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Tradition upheld: Dionte Johnson
Buckeye can do dad two better with fourth Michigan win
Friday, November 16, 2007 4:10 AM
By Ken Gordon

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

There are days where Monica Hawkins feels like a walking Ohio State showcase, like Brutus Buckeye without the big head.

She brings it upon herself, mind you. The mother of Buckeyes fullback Dionte Johnson, Hawkins routinely wears a necklace containing two of the three gold pants Johnson has earned for beating Michigan.

"People are constantly stopping me and saying, 'Can I touch them, can I look at them, can I take a picture?' " said Hawkins, who lives in Columbus. "During the season, I wear them almost every day."

Johnson gave his other pair of gold pants to his maternal grandmother, Carol Hawkins.

And he has a chance to go four for four this Saturday, which would be something only two other classes have accomplished at Ohio State.

But her son's gold pants are not the first Monica has seen firsthand. Dionte's father, former Buckeyes linebacker Thomas "Pepper" Johnson, earned two pairs for victories over Michigan in 1982 and '84.

After Dionte earned his third pair last season, he captured family bragging rights.

"He definitely has something on me," Pepper Johnson said. "I'm happy for him."

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Tradition upheld: Dionte Johnson