Dillon Johnson is dynamic in more ways than one.
In four sparkling seasons at St. Joseph High School, he played running back, quarterback, wide receiver and linebacker, while occasionally handling the Fighting Irish’s field goals and punts. On a team that earned 24 consecutive wins and three straight titles to close his career, he totaled 3,330 rushing yards with 11.8 yards per carry and 42 rushing touchdowns in his last two seasons alone.
As a sophomore, he rushed for 964 yards, 12.1 yards per carry and seven touchdowns … while adding 451 receiving yards and five more scores.
As a junior, he passed for 957 yards and 12 touchdowns … to go along with 1,665 rushing yards and 18 scores.
As a linebacker, he compiled 389 total tackles with 10 forced fumbles and nine interceptions in his last three seasons.
As a specialist, he averaged 48.5 yards per punt.
As an athlete, Johnson’s versatility proved valuable. The Greenville, Miss., native signed with Mississippi State in the 2020 class, over offers from Oregon, Arkansas, Louisville, Missouri, Ole Miss, Washington State and more. He also participated in track and field and basketball at St. Joseph, claiming a school record for most points (53) in a game.
And yet …
“I tell people all the time, my best sport was soccer,” said Johnson, who was a midfielder and forward at St. Joseph as well.
Johnson’s feet have taken him far.
Soon, they’ll take him further.
The 6-foot, 215-pound junior — who announced a transfer to Washington this offseason — compiled 1,198 rushing yards, 5.2 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns in three seasons at Mississippi State, while adding 149 catches for 864 yards and an additional score. Same as in high school, his versatility became a calling card in the air raid offense.
He can maximize it on Montlake.
“I feel like [UW offensive coordinator Ryan] Grubb does a really, really good job of putting the running backs in different places,” said Johnson, who has two seasons of remaining eligibility. “They line them up at receiver, at running back. Their run schemes — outside zone, inside zone, gap schemes — all of it will translate to the next level. That really intrigued me about him and about Washington.”
So, despite knowing precious little about UW when he entered the transfer portal, Johnson visited Washington this winter. He was immediately immersed in an unfamiliar environment.
Which is exactly what he wanted.
“I’m a small-town guy. It was really, really country [where I grew up], to be honest,” Johnson said Sunday. “That was my first time going into a big city like that, seeing the big places, the big buildings, the beautiful lakes and scenery. To be honest, that was really the main thing that stuck out to me on the visit — just how different it was from where I’m from.
“I wanted something different. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and get used to being out of my comfort zone, because when you get to the NFL not many teams are close to home.”
Johnson is hoping the Huskies can get him there.
But first, he has more immediate business.
“When I was talking to the coaches they were letting me know how close they are to being in the playoff,” Johnson said. “They’re trying to make that next step to get there, and with my addition they feel like that was the step they could make on offense to get where they were trying to go.
“They have two great receivers, in Jalen [McMillan] and Rome Odunze. They have Michael Penix at quarterback. With the numbers he put up, he could have won the Heisman last year. You have a great o-line. They can win the Pac-12 championship, and they can play in the playoff.”
Not if they don’t improve. Despite an 11-2 record, a No. 8 ranking and an offense that led the nation in passing (369.8 yards per game), first downs (27.2 per game), and third down conversions (56.83%), the Huskies are pushing for even more. That meant adding depth to a running back room without departed starter Wayne Taulapapa — who tallied 887 rushing yards, 6.3 yards per carry, 225 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns as a Virginia transfer in 2022.
The Huskies do bring back a troop of contributors — including junior Cameron Davis (522 rushing yards, 4.9 YPC, 13 TD), senior Richard Newton and sophomores Will Nixon and Sam Adams II. They’ve added Arizona State transfer Daniyel Ngata and three-star freshman Tybo Rogers as well.
There is no shortage of functioning feet.
But Johnson’s versatility may be invaluable.
“He’s dynamic in every way,” UW coach Kalen DeBoer said on Pac-12 Network on Feb. 1. “He’s dynamic as a football player. He’s a dynamic personality. You can just tell it’s going to be a lot of fun.
“He’ll always catch the ball, and his personality and his ability to be physical [helps], and when he has to stay in for pass protection he’ll do a great job there. So well-rounded as a football player. He’s a home run hitter that I feel like can be a piece to make our program and our offense even better than it was a year ago.”
Granted, baseball was about the only sport Johnson didn’t play at St. Joseph High School.
But in Seattle, he’ll swing for the fences.
“It’s going to be scary, man,” said Johnson, who will participate in 12 April practices after arriving on March 25 and enrolling for the spring quarter. “I feel like I’m going to be really scary in the offense. I haven’t shown anywhere near my potential. I had a really good team at State, but I just felt like we did some things that didn’t work out sometimes. We kind of hurt ourselves sometimes.
“With this system and the way they use the running backs, I just feel like I’m going to blossom.”