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nsas City's 2017 draft class and quickly formed a tight friendship as they tried to build the Chiefs into a Super Bowl contender.Mahomes now must do it without Hunt Derrick Nnadi Jersey , released over the weekend after a video surfaced that showed him knocking over and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel hallway in February."We had a close relationship," Mahomes said Sunday after he threw four TD passes in Kansas City's 40-33 victory over the Oakland Raiders."I saw the stuff that happened. We don't do those things. At the same time I focused on our organization, the Chiefs. I know we have to keep moving forward and going out there to win football games if we want to have success this season."The win over the Raiders capped a roller coaster of emotions for Chiefs players, who watched Hunt get sent home from the facility on Friday after TMZ posted the video. Hunt is shown being restrained several times by friends before pushing a woman to the ground, when he proceeds to kick her. Police were called to the scene during the Feb. 10 incident, no charges were filed and no punishment was handed out by the NFL.That changed soon after the video was posted, with the league placing Hunt on the Commissioner Exemption List and then the Chiefs releasing Hunt shortly after that.Coach Andy Reid declined to elaborate on the move, saying only it was difficult and praising his players for how they dealt with any distraction."We made the decision that we made," Reid said. "We put out a statement to explain the situation. As we've done in the past, when things come up that's where we go. We handle it within and we handle it with the person that it affects. We've done all of those things."Hunt led the NFL in rushing as a rookie with 1 Breeland Speaks Jersey ,327 yards and eight touchdowns in helping Kansas City make the playoffs. He had run for 824 yards this season, with seven touchdowns rushing and seven more receiving, in helping the Chiefs (10-2) race out to a lead in the AFC West.Now Kansas City must go through the stretch run of the season and the playoffs without one of its most important offensive pieces and popular locker room personality."That's my brother," said Spencer Ware, who replaced Hunt as the starting running back. "It's a tough situation. But like I said, the men in this circle, the men in our locker room, the organization, Chiefs kingdom 鈥?we got one goal to win the Super Bowl. We got to stay distraction-free. I don't have anything else to say about that."They managed to survive just fine against the struggling Raiders (2-10) with Ware rushing 14 times for 47 yards and a 1-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-goal direct snap. Damien Williams added 38 yards on five carries, Tyreek Hill gained 37 on an end-around and a lateral Patrick Mahomes Jersey , and Mahomes ran for 52 on his own.The Chiefs finished with 174 yards rushing in all, their second-highest total of the season."It was great to get Spencer back in there working on more of a full-time basis, as opposed to being a relief pitcher or third-down player," Reid said. "Williams then stepped in and had a couple of nice runs." The former Texas Longhorn faces a tough battle to make the team, but he has another former Longhorn firmly in his corner"When the NFL Draft concluded on April 27, two Texas Longhorns had been selected — both of them day-three picks. Defensive end Charles Omenihu went to the Houston Texans in the fifth round, and cornerback Kris Boyd was taken in the seventh by the Minnesota Vikings.13 other draft-eligible Longhorns were still waiting for their chance to be signed as NFL undrafted free agents.And the first one to be signed was linebacker Gary Johnson, whose agent Nicole Lynn announced his signing by the Kansas City Chiefs at 5:33 p.m. Arrowhead Time.Andrew Miller of Fansided’s Longhorns site trumpeted that Johnson’s signing was “one of the biggest steals that any team will get in undrafted free agency.” That might have displayed more than just a tinge of partisan hyperbole, but it is true that draft analysts thought Johnson would be selected on day three.Our own KC Draft Guide rated Johnson as a sixth-round pick, and NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein figured he would be selected in the seventh round or become a priority free agent.Certainly Travis Kelce Jersey , our SB Nation sister site Burnt Orange Nation saw Johnson as a legitimate draft prospect in their draft profile, noting Johnson’s team-leading 90 tackles (61 solo), 16.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in his senior season.That eye-opening time opened attracted the attention of several NFL teams, as USA Today’s Jori Epstein reported.Burnt Orange Nation quoted Johnson as saying that would be all right with him.Johnson’s highlights during his two seasons at Texas reveal a speedy player with the ability to shoot gaps, hit hard and make big plays in the backfield.If any of those plays remind you of someone — perhaps another former Texas Longhorn named Johnson — it’s not a coincidence.“My favorite player came here. And he actually went to Texas. That’s Derrick Johnson,” Johnson told old friend BJ Kissel in a video published on the Chiefs official web site on Thursday. “So you know, once I first got the call that the Chiefs were even interested in me, it was like somewhere I could see myself playing. I watched Derrick Johnson play here.”According to Gary, the two Johnsons have been in regular contact for some time.“I try to text him like every day,” he said. “He’ll get back to me. I just check on him and he checks on me. He’s like Tyreek Hill Jersey , ‘Are you good? Are you being yourself? Are you staying in shape? Are you staying in your playbook?’ Things like that. It makes me feel good that he’s worried about me — in a good way and not a bad way. Just trying to look out for me the best way he can. That guy has everything else in the world to be doing rather than texting a former linebacker from his alma mater. So I take that, run with it and try to learn from him.”The just-retired former Chiefs linebacker says he is proud that another former Longhorn is following in his footsteps.“I’m a University of Texas guy through-and-through; I bleed burnt orange,” Derrick Johnson told Kissel. “So to see that Gary Johnson got picked up with the Chiefs was amazing — because before that we would text all the time back and forth. Being a mentor to a younger guy — a speedy linebacker like himself — I just want to encourage him to just keep being better on and off the field. And to see him come to the Chiefs after I’m retiring, that was pretty awesome to see. He’s really excited about his opportunities here, and I’m definitely going to help him out along the way.”It will be helpful for the likely Chiefs Hall of Fame player to be in the young linebacker’s corner, because while he exhibits traits that will be useful in the 4-3 Under scheme that new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will employ, he is not without some flaws — as our KC Draft Guide noted.But it probably wouldn’t be wise to count him out.To come this far, Johnson has already seen more than his share of struggle.Photo by Tim Warner/Getty ImagesEpstein’s fascinating USA Today profile — well worth a read — tells how he was born to a 14-year-old mother who fought drug addiction and ultimately lost him to the foster care system in Alabama.The group home in which he lived during middle school didn’t allow football, and after playing in eighth and ninth grade, he became academically ineligible for his sophomore season.After moving to another town in his junior year Carlos Hyde Jersey , he was benched.But in his senior season, things changed.After committing to play at Alabama, Johnson had to withdraw because a loan he had taken out to take a math course didn’t meet SEC rules.He came to Texas in 2017. Johnson’s words to Kissel on Thursday reflected his personal growth in Texas.“I love to do whatever for my brothers and my program to win,” he said. “It wasn’t just because of my athleticism; it was more my defensive line. They got me free to go make those tackles-for-loss and all that type of stuff. It was much more credit to them.”And Johnson has now met another coach who will set high standards for him.“He’s a tough guy on me,” he said of new Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House. “He’s not a lover guy. So he’s not going to love on you — and I like that. If a coach doesn’t say something to you, you should be worried. When a guy is always on you, you should appreciate that and soak it in, and know that he is trying to make you better.”