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Dwayne Johnson in Football: The Rock’s Stats on the Field Before Being a WWE Superstar

Published 01/21/2022, 8:30 AM EST

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The Brahma Bull made an amazing run in the WWE. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of the top wrestlers in the wrestling business. But, did you know The Rock played football?

The People’s Champ came from a wrestling family. His dad, Rocky Johnson was a wrestler and so he developed a love for the profession wrestling. Although he succeeded in becoming a big star in WWE, his dream was to play in NFL.

Right from the start, The Rock had a tremendous physique which helped the odds to qualify for the High School football team. His dreams were big and so was his determination.

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He got into the sport in Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Later, he got a scholarship which landed him at the University of Miami. This was his first step towards making it big in professional football.

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What position did The Rock play in football?

At the time of The Rock’s football career, he played for Miami Hurricanes as a defensive player in 1991. He had an enormous body, which gave him an advantage for his defensive role.

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With his defensive techniques, he made a good impression on the team and impressed coach Ed Orgeron, grabbing the spotlight. However, things changed when he met up with a shoulder injury and got replaced. Chiefly, he has narrated his story, how he lost his spot and got replaced. However, Johnson would ultimately persevere and make it big.

“I played for University of Miami played great teams. Warren Sapp, and Louis. They were my teammates, they were balling. Warren Sapp was playing tight end at that time. I was starting defensive tackle. Yeah! they moved him over to the D line and he looked at me. He’s like ‘Dude I’m gonna take your spot and I said, “You ain’t taking my fu**ing spot”. He’s like I’m gonna take your spot. Yeah, we battled, and he took my spot.”

Later, he got picked up by Calgary Stampeders in CFL. However, he couldn’t get his chance to prove his worth. After a span of 2 months, they cut him off from the team.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Career Best

During his time in Miami, he was 6.5 ft and over 200 pounds. Big enough to crush you down with a shoulder tackle.

His entry as a freshman got him a lot of exposure with his first successful season in 1991. The Rock played in 39 games with  77 tackles and 4.25 sacks, on his name in a span of 4 years.

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Although The Rock couldn’t make it in NFL, he made his career in wrestling and Hollywood. Today, we see him as the highest-paid actor and WWE Superstar. His journey was full of struggles. Despite that, he made his way up to the top. His movies have grossed over $10 billion worldwide and he has a great wrestling career.

What do you make out of the Rock’s incredible journey? Tell us in the comments.

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Written by:

Yash Sawant

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Yash is a WWE and AEW writer at EssentiallySports. Currently, Yash is a BSC student and along with his studies follows his favorite sport. Being a WWE fan since 2012, Yash loves all things related to wrestling.
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