From under-recruited to the most experienced player in program history
The track experience helped Johnson, then a 230-pound pass rusher, put up impressive high school testing numbers. Additionally, he was highly productive with multiple honors. However, he wasn’t heavily recruited. While his success at wrestling made him successful on the football field, it ultimately hindered his recruiting process.
“I was very late compared to most other people because I did both wrestling and football,” Johnson explains. “A lot of people believed that I was only going to become a wrestler. Whenever people were going to camps and pro days, I was wrestling all year round. A lot of times, my name just wasn’t out there as much as other people.”
Playing for a high school that wasn’t a consistent producer of college football talent didn’t help, either. However, after a lot of self-promoting and an appearance in an article enthusing about his talents, some late offers and invites to camp resulted in multiple collegiate opportunities to progress his football journey. He chose Missouri State, offering a unique perspective on what goes into the decision.
“I didn’t try to look at it from the football aspect of it,” Johnson says. “I tried to think of it as ‘I’ve got to live here a long time.’ So, it needed to be a place that I was comfortable living at. I’m from Bloomington, where Illinois State is at. It’s got that college town feel. When I got to Missouri State, I felt that familiar connection. Even though it’s a city, it’s got that college-town-type feel.”
Redshirting and overcoming some adversity
Having been recruited to play defensive end for Missouri State, Johnson’s 230-pound frame wasn’t going to cut it at the college level. Subsequently, he redshirted in 2016, something he always expected to happen. It allowed him to develop physically and mentally on the field while maturing personally off the field. The physical development saw him add 70 pounds, and he tipped the scales at the Senior Bowl at exactly 300 pounds.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be blessed with a good metabolism and a decent body,” Johnson reflects on his weight gain. “I’d never experienced a true weight room. It was my first time working out every day, constantly being fed protein and stuff like that. Diving into that type of lifestyle and doing it day in, day out, naturally promoted my body to hit that type of growth.”
Johnson made his debut for Missouri State in 2017, admitting he “wasn’t sure what to expect” before embarking on a career that has seen him become the most experienced player in program history. The Bears have had two exceptionally fruitful seasons to end his career as well. However, his journey hasn’t always been a success story.
“It took a minute,” Johnson says. “I wouldn’t say I immediately caught on to what I was supposed to be. It took me a while. I started struggling towards the middle because I felt like I was stagnating as a player. Something just wasn’t clicking right. Eventually, I talked to one of my coaches, and he started teaching me more about the game outside of what I knew at my position. Once I expanded myself beyond that, I feel like that’s when it all came together.”
Personal performances breed program success
After battling through his “stagnation,” Johnson emerged on the other side as a productive member of an ascending Missouri State program. Both player and program had battled tough times, but amid the disruption of the 2020 FCS season, the Bears reached the FCS Playoffs. This season, they became a nationally ranked and recognized program.
“It made me really proud,” Johnson reflected on his final two seasons with Missouri State. “Because the team hasn’t always had such good success. Going through all that was a lot of hard work and difficulty. So, once we started seeing that success, that felt like that was the reward that we’d been working for all of those years. Because of that, it didn’t feel like all that we went through was a waste.”
During the hard times and into the good times, a lot has changed at Missouri State. Entire coaching staffs have come and gone. Players have rotated, been dropped, moved in. However, one man has remained throughout the last six years of Bears football. A constant name on the roster and in the starting lineup, Johnson has played 55 consecutive games. In doing so, he ended his career as the most experienced player in program history.
“Nah,” he says with a wistful smile and a reflective glint in his eye as I ask Johnson if he ever thought he’d be in this position. “Coming from time, I’ve even talked to some of the other seniors who were with me, it really amazes me how much experience that I’ve gone through. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that my career ended up happening like it did.”
Johnson is a high-ceiling prospect with the potential to make it big
For many people, the NFLPA Bowl and Senior Bowl were the first time that they saw Johnson play football. For some NFL fans, they still might not have seen what he brings to the field. With that in mind, we switch focus for a little while from his journey to what he actually brings to the football field, how he sees the game, and ultimately how he wins.
“I definitely think my game is more adaptable than other people’s is,” Johnson says. “Throughout my entire experience, even in college, I’ve had to play a lot of different positions. I feel like I became a Swiss Army knife, or like the duct tape for any kind of problem. If we needed someone on the inside, they’d move me there. If we needed help on the outside, they moved me there. I have the potential to play any which way.”
“During the spring season 2021, against UNI,” Johnson replies when I ask for a standout game — one that encapsulates who he is on the field — from his college career. “I was chasing down quarterbacks. It really showed me filling in for different people. So if someone’s job was to contain but the quarterback broke loose, it showed me covering up and running the QB down. It showed my versatility.”
Versatility is a key word to understand what Johnson brings to the game at the next level. “I have the ability to pass rush. I have the ability to run stop. But, I feel like in a team setting, my ability to cover up for different positions, having someone who can swing to any position you need them to is a pretty important aspect.”
Johnson constantly proves himself while he paves the way for others
While his versatility is his strong suit, Johnson showcased a penchant for getting after the passer at the NFLPA Bowl. He might be an extremely effective and impactful run stuffer. But ask him to choose which element of his defensive art he prefers, and the Missouri State defensive tackle provides an insightful answer.
“Sacking the quarterback is more exciting,” he exclaims after a brief pause to consider. “Stopping the run makes you feel powerful, makes you feel like a wall. There’s something, something like a feeling that you’re hunting when you go after the quarterback. That’s really fun.”
His ascension to NFL Draft prospect over the last two months has been a whirlwind. He knows he’s earned this opportunity through hard work and determination. He wants his success, whatever that may look like in April, to open the door for other small-school prospects. Johnson knows that he has what it takes to succeed, but he also knows he’s not there yet. There’s more to prove. His best is yet to come.
“I still have a lot of room to grow. There’s still a lot more I can brush up on technique-wise. My body can always get better. I made it here, I made it to this level, but it isn’t the end of the road. I constantly have to keep improving, I constantly have to keep proving myself to other people. As long as I keep doing that, as long as I keep concentrated, I have the potential to keep making it big.”