Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
From the outside, this era of college football carries a feel of selfishness.
Players have been empowered more than ever before. Freedom to transfer without penalty has created seismic shifts in personnel twice annually. Money is available with minimal restriction or transparency.
Those parameters have enticed thousands of players to look for a better situation for themselves. Often times that situation presents itself. Often times it doesn’t. Either way, the players maintain most of the leverage.
Amid all of that, LSU’s Ju’Juan Johnson continues to make sacrifices for his team.
Johnson arrived at LSU as the most productive player in the history of Louisiana prep football. No player, not Peyton Manning or Kevin Faulk or Leonard Fournette, had ever amassed more yards or scored more touchdowns.
Not so naturally, his career began on defense. He spent his first spring, summer and fall camp working as a backup at the STAR position behind senior Major Burns. When Trey Holly left the team due to a legal issue and John Emery tore his ACL, the running back depth became razor thin.
Johnson stepped in.
Just four days after making the move, Johnson scored a touchdown against Nicholls, leaking out of the backfield and making a four-yard catch and run for his first collegiate score.
LCA’s Ju’Juan Johnson with his first collegiate touchdown! @LCAKnights | @JujuanJohnson7
— GeauxPreps.com (@GeauxPrepsLA) September 8, 2024
Fellow freshman Caden Durham emerged as the lead back alongside senior Josh Williams. Kaleb Jackson took most of the third reps as Johnson just provided some depth, playing in seven games.
When quarterbacks Rickie Collins and AJ Swann bolted in the transfer portal and Bryce Underwood flipped his year-long commitment from LSU to Michigan, LSU’s quarterback depth became dire.
Johnson stepped in.
“I won’t say it’s been easy, but the coaches and the people around me have made it way better, way easier for me,” Johnson said. “I think going from DB (to running back) was the hardest one because you were on the defensive side, and now you’re going to the offensive side. Then from running back to quarterback it was kind of easier because I knew the scheme and what we had going.”
Johnson spent the spring and summer at quarterback. He did not practice in a no-contact jersey like Garrett Nussmeier and Colin Hurley. His snaps were live so that he could showcase his playmaking ability.
He did throw for more than 10,500 yards and 117 touchdowns at Lafayette Christian, but it was his over 4,000 rushing yards that translated best to the college game. He learned the full offense with an emphasis on some packages that involved him carrying the ball more.
Holly never returned to LSU, enrolling at Southern as his legal case drug on. Then freshman running back JT Lindsey was charged with accessory to murder and suspended. That left just Durham, Jackson and freshman Harlem Berry as scholarship running backs.
Johnson stepped in.
“I think it was kind of a mutual thing going into the last week of fall camp,” Johnson said. “I knew that I could help the team at running back, and they knew that I could help the team at running back.”
Johnson and running backs coach Frank Wilson have worked together to carve out a role using the skills Johnson brings to the position. He’s particularly valuable in a third down role, not only because of his ability to catch the ball and make a play, but also due to his understanding of blitz packages from his time with the quarterbacks. When you amass over 14,000 yards in high school, you don’t block much. Thanks to his time in a college quarterback meeting room, Johnson can diagnose those blitzes more quickly and help protect Nussmeier.
“It’s helped a lot,” Johnson said. “Going from quarterback, you’ve got to see those blitzes, and you’ve got to see where everyone is moving. As a running back, it’s a little harder to see because you’re kind of crouched down. Coming from quarterback, I can see it. I can feel it. Then I can go block it and help out the team.”
Johnson routinely mentions helping the team. He’s never quick to make a decision based on what is best for him. It’s admirable.
The question was asked Tuesday, what position do you want to play?
Johnson paused to consider himself for once. Ultimately, it came back to the current situation with his team.
“This was a long process for me, knowing what I want to do, but I think it’s going to be running back,” he said. “I think I’m the most comfortable and the most into that position.”
The winding path from quarterback to safety to running back to quarterback and now finally back to running back has all been condensed to a year and a half. And it’s all happened in purple and gold as opposed to surveying options around the country with his hand out asking for more.
Has it been difficult? Sure, but running back feels the most natural. Of his final transition from quarterback back to running back, Johnson cracked a smile.
“I think it’s been smooth sailing.”
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