TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Pastor Glenn Burns says he didn't know who De'Andre Johnson was when the former FSU football quarterback called him.
But as Johnson explained why he wanted to volunteer at Burns' faith-based organization called the Good Samaritan Network, Burns began to recall Johnson's recent battery charge against a woman he punched at a local nightclub, prompting the football program to kick him off the team.
Burns says Johnson reached out to him before the now-viral surveillance video was released, asking about ways he could help the community, specifically women who've been abused.
Since then, Burns says Johnson has worked at the organization's headquarters, the thrift shop, and the Chelsea House, a transitional living program from homeless and abused women.
The two met on the day the video was released.
"He was very quiet," Burns recalls. "As the day wore on and the video came out, he was getting calls from everybody -- from his mother to his lawyer and everybody else. We had a good soul-searching conversation, because he couldn't take it back. He was clearly remorseful about what had happened. It seemed to be a little more than just, 'Well, how's this gonna look, and how will this make me look?' He clearly was really upset with himself."
Burns says Johnson seems focused on fitting in time to volunteer with the nonprofit, as he goes back to FSU to finish up his classes.
The pastor adds Johnson plans to keep volunteering as long as he's in Tallahassee.
