Michigan Hires Former Pitt Football Assistant

Johnson spent time this past offseason with Pitt as a volunteer recruiting assistant following the end of his college career, working with the transfer portal and bringing in players for visits during the winter and spring.

He only played in one game for Pitt in the 2024 season, in the 55-24 win over Kent State in the season opener at Acrisure Stadium on Aug. 31. He played in 19 snaps and made one tackle.

Johnson suffered a spinal column injury prior to the next game vs. Cincinnati in Week 2, which ended his season and playing career. It also required a long recovery, using a walker and learning how to walk again.

He is a Pittsburgh native, spending time at Taylor Allderdice High School, located in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh before transferring to Jeannette in Westmoreland County for his junior season in 2017. He excelled with Jeannette, making 134 tackles and 12 sacks en route to a 16-1 season and winning both the WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A Championships.

He transferred to Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio for his senior season, before committing to Bowling Green. He played in three games as a freshman, redshirted, and then entered the transfer portal.

Johnson ended up at FCS program Youngstown State and played four seasons there from 2020-23. He served mostly as a reserve defensive lineman in his first two seasons, playing in 14 games and making seven tackles.

He would see more time in 2022, playing in nine games and starting six. He made 13 tackles, five solo, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack that season.

Johnson had his most productive season in 2023, starting all 13 games for the Penguins. He made 25 tackles, 10 solo, 6.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and one fumble recovery.

He chose to transfer from Youngstown State following the season. He received many offers then, including one from Pitt, but chose to go to Illinois.

Johnson then entered the transfer portal again, posting a list of his top four schools, including Pitt, Arkansas and Michigan State, but ultimately chose to go to Mississippi State. 

Pitt would eventually convince Johnson to flip his commitment and he joined the program in the summer.