Life took a turn for the better for Hampden-Sydney College’s football team and its fans in the 2015 season with the star turn of former Buckingham County High School standout Cam Johnson.

After logging seven catches in seven games played as a freshman in 2014, Johnson led the Tigers in receiving as a sophomore with 58 catches for 830 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games.

“I felt good about it,” he said. “Not a lot of people coming into the season kind of expected me to have that kind of output, not many people outside the program, actually. So, for me, it was a big confidence builder. I was able to kind of build upon that this summer, work a little bit harder.”

Johnson’s teammates took note of his performance and effort and voted him to be a team captain, the only junior on the team to hold that title this season.

“That’s rare for us, and I think that speaks a lot for Cam as a person,” Hampden-Sydney Head Coach Marty Favret said. “It’s been fun watching him grow up from a skinny kid as a freshman that maybe wasn’t quite ready for college football to a legitimate star and mature. He’s worked really hard. He’s gotten stronger, he’s more polished with his route running and he’s accepted the baton to be a leader and a guy that teams are focusing on — all the kind of things you have to do when you’re a go-to guy.”

Johnson noticed later in the 2015 season during conference play that teams were putting a little more focus on him. It made him work harder and highlighted a key difference in defenses at the college level compared to the high school level.

“They actually game plan for you, and it’s not a thing where in high school where it might have been the best athlete wins the battle,” Johnson said. “Guys are able to watch film and pick up on tendencies and exploit those tendencies.”

He noted the coaching is less predictable and the overall speed of the game is greater in college, too.

Johnson has stepped up to meet all of these challenges, and he has been in an ideal position to approach the game analytically, like strong college players do, because he spent his high school years playing cornerback.

With that experience, “I’m able to analyze the defense and kind of see what coverage they are in, whether they’re kind of bluffing their coverage or whether the guy will actually be where he’s supposed to be,” he said. “And I’m just able to look at different players, and I’m able to pick up on their strengths and their weaknesses, and I’m able to capitalize on them.”

Six games into the 2016 season, Johnson has 27 catches for 368 yards and four touchdowns, second on the team only to senior Owen Costello, who is having a breakout year.

Johnson confirmed it means a lot that his teammates voted him, as a junior, to be a team captain.

“I think that’s a testament to my hard work and how much I devote myself to the game and to these guys,” he said. “They know that when we go to battle on Saturdays that I won’t sell them short. And I expect nothing less from them. I hold them to the same standards that I hold myself, and I think because of that, that makes us a more cohesive unit.”

Johnson’s success has been informed by lessons learned from former Buckingham coach Craig Gill, who he described not only as a coach and a teacher but as a mentor and father figure, as well.

“He taught me to love life in every way possible, and my love of life translated to football,” Johnson said.