San Diego State cornerback depth chart after Chris Johnson’s first-round NFL Draft selection

While celebrating Chris Johnson being picked by the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the NFL Draft, the San Diego State Aztecs know they have some work ahead of them in replacing him.

It goes beyond the loss of Johnson, who spent his entire four-year career at SDSU. Fellow cornerback Bryce Phillips also used up his eligibility and hoped to be drafted in the later rounds or sign with a team as a free agent.

In fact, the secondary, which was one of the big reasons for SDSU’s ballhawking defensive identity last year, will have to replace four of five starters.

Johnson set the bar high with one of the best seasons by a defender in Aztecs history. He was named the Mountain West’s co-Defensive Player of the Year after piling up 49 tackles (36 solo), four interceptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns, nine pass breakups, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries.

Who’s up next

SDSU won’t release a new depth chart until after spring ball, which concludes with the spring game on campus on May 2.

The depth chart for the New Mexico Bowl against North Texas showed Prince Williams and senior Deshaun McCuin behind Johnson at left cornerback. and Isaiah Buxton and senior Eric Butler, who was the starting strong safety, behind Phillips at right cornerback.

With McCuin and Butler graduating and Buxton transferring, that leaves just Williams returning from that two-deep.

Williams played in 12 of 14 games as a redshirt freshman but had just nine total tackles, although he did force one fumble, in a wild loss to North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl. He appeared in three games the prior season, without recording any stats, before deciding to redshirt.

Portal guys

The Aztecs dipped into the transfer portal to bring in some experience at cornerback, including three who played in the FBS Big Sky Conference.

Mike Lindsay transferred after two seasons at Idaho State. He appeared in 10 games for the Bengals during the 2025 season, finishing with 28 total tackles, including 17 solo stops, as well as one interception and five pass breakups.

Jason Oliver came to Montezuma Mesa following three seasons at Sacramento State, after starting his career at Colorado. He was an honorable mention All-Big Sky pick last season after playing in all 12 games and starting 10 at cornerback. He had 36 total tackles and two interceptions.

Caleb Ricks returned to his native Southern California from Idaho, where he appeared in all 12 games last season and had 26 tackles and one interception for 27 yards. He was named to the FCS Football Central 2025 Freshman All-American Team. He recorded the highest forced incompletion rate among FCS cornerbacks (29.3%) and was the fourth-highest-graded cornerback in the Big Sky per PFSN (89.8). His brother, Elias, played at LSU and Alabama before catching on with the Philadelphia Eagles for three seasons.

Juco transfer Jamison Starks of Foothill College in Los Altos had 37 tackles, three interceptions and 13 passes defended in 11 games as a freshman.

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