Thomas Johnson was born in Detroit on July 29, 1964. The legacy he would start in the game of football resonates at all levels from high school to the NFL coaching ranks.
The kid who would grow up to be known as “Pepper” — nicknamed by his aunt after a penchant for putting pepper on his breakfast cereal — turned heads at MacKenzie High School in Detroit, where he was all-state as a senior. He was such a force in high school that he was later named to the state's all-decade team for the 1980s. A multi-sport star at MacKenzie, Johnson was also a captain on the school's baseball and basketball teams.