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Some sad news today for those followers of Washington Prep Football. ? Washington lost one of it's greatest Full Backs of all time with the passing of Jackson High School's Johnie Kirton. ?The "J-Train" as he was often referred to was found deceased. ?His body was found at 11 p.m. Monday at his hotel room after his girlfriend could not reach him, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News. ?A police official was quoted as saying no crime appears to have been committed.?

He had led the San Jose Sabre Cats to a victory scoring a touchdown late in the game Saturday Night.

Kirton had a number of offers and then signed with UW in 2004 after a phenomenal season where he rushed for 2,675 yards at Jackson High. in 2003-2004. ?He would end up just 1 yard short of the all time rushing records for the State of Washington at that time.

He was known as a bruising back who at almost 248 pounds and an 11.0 second 100 Meter man was unstoppable. ?He played for Coach Keith Gilbertson who remembered Kirton fondly today in statements he made to the press.

After Gilbertson was let go Huskies Head Coach Tyrone Willingham used Kirton in a number of positions. As a Tight End?in 2006 he caught key TD passes that led to wins against Fresno State and UCLA. ?In 2008 he was named a Team Captain and played Defensive End where he racked up 28 Tackles and some impressive stats shoring up the defense.

Johnie was always willing to help his team.

He had played the last three years in the Arena Football League with Arizona, Chicago and San Jose. ?Johnny scored the winning TD for the SaberCats in an 84-77 win over Chicago Saturday night.

Kirton leaves behind a young daughter and will be missed and remembered by all followers of football in the State of Washington as one of the all time greats.

Johnie Kirton was rated the #5 overall Full Back in the Nation in 2004 by Rivals.com and held offers from WSU, UW, and the Oregon Ducks. ?Below is a post from our Web Site from 2004 announcing his commitment to the UW and how highly regarded he was. ?

We are sad to share this news but will remember him here at NWPR and WashingtonPreps.com forever. ?We send our well wishes out to his Family and friends and will report any news that arises out of the investigation of his passing.

R.I.P. Johnny Kirton



	John Kirton?took his power running game to UDub and then went on to the Arena League after setting records at Jackson High School in Washington.

The Washington Huskies do what the Huskies do best and that is protect their boarders and keep the Evergreen State's best talent at home. The Dawgs picked up the verbal commitment of running back/linebacker?John Kirton?(6-3, 248, 4.6) from Mill Creek (Wash.) Jackson.

The Huskies want him to report to camp at about 235 pounds. The UW brass has huge plans for Kirton. They want him to be the big powerful tailback that the Huskies haven't had since Corey Dillon.

Kirton is a tremendous athlete who came into the season as one of the state's top linebacker prospects and ended up as the state's best running prospect in a long a time.

The Dawgs get a player who came up one yard short of the State of Washington's single season rushing record. Kirton rushed for 2,675 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Ironically Kirton played in one less game and four times this season, he didn't play in the second half.
The opposition that he played against was impressed too.

Get a load of what one opposing coach said about Kirton.
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"Athletes like Kirton are simply not normal," Edmunds (Wash.) Woodway head coach John Gradwohl said. "Backs like Kirton only come around once every twenty years."

"The only player that I can compare him to is (former KC Chief great) Christian Okoye," Gradwohl said. "Kirton's size, speed and moves make him that way."

Washington wins the services of Kirton over offers from Oregon and Washington State. He also had interest from Oregon State, UCLA, Cal, Michigan and Nebraska.

This get harkens back to the day when Washington was landing the top talent in the northwest and competing for national championships.Football High Jackson Johnie Kurtin School Washington

About the AuthorDirk Knudsen

Dirk is a lifelong resident of the Pacific NW; athlete and Merit scholar. He runs camps, clinics, and has been a sports writer and analyst for nearly a decade now; mostly with Rivals.com as the editor of OregonPreps and WashingtonPreps.com. Dirk is the founder of NWPR & BrainChampions.org; a charity for injured athletes suffering from Brain Trauma / Concussion. He is a father of three and married.