Dillon Johnson
{{Short description|American football player (born 2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Dillon Johnson
| image = 2024-0108-Dillon Johnson.jpg
| caption = Johnson with the Washington Huskies in January 2024
| current_team =
| number =
| position = Running back
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|6|15}}
| birth_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 217
| high_school = St. Joseph (Greenville)
| college = Mississippi State (2020–2022)
Washington (2023)
| undraftedyear = 2024
| pastteams =
- Tennessee Titans ({{NFL Year|2024}})*
- Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2024}})*
| status =
| highlights =
- Second-team All-Pac-12 (2023)
| pfr = J/JohnDi02
}}
Dillon Alexander Johnson-Norris (born June 15, 2001) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Washington Huskies.
Early life
Johnson attended St. Joseph High School in Greenville, Mississippi, where he threw for 957 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 4,287 yards and 54 touchdowns. He recorded 389 tackles, ten forced fumbles, and nine interceptions on defense and had a career average of 48.5 yards per punt as a punter.{{cite web |last1=Vorel |first1=Mike |title=What can Huskies expect out of transfer RB Dillon Johnson? 'It's going to be scary, man' |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/what-can-huskies-expect-out-of-transfer-rb-dillon-johnson-its-going-to-be-scary-man/ |website=The Seattle Times |date=21 February 2023 |access-date=29 October 2023}} Coming out of high school, Johnson was rated as a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at Mississippi State University.{{cite web |last1=Nemec |first1=Andrew |title=Dillon Johnson, 4-star athlete, commits to Mississippi State over Oregon, others |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/2019/06/dillon-johnson-4-star-athlete-commits-to-mississippi-state-over-oregon-others.html |website=Oregon Live.com |date=21 June 2019 |access-date=29 October 2023}}
College career
=Mississippi State=
During Johnson's first season in 2020 (which was shortened due to COVID-19), he rushed 51 times for 225 yards and four touchdowns, while also making 36 receptions for 157 yards.{{cite web |title=Dillon Johnson College Stats |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/dillon-johnson-1.html |website=Sports Reference |access-date=29 October 2023}} In 2021, he rushed for 485 yards and four touchdowns on 89 carries, while also notching 65 receptions for 422 yards and a touchdown. In 2022, Johnson rushed for 488 yards and three touchdowns on 89 carries and hauled in 48 receptions for 285 yards.{{cite web |last1=Newsome |first1=Langston |title='Leach is glad I'm leaving': Mississippi State's Dillon Johnson enters transfer portal |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/mississippi-state/2022/12/08/mississippi-state-football-dillon-johnson-enters-transfer-portal-words-for-mike-leach-not-tough/69710736007/ |website=The Clarion-Ledger |date=8 December 2022 |access-date=29 October 2023}} After the season, he entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.
Johnson finished his career at Mississippi State with 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns on 229 carries, while also bringing in 149 receptions for 864 yards and one touchdown.{{cite web |last1=Froyd |first1=Crissy |title=Mississippi State football: transfer RB Dillon Johnson sets commitment date |url=https://www.si.com/college/mississippistate/football/mississippi-state-football-running-back-transfer-dillon-johnson-sets-commitment-day |work=Mississippi State Bulldogs on SI |publisher=SI.com |date=26 December 2022 |access-date=29 October 2023}}
=Washington=
{{see also|2023 Washington Huskies football team}}
Johnson transferred to the University of Washington.{{cite web |last1=Vorel |first1=Mike |title=UW Huskies add another transfer running back in Mississippi State's Dillon Johnson |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/uw-huskies-add-another-transfer-running-back-in-mississippi-states-dillon-johnson/ |website=The Seattle Times |date=3 January 2023 |access-date=29 October 2023}} In week 5 of the 2023 season, he rushed for a career-high 91 yards and two touchdowns, while also making five catches for 48 yards, in a 31-24 win over Arizona.{{cite web |last1=Hanson |first1=Lars |title=Dillon Johnson Has Career Night With 91 Yards Rushing in the Desert |url=https://www.si.com/college/washington/football/dillon-johnson-has-career-night-with-91-yards-rushing-in-the-desert |work=Washington Huskies on SI |publisher=SI.com |date=October 2023 |access-date=29 October 2023}} In week 7, Johnson rushed 20 times for 100 yards and a touchdown in a win over Oregon.{{cite web |last1=Forde |first1=Pat |title=Washington Hangs On Against Oregon in Back-and-Forth Thriller |url=https://www.si.com/college/2023/10/14/washington-beats-oregon-michael-penix-bo-nix |work=Sports Illustrated |date=14 October 2023 |access-date=29 October 2023}} He ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the final Pac-12 Championship game as Washington defeated Oregon. Johnson had two rushing touchdowns and 49 yards against Texas in the Sugar Bowl before leaving the game with an ankle injury.{{cite web |url=https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football/dillon-johnson-injury-washington-michigan-college-football-national-championship|title=Dillon Johnson injury: Update on Washington RB vs. Michigan in national title |work=CFB-HQ On SI |publisher=SI.com|access-date= January 12, 2023}} In the National Championship against Michigan, he led the Huskies with 33 rushing yards on 11 carries.{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore/_/gameId/401551789|title=Michigan 34-13 Washington |website=ESPN|access-date= January 12, 2023}}
=Statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ College statistics ! rowspan="2"| Season ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Rushing ! colspan="4"| Receiving | ||||||||||
| GP | GS | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| colspan="15" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Mississippi State Bulldogs}}"| Mississippi State Bulldogs | ||||||||||
| 2020
| 11 || 1 || 51 || 225 || 4.4 || 4 || 36 || 157 || 4.4 || 0 | ||||||||||
| 2021
| 13 || 7 || 89 || 485 || 5.4 || 4 || 65 || 422 || 6.5 || 1 | ||||||||||
| 2022
| 11 || 6 || 89 || 488 || 5.5 || 3 || 48 || 285 || 5.9 || 0 | ||||||||||
| colspan="15" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Washington Huskies}}"| Washington Huskies | ||||||||||
| 2023
| 14 || 14 || 233 || 1,195 || 5.1 || 16 || 24 || 190 || 7.9 || 0 | ||||||||||
| ! colspan="1"| [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/dillon-johnson-1.html Career] | 49 | 28 | 462 | 2,393 | 5.2 | 27 | 173 | 1,054 | 6.1 | 1 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 11 5/8
| weight = 217
| dash = 4.68
| ten split = 1.62
| twenty split = 2.68
| vertical = 31.5
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 9
| bench = 24
| arm span = 30
| hand span = 9 3/8
| note = All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/dillon-johnson/32004a4f-4820-2839-7d49-58385f20e90d |title=Dillon Johnson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=March 12, 2024}}{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1040843&DraftYear=2024 |title=2024 NFL Draft Scout Dillon Johnson College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=March 12, 2024}}
}}
=Tennessee Titans=
On April 27, 2024, Johnson signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent after he was not selected in the 2024 NFL draft.{{Cite web|title=Washington running back Dillon Johnson signs with Tennessee Titans|url=https://uwhuskieswire.usatoday.com/2024/04/27/washington-huskies-dillon-johnson-tennessee-titans-nfl-draft-tony-pollard/|access-date=April 29, 2024|website=uwhuskieswire.usatoday.com}} He was waived on July 25.{{cite web |last1=Sikes |first1=Ryan |title=Titans waive promising UDFA running back |url=https://titanswire.usatoday.com/2024/07/25/titans-waive-promising-udfa-running-back-dillon-johnson/ |website=Titans Wire |access-date=27 July 2024}}
=Carolina Panthers=
On July 31, 2024, Johnson was signed by the Carolina Panthers.{{cite web |last1=Gantt |first1=Darin |title=Panthers add running back |url=https://www.panthers.com/news/panthers-add-running-back-dillon-johnson |website=Panthers.com |access-date=1 August 2024}} He was waived on August 19, and re-signed to the practice squad on September 5.{{cite web|title=Injuries force a handful of transactions Monday|url=https://www.panthers.com/news/injuries-force-a-handful-of-transactions-monday|author=Gantt, Darin|website=Panthers.com|date=August 19, 2024}} Johnson was released by the Panthers on December 19.{{cite web |title=Dillon Johnson: Cut by Carolina |url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/dillon-johnson-cut-by-carolina-591714/ |website=CBS Sports |access-date=20 December 2024}}
Personal life
Johnson has one son, Dillon Johnson Jr., who was born on August 2, 2022.{{cite web |last1=Vorel |first1=Mike |title=Dillon Johnson says UW has 'best offense in the country.' Soon enough, he'll show you why. |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/aug/18/dillon-johnson-says-uw-has-best-offense-in-the-cou/ |website=The Spokesman-Review |date=18 August 2023 |access-date=29 October 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Krajisnik |first1=Stefan |title=Mississippi State football's Dillon Johnson balancing dad life, preseason practice |url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/mississippi-state/2022/08/15/mississippi-state-football-dillon-johnson-running-back-new-father/10308602002/ |website=The Clarion-Ledger |date=15 August 2022 |access-date=29 October 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://hailstate.com/sports/football/roster/dillon-johnson/6453 Mississippi State Bulldogs bio]
- [https://gohuskies.com/sports/football/roster/dillon-johnson/15029 Washington Huskies bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dillon}}
Category:Players of American football from Greenville, Mississippi
Category:American football running backs
Category:Mississippi State Bulldogs football players
Category:Washington Huskies football players