Johnson has to be one of the oldest players set to play college football this fall. Johnson played his first collegiate season in 2019, at Georgia Tech. Which means that Johnson, though he didn’t see the field in that particular game, squared off with the likes of Bryce Perkins and Hasise Dubois, players long gone from college football, when Johnson’s Jackets took on UVa on November 9th of that year. Johnson played in four games in 2019 with GT, then saw action in nine games in 2020, which ended up being a free year for everyone because of Covid. Johnson played in 11 games in each of 2021, 2022 and 2023 for Georgia Tech, before transferring to Utah.

Johnson played in just one game for the Utes before getting injured. Johnson is eligible for this year at UVa because he redshirted in 2019 with just four games played, 2020 didn’t count, three years of eligibility used between 2021 and 2023, and presumptively is receiving a medical hardship for the 2024 season that was cut short. This fall will be Johnson’s seventh season in college football.

Johnson saw action across several seasons at Georgia Tech, and had his best year in 2023. Johnson started eight games that year and played in 11, and was a productive player in Brent Key’s defense. Johnson recorded 29 tackles, forced a pair of fumbles, had an interception and four PBU’s, helping the Yellow Jackets get back to the postseason. He recorded five tackles in Tech’s win over UVa in Charlottesville.

Johnson has a ton of experience and has played all of his years at P4 programs. Johnson’s age and experience should help UVa’s secondary, which will be a very different-looking group this fall. UVa had already taken six defensive backs when Johnson committed last month, but if they have room for him, why not? Johnson will have to earn any playing time he gets, and obviously he’ll need to stay healthy, but it seems like a win for UVa to add a player with his experience and production.

Johnson gets one more shot at college football in what should be a competitive secondary this fall. It’s been a long and winding road for Johnson who started his career so long ago, but he’s shown a willingness to take advantage of more opportunities to play college football, and why not? Especially as players can now take advantage of revenue sharing and NIL opportunities. Johnson will get another chance to prove himself at the ACC level, in what could, frankly, be the last season of football he ever plays. But coming to Virginia will give Johnson a chance to capitalize on a final year of eligibility financially, and compete for playing time.

Johnson will have a chance to compete and his experience could help him get on the field. If nothing else, Johnson could be a factor on special teams and provide depth in the secondary. Johnson is a bit of a wild card here, as he played sort of sparingly through most of his Georgia Tech career before having one really solid season, and then didn’t play last year at Utah. So it’s hard to know exactly where Johnson fits in relative to the other defensive backs UVa has on the roster. But Johnson will have the same chance as anyone else to earn playing time either on defense or special teams, and clearly the UVa staff felt that he was worth taking despite the fact that they’d already taken so many other defensive backs in the spring.