By Brad Duff
The German Football League’s Berlin Rebels have signed British running back Tyrese Johnson-Fisher.
The former rugby prodigy first gained spotlight from a video which shows a 15-year-old Johnson-Fisher scoring four tries for Oakham School in a Rugby Union match; the clip has now surpassed three million views on YouTube alone.
In 2017, Johnson-Fisher became the first non-American to receive an invitation to the Under Armour All-American Game, as well as picking up scholarship offers from Texas A&M, Princeton, Massachusetts, Central Arkansas, and Coastal Carolina. He committed to Coastal Carolina, redshirted his freshman year and entered the NCAA transfer portal in 2019.
After a short stint playing professionally for the Bristol Bears rugby union club, and internationally for Jamaica’s sevens side, Tyrese Johnson-Fisher took his talents to Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 2021, where he played seven games, rushing for 103 yards.
The 5’11”, 220-pound 23-year-old then made his way to the ELF in 2022, signing for the Istanbul Rams, but only playing the first four games before parting ways with the team.
Never stop fighting. pic.twitter.com/MDdsMLex8r
— Tyrese Johnson-Fisher🦁 (@tyresejf9) March 10, 2023
Johnson-Fisher recorded 126 yards and two touchdowns during his time in the ELF, before returning to London to play for the London Warriors in the Premiership for the remainder of the summer.
He was one of five British players to feature in the 2022 NFL International Combine and was recently selected to the Great Britain Lions 108-man roster.
🇬🇧 Jai Jackson
🇬🇧 Andy Owusu
🇬🇧 Arthur Mbahin
🇬🇧 Emmanuel Falola
🇬🇧 Tyrese Johnson-FisherThe UK was well represented at the 2022 NFL International Combine. pic.twitter.com/42mhsqFMI1
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) October 5, 2022
Despite not finding his footing in professional football yet, Johnson-Fisher’s 4.38 40-yard-dash and great instinct for the game is sure to be a valuable asset alongside the newly signed dual-threat quarterback Connor Kaegi in Berlin.
Rebels’ head coach Douglas Fryer said:
“We´re excited about the signing of Tyrese! He’s an electric, fast player on the field and we can’t wait to get him involved in our offense for the 2023 season!”