FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 15, 2020) – Brenndan Johnson didn't expect to be looking for a new school for his final college football season.
A graduate transfer from UTSA to Louisiana before the 2019 season, Johnson joined the Ragin' Cajuns with two years to play. Having played 22 games at safety during his first two seasons, Johnson recorded 62 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, five pass deflections and two fumble recoveries for the Roadrunners. In his lone season at Louisiana, he played in 12 more games, with 14 tackles and a pass breakup as he spent time at nickelback.
A consistent contributor at the two FBS schools, Johnson landed in the transfer portal after receiving a C in a graduate course. After Louisiana's attempt to appeal Johnon's ineligibility for 2020 fell short, the program helped him find a new home with Northern Arizona and head coach
Chris Ball for his senior season.
"Once they realized they couldn't help me stay, they were great about helping me with finding a new place," Johnson said. "Coach (Billy) Napier, he called me and told me that Coach Ball was just a real standup guy. He's a DB guru and to get where I want to go, the NFL, I know he can definitely help me."
Unlike his decision to attend UTSA or his transfer to Louisiana, Johnson's move to NAU came without a trip to Flagstaff or the ability to be recruited in person. Every consideration in the decision came down to the relationships he'd been able to build remotely and the connections he felt toward coaches.
"It was different. You go into the recruiting process just as COVID stopped visits and what not, so like I had to focus really hard on my relationships I was building with each coach," Johnson said. "Coach Jessie Thompson, he had coached at Louisiana before he came to Northern Arizona and Coach Ball had a good relationship with the head coach Coach Napier. They just did a really good job making me feel like I was welcome and they took care of me...I just felt a connection out of all the schools that contacted me."
Thompson echoed Johnson's belief that the relationship between the two really drove the latter's decision to join the Lumberjacks.
"I believe the relationship made him feel comfortable enough to want to become a Lumberjack. We are glad to have Brenndan here at NAU. He brings good experience as a player, but more importantly he exhibits everything we're about," Thompson said. "He's shown good leadership in the secondary and on our team. I am proud to be his coach and look forward to seeing him accomplish his dreams and goals."
With three starters from a season ago graduated from NAU's secondary, Johnson's arrival offers the Lumberjacks some help as they transition toward a group of underclassmen who arrived at NAU in Ball's first recruiting class more than a year ago.
Having seen playing time at multiple positions in the secondary over the past few years, Johnson said he is confident he can help the Lumberjacks in a variety of ways.
"I embrace being kind of like a swiss army knife. I can play a corner, nickel, safety, all that. My versatility definitely has helped me over the years with just picking up knowledge for the game. I think that knowledge will definitely help not only me this season, but definitely all the guys playing."
Daego Albert,
Eddie McClendon,
Amelec Juntunen,
Matty Horne and
Rascheed Sterling all saw playing time as true freshmen in 2019, while
Cejai Parrish played as a redshirt freshman and
Jacob Mpungi moved to the secondary from running back as a redshirt freshman as well.
For Johnson, the youth of the secondary and his recent arrival to the program allow him to find a positive in the delay of NAU's football season. With the push to the spring being "a blessing in disguise" as he's been able to get to know the rest of the roster better and see development in the underclassmen during the extended offseason.
"These young guys, they're really talented, but you know they are inexperienced. I think I can come in and help solidify like the secondary to where they can feel more confident and they can play how they can because they know that I'm going to be behind them," Johnson said.
More importantly, the extended period before the season allowed Johnson to show how committed he is to the team's success, especially as he had worked to get to know his new teammates better through rather unique and challenging circumstances.
"I had to prove to them that I was all in, that I'm willing to work hard and try to earn a spot," Johnson said. "They bought in with my energy and stuff, and they're like well this guy's ready to go, so let's go. We haven't looked back since, they're great guys."
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