UW running back Dillon Johnson’s career season inspired by his 1-year-old son, ‘Little DJ’
SEATTLE – To find out why Dillon Johnson runs so hard and at times blocks better than any offensive linemen, ask him about his 1-year-old son, Little DJ.
“That’s my dog, man,” Johnson said. “Everything that I do, I do for him and for my family. He’s been nothing but a blessing, bro.
“Every time I wake up in the morning, I think of him. … When I think about who I’m doing all of this for, I think of my son.”
Johnson isn’t the first person who comes to mind when you think about Washington’s prolific scoring offense, but in a relatively short amount of time the bruising running back from Mississippi State has emerged as an unsung hero and one of the key contributors in the Huskies’ undeterred march to the College Football Playoff semifinal.
On Monday, Johnson’s collegiate career comes full circle when No. 2-ranked Washington (13-0) takes on No. 3 Texas (12-1) in the Sugar Bowl with a national championship berth on the line.
The matchup takes place at the Superdome in New Orleans, a four-hour ride from Johnson’s hometown Greenville, Mississippi, which gives him a unique opportunity to play in front of friends, family and Little DJ.
“That’s just my guy, man,” Johnson said. “I’m blessed to have him and call him a son. He’s been nothing but a blessing and my inspiration man, truly.”
When Dillon Alexander Johnson Jr. was born Aug. 8, 2022, everything changed for the 22-year-old Johnson and girlfriend Jalyn, who met when they were in the seventh grade.
“I’ve always been a loving guy, but when you become a father it’s all of that times 10,” Johnson said. “I know anything I do can affect him, so I’m more responsible. Just (paying) attention to details and just working harder.
“When you know you have someone to feed, you work harder. You do things that you probably would never thought you could do. Just like taking this opportunity here and taking this chance to come to Washington. I never thought I would come to Washington, I’ll do whatever it takes to put him in a better situation.”
Johnson, who won three consecutive state championships and ran for 4,287 yards and 54 touchdowns at St. Joseph Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina, had a pretty good situation at Mississippi State.
During three years (2020-22) and 35 games with the Bulldogs, the 6-foot, 218-pound running back tallied 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns on 229 carries.
In 12 games with the Huskies, Johnson has nearly equaled his rushing feats at MSU. Heading into the CFP semifinal, he’s amassed 1,113 rushing yards and 14 TDs.
“If you go inside of the training room, I put up my goals for the season and you can actually look at them,” Johnson said. “I had 1,000 yards definitely written on there. So, I surpassed that. My other goal was a Pac-12 championship. I had 15 touchdowns … and I’m right there at that. So, I’m knocking on all the doors of my goals. It’s been great.
“Ultimately, the goal was for me was to get to the College Football Playoff and (win) a Pac-12 championship. That was my goal. … I literally wrote them on the board and now you can see me just taking them off the board one by one. So, it’s a blessing, man.”
Without Dillon, who emerged as the lead back among a stable of runners, the Huskies don’t make it through the season unscathed.
“Dillon brought a new identity to our offense,” receiver Jalen McMillan said. “I mean, usually it was we’re going to pass the ball a lot and run in certain situations. But now you never know when we’re going to run the ball. We can run it all game long. So, now teams are loading the box and that leaves room for us to catch balls.
“He also brings in person a new personality. Just him being aggressive, he brings a new attitude to the huddle. And the things he says, it’s just … infections. He’s got that motor, and we now have to match his motor.”
After fifth-year junior Cameron Davis, who led UW with 13 rushing TDs in 2022, suffered a season-ending lower-body injury in fall camp, Johnson split rushing duties with Will Nixon and Tybo Rogers in the first four games.
Johnson followed a 91-yard rushing performance at Arizona with 100 yards on 20 carries to help the Huskies knock off rival Oregon 36-33 on Oct. 14 at Husky Stadium.
“When Cam went down, that hurt me because he’s like my brother and I know what he’s going through,” Johnson said, referencing a knee injury that required surgery while he was at Mississippi State. “Being the new guy, it’s sometimes hard to come right in and fit in. But these guys accepted me right away. We’re so close in that running back room and this team has been incredible to me.”
“It’s his personality,” McMillan said. “Since Day 1 when he came on campus, he was open and just willing to talk to everybody and get to know everybody. As soon as that happened, we were just locked in with him and just hanging out outside of football. He introduced me to his son, so I got to see that side of him. He’s got a great family and a great kid.”
Johnson’s redemption season went to another level when he exploded for 256 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries during a 52-42 win over USC. It was the fifth-most rushing yards in UW history.
“Maybe for y’all that’s when everything changed with (Johnson), but not for us,” quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said. “We knew what type of player he was, and he showed it that night.”
Still, it was a breakthrough performance from Johnson who never had more than 89 rushing yards or 18 carries in a game at Mississippi State.
“(He helps us) find the ability to be balanced when teams forced us to run the football,” coach Kalen DeBoer said at the time. “The offensive line and DJ worked hand-in-hand and had a lot of confidence in each other. He’s just been a workhorse. He’s got the explosive plays with those hard yards, he finds a way to get in the end zone, move the chains on third-and-short, fourth-and-short. He’s done it consistently here for the last five weeks.”
Suddenly, the narrative and scouting report on UW’s potent offense began to change. The Huskies were always dangerous with Penix throwing to Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and McMillan, but Johnson’s physically imposing running style forced opposing defenses to account for UW’s rushing attack.
“Halfway through the year, everybody was talking about how good the passing game was and we had no run game and we couldn’t win big games without the run game,” Johnson said. “So every time now we have a big game, the run game comes alive, and we show the world that we can run the ball.
“But it really doesn’t matter what the world is saying. It’s about the guys in the locker room, and we’ve proven everybody wrong once, twice and a whole bunch of times. Now it’s just time to do it again.”
Since Washington’s 34-31 win over Oregon in the Pac-12 title game Dec. 1, Johnson, who had 152 rushing yards and two TD on a career-high 28 carries that night in Las Vegas, has spent the past four weeks recovering from an assortment of knee, hamstring and foot injuries.
“These last two-three weeks I’ve been battling injuries,” he said. “My main thing is getting healthy. So, when I come back, I’ll be ready to run and ball out.”
The Texas Longhorns, who are moving to the SEC next year, will reportedly bring a massive contingent of followers to the Sugar Bowl that’s going to dwarf UW fans.
Still, Johnson expects a sizable number of supporters at the Superdome.
“The guys are kind of upset at me because I get to have the majority of my folks come to the game and everybody’s still trying to figure out how they’re supposed to get … their like friends and other people to the game,” Johnson said. “But, it’s great, man. I finally have a game near my people. So, my people in Greenville, Mississippi, are thinking about taking some buses down to the game.”
Johnson, who is undecided on if he’ll return to UW for a fifth season or turn pro, is excited to play at least one more game with the Huskies in front of Little DJ.
“I know he won’t probably remember it, but he’s definitely going to have some good pictures when he’s older,” Johnson said. “Memories are literally everything, and we’re going to be creating a bunch of those. … This whole season, we’ve been making memories and doing things that people won’t forget for a long time.”