Furious 7 featured a clever scene in which Dwayne Johnson’s character watched himself playing college football in the ’90s. Johnson, a.k.a. “The Rock” to wrestling fans, first joined The Fast Saga in 2011 with his portrayal as Luke Hobbs in Fast Five. Since then, he cemented himself as one of the most prominent members of the Fast & Furious franchise, even co-leading a recent spinoff film.
When Hobbs was introduced in the franchise, he was a U.S. federal agent and bounty hunter on the search for Dominic Toretto and his crew. It was believed that Dom killed DEA agents until Hobbs uncovered the real culprit. Hobbs then joined Dom’s team and remained an ally in Fast & Furious 6 when they targeted Owen Shaw. After a successful takedown, Owen’s brother, Deckard, went looking for revenge in Furious 7 but first came face-to-face with Hobbs.
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Hobbs and Deckard battled in out at the start of Furious 7 when the latter was looking for files on Dom and the crew. The agent ended up severely wounded in an explosion that sent him to the hospital. He remained in a hospital bed for a majority of the movie until Hobbs learned that Deckard teamed up with the mercenary, Mose Jakande, to kill Dom’s team with a UVA drone. Before the TV in his room switched to a breaking news report, Hobbs was peacefully watching a football game with his daughter. The game was from 1993 and featured the University of Miami taking on rival Florida State University. Johnson played for Miami at that time and the sequence shown was a play in which he sacked Florida’s star quarterback, Charlie Ward.
Dwayne Johnson Pursued A Career in Football Before Professional Wrestling
Johnson received a full scholarship to the University of Miami where he played football from 1990 until 1994. He was a defensive lineman during his time as a member of the Miami Hurricanes and was a member of the 1991 national championship team. Sacking Ward, the play depicted in the Furious 7 scene, was one of his most notable plays, although Johnson’s team ended up losing that game. After suffering a few injuries, Johnson was replaced as a starter by the future Hall of Famer, Warren Sapp. After college, Johnson signed with the Calgary Stampede of the Canadian Football League but he was cut from the team.
When football was off of the table, Johnson turned to professional wrestling since he already had a family connection in the industry. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Rocky Johnson, as well as his grandfather, until he rose to superstardom as The Rock. During his successful wrestling career, Johnson took a shot at acting. His first gig came in That ’70s Show before he acquired roles in movies. In the mid-2000s, Johnson retired from wrestling and turned to a full-time career in acting.
Though Johnson is still involved in the world of professional wrestling, he’s gone on to become one of the most popular actors in Hollywood. Aside from appearing in The Fast Saga, the actor has headlined big-budget films like San Andreas, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Johnson is also set to star in Jungle Cruise and Black Adam in the near future. A lot has changed since Johnson was a college football player and his career has only expanded since that was reiterated in Furious 7.
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