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Eastern Michigan surprises walk-on with scholarship at Detroit Lions game (Video)

Sam Cooper
·College football writer
In 2016, Chris Creighton led Eastern Michigan to its first bowl game in 29 seasons. (AP)
In 2016, Chris Creighton led Eastern Michigan to its first bowl game in 29 seasons. (AP)

The entire Eastern Michigan team got a surprise Saturday when Chris Creighton treated his players to a night at the Detroit Lions preseason game.

But the night got a whole lot better from there for one player.

Instead of a full-team walk-through on Saturday night, EMU made the trip to Detroit for the game against the New York Jets. EMU reached a bowl game for the first time in 29 years in 2016, so the Lions recognized the team on the video board during the second quarter. After answering a few questions from the in-stadium reporter, Creighton had a surprise for wideout Jaron Johnson, who was not-so-coincidentally seated right behind him.

Watch this:

“I had no idea. I just know it’s a blessing, I worked hard for it and I make my family proud,” Johnson told the team website. “My heart dropped when it happened to me I’m on the faithful and just grateful right now.”

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Johnson, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior from Moreno Valley, California, was one of EMU’s main kickoff returners in 2016. He returned 24 kicks for a total of 440 yards — an 18.3-yard average. Johnson also had three tackles on special teams.

Eastern Michigan was the second program to give out a scholarship at a pro sports game over the weekend. Kansas gave out four scholarships at the Kansas City Royals game.

The Eagles open their season against Charlotte at home on Sept. 1.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!