The Istanbul Rams, the European League of Football’s newest addition, have signed speedy British running back Tyrese Johnson-Fisher.
The 5’10”, 218-pound 22-year-old Johnson-Fisher from London, England, who runs a 4.38 40-yard dash, began his football journey in South London with the London Warriors U19 squad and later on with the senior squad. He attended only a handful of training sessions but was recognized immediately for his elite athleticism.
Johnson-Fisher is best known for a video that went viral in 2015 while he was attending Oakham, a boarding school in the English midlands. The video shows a 15-year-old Johnson-Fisher running rings around opponents during a rugby match.
The video currently sits at 3.1m views and at the time earned him a spot at the Under Armour All-America game, making Johnson-Fisher the first non-American ever selected.
Johnson-Fisher then went on to play at Coastal Carolina University (NCAA Div. I, FBS) in 2018 but saw little action due to his limited experience. In 2019, he made the switch back to rugby, this time with the professional club side, the Bristol Bears.
In 2021, Johnson-Fisher again decided to try his luck with football, this time signing up for one of the top community colleges in the country, Copiah-Lincoln in Mississippi. Johnson-Fisher played in seven games seeing limited playing time. He was also on the Dean’s List, graduating with a 4.0 gpa.
Despite his inexperience, the Rams are excited about the addition of Johnson-Fisher to the team:
“For the Istanbul Rams, Tyrese will compliment Jalen Conwell forming an extremely talented ELF backfield.”