San Diego State cornerback earns another second-team All-America honor

Chris Johnson honored by The Sporting News

Sep 6, 2025; Pullman, Washington, USA; San Diego State Aztecs football team. | James Snook-Imagn Images

Another day brought another honor for San Diego State senior cornerback Chris Johnson.

Johnson was named second-team All-America pick by The Sporting News on Wednesday. 

It is the sixth All-America selection for Johnson, who led SDSU’s ballhawking defense and is expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft. Johnson received first-team selections by Pro Football Focus Bleacher Report and Sports Info Solutions. Besides The Sporting News, he also received second-team honors from Pro Football & Sports Network and The Associated Press.

Who is Chris Johnson?

The senior from Eastvale completed one of the best regular seasons ever by an Aztecs defensive player. He was named Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year and is a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist 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.

Bolstering Johnson’s NFL draft stock is the fact he’s tied for the top-graded cornerback in the country with a 92.0 defensive grade per Pro Football Focus and has the second-highest pass coverage grade (92.4), both with a minimum of just 10 defensive snaps. According to PFF, when targeted against Johnson this year, receivers are 18-for-45 (44.2%) for 185 yards, four interceptions and no touchdowns, for a defensive pass efficiency rating of 56.76.

San Diego State Aztecs cornerback Chris Johnson (1). | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

Johnson missed the Hawaii game with an injury, and perhaps not coincidentally, the Rainbow Warriors put up 300 yards of total offense in the first half and scored 38 points in handing SDSU one of its three losses. Despite missing that game, Johnson is tied for first in FBS in interceptions returned for a touchdown, fourth in interception yards, tied for 16th in total interceptions and tied for 34th in total pass breakups (9).

Johnson led an Aztec defense that had an FBS-leading three shutouts. He put a charge into a 34-0 home win against California by returning an interception 97 yards for a touchdown. SDSU’s defense has held seven opponents to seven or fewer points. The only other teams to do that in the CFP era are Alabama (2016), Clemson (2018), Georgia (2021) and Michigan (2023)).

What’s next

Johnson and the Aztecs (9-3) will face the high-flying and 23rd-ranked North Texas Mean Green (11-2) in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 27 in Albuquerque. The game kicks off at 2:45 p.m. PT and will be shown on ESPN. 

SDSU finished 6-2 in the MW and tied for first with Boise State, New Mexico and UNLV, but was left out of a MW Championship appearance because of computer rankings.