Parents Voice Concerns About 5'11" 12-Year-Old Football Player With Mustache & Tattoos Playing Against Kids
He has caused quite a stir.
Twitter Imagine sitting in the bleachers at your child’s football game and seeing a 5’11'' man with tattoos and a mustache dominating the entire field.
This is the reality for parents whose children are on a football team in a junior high school in Texas.
The massive and stellar football player often mistaken for a grown man has quickly gone viral after leaving many people in disbelief over his actual age.
Jeremiah Johnson is a 5’11'' football player from Fort Worth and only 12 years old.
The young teen from Fort Worth, Texas was recognized after receiving the U12 MVP Honors Award at the Youth National Championships in Miami, Florida.
Johnson played as the team’s running back and defensive end.
The football champion stands at 5’11'' and weighs 198 pounds according to his personal Twitter account.
Not only do his height and weight appear to make him look much older than he actually is, but he sports a mustache and tattoos on his forearm!
Johnson gained even more attention after a video clip of him confirming his age surfaced online.
“How old are you?” the man behind the camera asks Johnson, to which he responds, “I’m 12.”
The man and Johnson shake hands, as the man tells him that he deserves a spot in the NFL.
Others were in disbelief that Johnson had not even reached his teen years yet.
“He literally has a tattoo there’s no way he’s 12,” one Twitter user wrote.
“What 12-year-old has a mustache and a tat?!” another user commented.
“Nah this guy probably has a 12-year-old son too,” another user added.
Some parents were concerned for their own children if they ever played football against Johnson due to his size.
“If this man tackled my 12-year-old son, I’m running on the field,” one parent tweeted.
Other parents believed that Johnson should be moved to a team where there were other players that matched his size.
“If he is 12, why not move him up to 16s or 18s? If he’s that good/big/strong. Isn’t that what you supposed to do?” one user wrote.
However, others believe that there should be no concern surrounding Johnson’s placement on a junior high team since he is in fact only 12 years old.
“No evidence suggests weighted leagues are safer than unlimited,” one user stated.
“I coach 11 and 12-year-olds up to 170 pounds. The lightest kid this year was about 85 and had a lot of maximum weight and near maximum kids, and a couple of heavies. If both teams have heavies we waive the weigh-in. No real problems in many years.”
We can almost guarantee that one day we will see Jeremiah Johnson on our TVs playing for the NFL, and say we knew him when he was just a tiny, 5’11 12-year-old!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love and relationships.