Pete Johnson ( American football ) Pete Johnson ( born on March 2 , 1954 in Peach County , Georgia ) is a former college and professional American football running back . He spent 8 seasons in the NFL , primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals . Before his NFL career , Johnson played for the Ohio State Buckeyes . College career . Johnson played fullback for Ohio State from 1973 through 1976 . In 1973 , starting fullback Champ Henson was injured and converted linebacker Bruce Elia was named to start in Henson ' s place . By the end of that season , however , freshman fullback Pete Johnson had worked his way up the depth chart . In 1974 , Elia returned to the linebacker corps and Henson and Johnson alternated at fullback . Although tailback Archie Griffin got most of the carries from 1972 to 1975 , the Ohio State fullbacks still got the ball frequently and were expected to be major contributors , particularly in short - yardage situations . In 1972 the teams leading scorer was Henson , and in 1973 it was Elia . Johnson ' s best season was in 1975 . Even though Griffin led the team with 1 , 450 rushing yards , Johnson still rushed for 1 , 059 yards and set single OSU single season records for rushing touchdowns ( 25 ) and scoring ( 156 points ) . One of Johnson ' s more notable performances was a game against the University of North Carolina in 1975 . While Griffin rushed for 157 yards , Johnson rushed for 148 yards and set a school record with five touchdowns . Johnson finished his career at Ohio State with 2 , 308 rushing yards and a school record 58 touchdowns . His 348 points was also a Buckeyes record until surpassed by kicker Mike Nugent ' s 356 points in 2004 . In 2000 , Johnson was selected for the Ohio State Football All - Century Team . On September 8 , 2007 , during halftime of the Ohio State vs Akron Game , Johnson was inducted into Ohio State ' s Athletics Hall of Fame . NFL career . A superb rusher and blocker , Johnson excelled at running back for the Bengals . He was the team ' s leading rusher for all 7 seasons he played for them , and scored 12 or more rushing touchdowns in 3 different seasons . His best season was in 1981 , where he made his only pro bowl selection . Johnson set career highs in rushing ( 1 , 077 yards ) , receptions ( 46 ) , receiving yards ( 320 ) and touchdowns ( 16 ) , assisting the team to a 12 - 4 record . In the postseason , Johnson helped the team record their first ever playoff win by rushing for 45 yards , catching 3 passes for 23 yards , and scoring a touchdown in the team ' s 28 - 21 divisional victory over the Buffalo Bills . Then in the AFC title game ( known in NFL Lore as the Freezer Bowl ) , Johnson rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown , while also catching a 14 - yard reception as the team defeated the San Diego Chargers 27 - 7 to earn their first ever Super Bowl appearance . However , the team lost Super Bowl XVI to the San Francisco 49ers 26 - 21 , and Johnson was limited to just 36 rushing yards and 8 receiving yards in the game . In 1984 , Johnson was traded to the Chargers in exchange for running back James Brooks . He left Cincinnati as their all - time leader in rushing yards ( 5 , 421 ) , touchdowns ( 70 ) , and their second all - time leading scorer with 420 points . Johnson spent the first 3 games of the 1984 season with Chargers and spent the final 13 games with Miami before retiring after the season ended . In his 8 NFL seasons , Johnson rushed for 5 , 626 yards , caught 175 passes for 1 , 334 yards , and scored 82 touchdowns ( 76 rushing and 6 receiving ) . Drug use . In 1983 , he and another Bengals player testified in exchange for immunity from prosecution that they had purchased cocaine from a Cincinnati plumber and he was suspended by the NFL for four games . In 1987 , he was indicted by a federal grand jury on four cocaine - related charges and at the time of his indictment was selling cars in Miami , according to the New York Times archive . He was found not guilty by a Columbus jury in February 1988 . Check fraud . Pete Johnson , 53 , of Columbus , was indicted by a Champaign County grand jury Dec . 17 , 2007 , on one count of passing bad checks and one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle . He did not appear for two previously - scheduled arraignment hearings on Jan . 4 and Jan . 22 . Johnson claimed to have no knowledge of the criminal case when contacted on Jan . 18 by the Daily Citizen . His attorney , Alfred J . Weisbrod of Dayton , repeated the claim in court after entering a " not guilty " plea . Johnson had been previously charged with passing bad checks as a felony in Franklin County in December 1999 , but that case was dismissed . References .