Bob Johnson was Tennessee Head Football Coach Doug Dickey’s first recruit in 1963. He was also the first ever draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals and is the only Bengals player to have his number (54) retired. At UT he earned all SEC and All-American honors in 1966 and 1967. In 1967 he won the SEC Jacobs trophy as best blocker and was named the SEC’s Most Outstanding Lineman by the Birmingham Touchdown Club. In his senior year, he was named a National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete and received a graduate fellowship to the college of his choice. He was Academic All-SEC in 1966 and 1967 and Academic All-American in 1967 with a B+ average in engineering. He was captain of the 1967 team.
In 1974 he was named to the SEC Quarter Century Team. In 1989 he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Johnson played for the Bengals for 12 years, serving as captain for 11 of them. After leaving the Cincinnati Bengals, he became president of Imperial Adhesives (acquired by Sovereign Specialty Chemicals in 2000).