Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson spent the majority of his NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Looking back, the legendary receiver believes he never would have made it big in the league without the influence of one specific family member.

“Grandma very strict, you know, she ruled with an iron fist. Growing up in Liberty City in the 80s, 90s. Obviously, you understand that's a dope era,” Johnson said on the latest episode of the Daniel Cormier Show.

Johnson's grandmother, Bessie Flowers, was a teacher and counselor at the Miami-Dade Public School System for 40 years.

So, when Ocho was a kid playing football in school, he wasn't able to manage his grades very well. That forced him to change schools, and his grandma made him realize how important it was for him to focus on both to have a successful career in football.

"When you're that young, you're influenced easily by your surroundings and your upbringing. And she did everything she could to keep me from going on that other side of the train track," Johnson added.

Cormier asked how she managed to keep Ocho, a very active kid, occupied and out of trouble.

“There were two parks I grew up on that were close in the area...So outside of that, at the pool, swimming, tennis, keeping me active and everything, piano lessons, saxophone lessons, baseball," added Johnson. "She had me in literally everything, so I had no time to do anything else outside of sports."

The guidance ultimately helped Johnson carve out a legendary career at the pro level.

He went on to earn six Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pros in his 11-year career in the league. However, Johnson wasn't very fortunate when it came to winning.

Johnson Opens Up On Poor Seasons With The Bengals

During his 10 years with the Bengals, Johnson could only make the playoffs twice. While most players would be upset about it, Johnson had a different look at things.

“I think I played 11 years. I had maybe one winning season. Collectively, it was one winning season for us as a team, but for me, I had 11 winning seasons,” he said on the podcast.

Johnson had six back-to-back over 1,000 receiving yards seasons and also led the league in that category in 2006. Even though Cincy didn't make it to the Super Bowl in those years, Ocho never thought of leaving.

"That don't work. I tried that one year being disgruntled," Johnson said. "I had a 1400-yard season. I complained about leaving behind closed doors, and the next season I had like 500 yards."

The years Ocho is talking about are 2007 and 2008. In the 2007 season, he racked up 1,440 yards, and in the next one, just 540 yards.

“No matter how good you are, once you hit year 10, even Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, the best of the best...They weed you out when it's time to go. It's a business,” he added.

What do you think about Johnson’s comments? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Dhruv Vishnu Nair

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore