[4] Ron followed Alex to Northwestern High School, becoming a star baseball and football player and graduating in 1965.

As a sophomore in 1966, Johnson gained 44 yards on 12 carries, seeing limited playing time in a backfield that included seniors Carl Ward and Jim Detwiler.

[6] He set a Big Ten record with his 42 carries against Northwestern,[5] and he was selected as the most valuable player on the 1967 Michigan Wolverines football team.

[5][9] Johnson led the 1968 team, originally predicted to be an "also-ran" in the Big Ten,[9] to an 8–2 record and a No.

[14][15] The Chicago Tribune hailed Johnson's performance against Wisconsin as "the most explosive display of running in the proud history of the Big Ten conference.

[6] He also set Big Ten single-season records with 92 points scored and 1,017 rushing yards in seven conference games during the 1968 season.

"[19] Johnson himself credited his ability to find an opening as his main asset: "Picking the hole is what I think I do best.

[1] In August 1969, Johnson ended a lengthy holdout, signing a two-year contract with the Browns in exchange for a compensation package reported to be in excess of $100,000.

[27] In a disappointing rookie season, he appeared in all 14 games, 13 as a starter, as a fullback for the Browns, but gained only 472 yards and scored seven touchdowns on 138 carries.

[1][28] Johnson, along with Jim Kanicki and Wayne Meylan, was traded by the Browns to the New York Giants for Homer Jones on January 26, 1970.

[29] He noted at the time that he was "shocked" by the trade, but hopeful since he believed he was better suited to being a halfback than a fullback as he was used in Cleveland.

[4] In the summer of 1971, Johnson suffered a thigh injury while playing a pickup basketball game in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

He returned to the lineup for two games, but he sustained a ligament injury against the San Diego Chargers on November 7, 1971, and missed the remainder of the season.

[40][41] In approximately 1983, Johnson started Rackson, a food service company based in Totowa, New Jersey.

His son, Christopher, later joined the company, which eventually owned 13 Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises in Michigan and New Jersey.