Community mourns death of former Merced High football star who coached for NFL, colleges
Former Merced High football star John Rushing, who went on to coach for the Green Bay Packers and multiple college football programs, died on Friday morning at the age of 48.
Rushing lived in Tuscon, Ariz. with his wife Angela and five children Angel, Tatiana, Nataya, Kamiah and Dash.
Barry Bolten of 247 Sports reports that friends of Rushing say he was taken to the hospital and is believed to have suffered from a cardiac-related condition.
After brief stints as a player in the NFL and Canadian Football League, Rushing spent the next 25 years as a coach in the NFL and college football.
The Merced native’s first coaching stop was back at Merced High in 1995 before he coached at Williamette University the next two years with Mark Speckman, his former coach at Merced High.
Rushing had stops at Boise State, Montana State, Utah State, Oregon State and the University of Arizona. In addition to the Packers, he also coached for the Los Angeles Rams.
“I received phone calls from all over the country today from people that knew Johnny was from Merced and that he played for me,” said Speckman, now an assistant coach at UC Davis. “I was shocked to hear the news this morning, everyone was.”
The University of Arizona football program sent out a statement on Friday.
“John was a tremendous husband, father, friend, mentor and coach who was committed to making a positive impact on the many lives he touched,” Arizona’s football staff said in a statement released by the program Friday.
“His passion for life will be one of the many memories that we will all hold on to and keep in remembrance.”
Early days
Rushing graduated from Merced High in 1990. He helped lead Merced to back-to-back Sac-Joaquin Section championships in 1989 and 1990 as a running back and defensive back.
“He was just outstanding as a player,” said Golden Valley High principal Kevin Swartwood, who was the offensive coordinator for Merced High’s football program under Speckman and coached Rushing. “He could do everything well. He was not only fast and strong, but he was a smart football player. He took time to learn the game, he listened to coaches and watched video.”
Rushing was part of the inaugural Merced High Hall of Fame class in 2015.
“John was a great success story,” Swartwood said. “His story was how a kid in a tough situation, growing up in Merced, was able to overcome obstacles, things holding him back to make a great life for himself.”
Swartwood said Rushing wasn’t on a good track as a freshman at Merced High. He was hanging out with the wrong people and doing the wrong things.
He recalled one day when Rushing was playing varsity as a sophomore. He remembered Rushing was contemplating skipping practice with a couple of teammates. That was before Swartwood says Speckman told Rushing if he skipped practice he wasn’t going to play football for Merced.
“It’s a true story,” Speckman said. “I remember watching them from the window. There were three guys and all of them were good players but they were leaning the wrong way. I watched as the three of them argued. Two of them went on their way and Johnny came back, got dressed and went to practice. It really changed his life.”
Swartwood says Speckman played a big part in helping Rushing get on the right track. Rushing would spend hours in Speckman’s classroom working on his class work. He also helped get Rushing in the right classes so he would be eligible for college.
Post high school accomplishments
Rushing eventually received a full-ride scholarship to Washington State where he started at defensive back from 1991 to 1994. Rushing set a Washington State record by starting in 46 games.
“Johnny took advantage of every opportunity Merced High and Washington State gave him,” Speckman said.
During his time coaching for different colleges, Rushing often returned to the Merced area to recruit players.
“He’d always come by every year and I always would have him talk to kids when I was coaching at Buhach Colony and Golden Valley,” Swartwood said. “I would tell him ‘I’ve got a kid like Johnny.’ He’d always take time to talk to the kid and share his story.”
While Speckman was coaching in Wisconsin, he was only 25 minutes away from Green Bay while Rushing worked for the Green Bay Packers. The Packers won a Super Bowl while Rushing worked in Green Bay.
“I went to see him and he was so proud to show me the Lombardi Trophy, the locker room and where he worked,” Speckman said. “It’s so cool to see one of your former players coach all over the country.
“He went further than I ever went and he always remembered he was from Merced and came back to the area. I loved that about Johnny.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 5:31 AM.
