Cal Sports Report

SMU Transfer RB LJ Johnson Jr. Commits to Cal

Johnson, a big-time high school recruit, had committed to transfer to Rice a week ago but reportedly changed his mind
Jake Curtis|
LJ Johnson Jr.
LJ Johnson Jr. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

In this story:

California Golden Bears

SMU transfer running back LJ Johnson Jr., who had committed to Rice a week ago, has changed his mind and has committed to Cal, according to Rivals and Hayes Fawcett of On3.

Johnson was a big-time high school recruit coming out of Cypress, Texas, four years ago. He had offers from Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma, Mississippi, LSU, Miami, Colorado, UCLA and Texas Tech among others before signing with Texas A&M and spending his first two college seasons with the Aggies.

He was rated a four-star prospect. ESPN ranked him as the nation's 87th-best prospect in the class overall and the fifth-best running back prospect..

Cal will be the third college for the 5-foot-10, 219-pound Johnson, who started seven games in his two seasons at SMU. He then entered the transfer portal and committed to Rice on April 24 but has switched his commitment to Cal. He has one season of college eligibility remaining.

Johnson is the third running back Cal has added through the transfer portal this spring. Cal previously got commitments from Texas-San Antonio transfer running back Brandon High Jr., and North Carolina State transfer running back Kendrick Raphael.

Cal lost its top five running backs to the transfer portal in April. Jaydn Ott (Oklahoma) and Jaivian Thomas (UCLA) were the key running back departures.

Johnson played in 13 games, including three starts, for SMU in 2024 as a redshirt junior when he rushed for 303 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, and scored five rushing touchdowns.  He also caught 11 passes.

Johnson was more productive in 2023 when he played in 11 games and made four starts for SMU. He rushed for 576 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, and scored four rushing touchdowns.  He also had seven receptions for 58 yards that season.

Johnson spent his first two college seasons at Texas A&M, redshirting his first year in 2021 when he played in four games and rushed for 76 yards.

In 2022, he played in six games for the Aggies and totaled just 39 rushing yards on 10 carries.

Johnson amassed 4,353 rushing yards, 77 rushing touchdowns and 421 receiving yards during his high school career at Cy-Fair High School.

Recent articles:

LB Jaxon Pyatt Commits to Cal for Class of 2026

Two experts project ex-Cal QB Fernando Mendoza to be a first-round pick in 2026 NFL draft

Texas Tech safety Jordan Sanford transfers to Cal

BYU transfer LB Harrison Taggart commits to Cal

Penn State transfer kicker Chase Meyer commits to Cal

Houston Christian defensive lineman Zae Smith commits to Cal

Inspiration former Cal rugby player Robert Paylor writes a book

Published
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football