How Chris Johnson Jr. Went From Scoring Against Clemson to Joining its Backfield

Last October, an SMU running back by the name Chris Johnson Jr. scampered into the end zone on a six-yard run to give the Clemson Tigers a loss at Memorial Stadium.

Now, more than four months later, he switched a Mustang on his helmet for the Paw, and he’s looking for more scores inside Death Valley next season with his transfer to the program in January.

Johnson wasn’t expecting to end up in the transfer portal, but when he entered on Jan. 5 during the offseason, Clemson was a familiar face for the tailback.

“They recruited me coming out of high school, so I’ve been familiar with them over the years,” he said on Friday evening, “but I went to a different place and had other plans.”

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native stayed in his homestate, beginning at Miami in 2023 before leaving after two seasons. He found a new home with SMU, and he began to use his speed to turn heads throughout conference play.

A former Florida 3A champion in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, the wheels were on display in front of 80,000 Clemson fans. Johnson said that playing in a venue that others dream about was a blessing.

“It definitely was a big game for me because, you know, like I said, I was being recruited by Clemson, so I know a lot of people on the team and it’s just going against Clemson, like that’s a big school,” he said. “That’s a Power Five school, like that’s a place that kids dream about going and playing.”

Now, Johnson joins an offense led by new coordinator Chad Morris, who plans on using multiple running backs into his system to bring back a ground game emphasis. The redshirt junior’s elite speed will have him as a candidate for being a top contributor within the room.

But that wouldn’t have happened without the tailback buying into Swinney’s program.

“I’m pretty sure everybody’s seen it, but just buying into the program and just getting where I want to be and Coach Swinney knows what I’m capable of and he knows what I bring to the table,” Johnson said. “He just wants to see me at my best.”

Johnson enters a wide-open competition at running back during this offseason, but also a competition that goes across the roster. He will look to use that experience, as well as his speed, to break through the depth chart, even potentially seeing snaps at returner if that’s how the group wants to go.

One thing is for certain: he will bring anything needed to win.

“I just want to bring my game to the table,” he said. “You know what I could do. I’m fast, you know, but that’s not really the only thing that I’m capable of doing, but I just want to be the biggest help that I can be to this offense this year.”