As Max Johnson’s season ended Thursday, his mother watched helplessly.
The North Carolina quarterback won the starting job after transferring to Texas A&M, and his first season with the Tar Heels didn’t last three quarters. He suffered a broken right leg in his team’s 19-17 season-opening win at Minnesota.
He remained in Minneapolis throughout the weekend after undergoing season-ending surgery on his leg. His parents, Brad and Nikki, were also in Minnesota to watch their two sons, Max and Jake, play for Chapel Hill. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Brad Johnson is a former NFL quarterback himself, winning Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So, they might know the feeling.
But Brock Huard, who broadcasted the game for Fox alongside Jason Benetti and Allison Williams, knows that feeling all too well. The ex-Washington Huskies quarterback choked up as he empathized with Johnson’s mother.
“I told people before, my mom was a three-time quarterback mom,” says Huard. “It’s a hard job. It’s kind of like a pastor’s wife, and it can be a very lonely place. It really is. It is such a hard position. All eyes in this building, they aren’t judging a right guard or a D-end. Every eyeball judges a quarterback on every single play, and moms carry that weight. They sense it. They feel it. They hear it in ways… it’s kind of hard for me to watch, to be honest with you.
“Because you also know how much her son has endured at multiple stops and places and adversity to just fight for this opportunity and a devastating injury. You don’t always think about the human element of families, and especially the moms, who nurture and grow and provide so much support. And you can see Brad; Brad knows it. He’s been through battles through 15 years in the league. He knows it; he probably wants to fix it. But, Mom, they empathize, and they feel every single bit of it.”
“My mom was a 3-time QB mom, it’s a hard job… every eyeball judges a QB on every single play and moms carry that weight.”@BrockHuard gets emotional while watching Max Johnson’s mom in tears after her son exited the game due to injury đź’” pic.twitter.com/PJuMsn7pCV
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 30, 2024
Huard’s empathy for Johnson’s mother was evident as he continued to reflect on the challenges faced by the quarterbacks’ parents. But in shifting from the emotional toll on Johnson’s mother, Huard also addressed the transactional nature of sports, whether it be college or the pros.
“It’s become such a transactional game that when you get your time and you get your moment, you have to maximize it,” continued Huard. “I told you, he’s one mentally and emotionally and physically tough guy that has been through tremendous adversity before, but you can just tell with the way he couldn’t even put an ounce of weight on that lower leg, he’s in tremendous pain.”
Viewers crave this kind of insightful analysis from former players turned analysts. It’s a uniquely vulnerable moment, and Huard had no trouble delivering a heartfelt response, even while grappling with his own emotions.
