Jawaun Johnson could talk about himself, sure. But then, why not allow others to do it for him?

Staples High School coach Marce Petroccio: “He’s just ridiculous.”

New London coach Juan Roman: “No one player is going to stop him.”

Southington coach Mike Drury: “A dynamic player. A threat on every play.”

There are others willing to offer some thoughts. But you get the idea.

Johnson, a senior at Norwich Free Academy, was named The Day’s 2016 All-Area Football Player of the Year for all the aforementioned reasons: ridiculous, dynamic, etc.

Johnson and the Wildcats won their last seven regular-season games, earning the Eastern Connecticut Conference’s Division I title, before losing to Southington in the state quarterfinals. Maybe, though, what NFA earned the most was some respect, playing the most challenging schedule in the ECC.

NFA lost to eventual Class LL champion Darien and traditional power Xavier. But the Wildcats defeated brand name Staples in early October, led by Johnson, who ran 19 times for 295 yards and three touchdowns and added a fourth on a 90-yard catch and run.

This was the new Jawaun, the hybrid Jawaun, no longer confined to quarterback. He ran some (835 yards), caught some (805 yards) and challenged defenses to monitor his whereabouts constantly. He finished with 13 overall touchdowns.

“It gave me the freedom to run inside and outside,” Johnson said during the season. “I wasn’t comfortable at quarterback.”

It helped, too, that Johnson lobbied for another position during the summer, communicating as much with NFA coach Jemal Davis. The move proved prosperous for the Wildcats, who developed Shea McManaway as the quarterback, making for a more productive offense.

Johnson was also an explosive linebacker, finishing with 75 tackles, 15 for a loss, and 5.5 sacks. He was one of two ECC players along with New London's Major Roman to be named to the Connecticut High School Coaches' Association Top 20 All-State football team and was later named to the Walter Camp All-Connecticut Team on special teams.

Johnson’s career at NFA began with promise but was it nearly derailed by an illness as a junior. Happily for him, senior year was better and healthier.

As a sophomore quarterback, Johnson threw for 480 yards and eight touchdowns, but ran for more than 1,500 yards. He authored a Thanksgiving Day effort that even earned him special recognition from the Southeastern Connecticut Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Johnson and teammate Khaleed Exum-Strong ran for more than 300 yards apiece as the Wildcats defeated New London.

He returned as a junior with the promise of being the league’s most unstoppable player. Until nature stopped him.

Johnson contracted a fever one night after a game against Fitch in October. He was never the same. He tried to return for NFA’s games in November, but admitted to fatigue. He finished the season with 900 rushing yards.

“That’s not how I thought it was going to go,” Johnson said after the fateful game against Staples this season. “The beginning of our season isn’t how I thought it would go either for me or as a team. But we keep hanging in, listening to our coaches.”

Johnson did admit to some self-doubt early in the year, especially when the receiver thing wasn’t what he imagined. Or perhaps the opposing defenses didn’t allow it.

“We played some very good teams early,” Davis said. “We knew we had to be patient. We knew we had some pieces that would work and could fit. It was just a matter of staying with it. We knew what Jawaun could do.”

m.dimauro@theday.com

The Day's 2016 All-Area Football Team

Player of the Year — Jawaun Johnson (NFA)

Offense

Quarterback — Melquann Gomez (New London)

Running back — R.J. Darby (NFA), Daniel Stecher (Valley Regional/Old Lyme)

Wide receiver — Garrett Burdick (Valley Regional/Old Lyme), Bradley Johnson (Montville)

Tight end — Major Roman (New London)

Lineman — Mitchell Conrad (Valley Regional/Old Lyme), DeVaughn Exum-Fisher (New London), Logan Gooden (NFA), Kyle Niddrie (Fitch), Liam Wilmoth (NFA)

Kicker — Spencer Hoagland (Waterford)

Defense

Lineman — Malik Gibson (NFA), Kevin Grandieri (Waterford), Renel Michel (New London), Fre'sko Stevenson (Fitch)

Linebacker — Owen Donahue (Stonington), Dougie Moore (NFA), Kyle Whipple (Stonington)

Defensive back — Kyle Cardoza (Waterford), Monty Johnson (New London), Caleb Parker (NFA), Isaiah Price (NFA)

Punter — Liam McCarthy (East Lyme)