Husky Roster Review: Dillon Johnson Offered Only Fleeting Spring Glimpse

The Mississippi State transfer should be in the mix to compete for the No. 1 running back job.

Dillon Johnson took part in a pair of University of Washington spring football practices, served up a couple of lethal stiff arms and then he was done.

After proving tantalizing to everyone who briefly saw him in action, the Mississippi State transfer came up lame with an undisclosed injury — hamstring anyone? — and was relegated to a spectator role for the remainder of the April workouts.

While he'll be given every opportunity to start anew come Husky fall camp, the 6-foot, 216-pound Johnson had to be more than a little discouraged that his health didn't hold up any longer than it did in his new and chillier Northwest football surroundings.

He was brought in as this partial two-year SEC starter and proven multi-purpose back to push returnees Cam Davis, Richard Newton, Will Nixon and Sam Adams II for the headliner role, plus Arizona State transfer Daniyel Ngata and freshman newcomer Tybo Rogers, and he maddeningly got put on hold. 

Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Johnson, who wears No. 7 on offense, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.

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Dillon Johnson will wear UW No. 7 as an offensive player, taking over an offensive uniform number previously worn by quarterback Sam Huard, now at Cal Poly.

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Dillon Johnson lasted just a few Husky practices before he was sidelined for the rest of spring ball with an unspecified leg injury.

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Dillon Johnson was a multi-purpose back at Mississippi State, which was his big attraction to the Huskies in the transfer portal. 

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SEC transfer Dillon Johnson waits his turn in a Husky running-back drill, standing behind freshman Tybo Rogers.  

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Dillon Johnson played in 35 games over three seasons at Mississippi State, starting 14 times for late coach Mike Leach. 

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Dillon Johnson carried the ball 229 times for 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns, and caught 149 passes for 864 yards and a score in the SEC.

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Dillon Johnson played three seasons at Mississippi State and, with a pandemic freebie, has two left if he chooses to use them at the UW. 

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In his brief spring showing, Dillon Johnson offered his forceful stiff arm to Husky safety Dominique Hampton and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad on the same play. 

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In Mike Leach's Air Raid offense, Johnson, as a highly regarded Mississippi-raised running back, had to share the load. 

He was the starter just half the time in another stacked backfield competition covering the past two seasons, drawing six starts last fall and seven in 2021. 

Consequently, Johnson comes to the Huskies much like Virginia transfer Wayne Taulapapa did last year — without a 100-yard rushing performance. His career best is 89 yards on the ground against Arkansas last October, which included a pair of touchdown runs. 

Where Johnson really put up big numbers was catching balls out in the flat, particularly in 2021, when he hauled in 65 passes, with a career-best 9 catches coming both against LSU and Mississippi that season.

In this guy, the Huskies will turn to their second imported SEC player in three seasons, and no doubt they hope to get as much mileage out of him as they did with the other guy in edge rusher Jeremiah Martin.

Martin, of course, went from a reserve Texas A&M player with modest credentials to a first-team All-Pac-12 selection for the UW in 2022. 

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DILLON JOHNSON FILE

Service: In three seasons at Mississippi State, Johnson appeared in 35 games and started 14 times. He arrived in Starkville as one of three touted backs in his recruiting class along with Jo'quavious Marks and Jaden Walley, and game time was doled out to each guy to see what he could do. 

Stats: Johnson carried the ball 229 times for 1,198 career yards and 11 touchdowns in Starkville, and caught 149 passes for 864 yards and a score. He had five games of 100 yards or more of multi-purpose yards. He also returned three kicks for 42 yards last season.

Role: Look for a healthy Johnson and the experienced Davis to wage a serious battle for the starting job. Johnson plays with an edge as his springtime stiff arms dictated. Expect both of these backs to play a lot, regardless of the order. Johnson likely knows that Taulapapa left Seattle with four 100-yard rushing games after coming in without one, too, and he'll want some of that action. The Southern newcomer also presents UW offensive coordinator and noted trickster Ryan Grubb with another intriguing backfield weapon — as a high school junior in Greenville, Mississippi, Johnson passed for 957 yards.

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