. “I’m going to have it in my savings account. I’m not really focused on the money, I’m focused on football.”
And his family.
Johnston’s dream of making it to the NFL came into focus while playing at TCU. His draft grade as a junior soared after helping the Horned Frogs to a national championship appearance last season.
“We could see what type of player that he was, what he meant for TCU,” coach Brandon Staley said. “On the field, he’s capable of so much, but when you can get a special person, a special leader, like him, that makes it even a stronger pick.”
Johnston says he wouldn’t be in a position to achieve his goals if it weren’t for the sacrifices of his parents.
Sherry constantly put Quentin and his younger brother, Xavier, ahead of herself. He recalled a specific time when his mom had to forgo her own favorite pastime of singing in church to shuttle him to a basketball tournament.
Sherry expressed amazement that Quentin remembered that instance, because to her, it was inconsequential; she was doing what she believed any mom should.
“It was nothing for me to just not do whatever — whether it’s singing or doing something else that I wanted to do, I don’t think about that kind of stuff,” Sherry said. “You just do it and for him to … that touched me for him to think about something like that.”
Carl, also a U.S. Army veteran, slipped on a pair of dark shades to hide the tears when the commissioner announced his son’s name. And he knew more would come streaming after spending several months helping Quentin perfect his mom’s surprise.
“We went over that a few times and once it came to it, the way he put it out there, it was just so eloquent,” Carl said. “The way he did it, it was flowing. I said, ‘Man, you did a great job.’”
For Sherry, the decision to leave her job and retire wasn’t automatic. She planned on working about 10 more years and mulled for weeks over the decision before Quentin provided a final nudge.
“He was like, ‘Mama, I don’t want to hear it,’” Sherry said. “I was trying to explain to him why I felt like I should work and he said, ‘Mama, you always talk about how God blesses us with stuff,’ and he said, ‘Bless me with this opportunity to retire you.’”
“Well, that makes sense,” Sherry thought.
Seven weeks to the day her son began his professional career, Sherry Johnston is officially retired.