Staying at the same school for four years is not commonplace in college football anymore, but Arkansas senior safety Jayden Johnson did just that, and he's seeing it pay off with a strong start to his last fall camp.
A native of Cedartown, Georgia, Johnson chose the Razorbacks as a three-star prospect who originally was committed to South Carolina in the 2021 recruiting class. Since then, he's played in 33 games over three years with 22 starts and 121 career total tackles.
There was every opportunity for Johnson to depart from the program for whatever reason it may be over the past three years — which haven't all been great — but he made it seem like he's never really considered leaving Fayetteville.
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"I prayed and asked God to lead me to the right spot," Johnson said. "And this is where I ended up. So every time something goes wrong or I feel like this isn’t where I need to be, I always just look back and look at what brought me here. Staying here, it taught me a lot. Times get hard, but it’s always going to get better. That’s one thing that I learned here. Hey, I love it. I wouldn’t trade this place for nothing.”
That mindset has paid off for Johnson, who is expected to be a starting safety for the second straight year under defensive coordinator Travis Williams and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson, who specializes in working with the secondary.
Woodson met with reporters Monday and said Johnson is having a "phenomenal" fall camp so far.
"His consistency has really increased from last year," Woodson said. "Jayden has become an extension of the coaching staff and that’s what you want to see. Funny thing yesterday in meetings, Coach (Deron) Wilson is up explaining something to Selman (Bridges), he was just listening instead of taking notes. You see Jayden in the back taps his notebook and tells him to write. That means the leadership is really heading in the right direction from his standpoint and that’s what we need."
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Johnson had a career-year in 2023 with 62 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, four pass deflections and one interception. His grades from Pro Football Focus were almost all career-bests, as well.
"It's unbelievable to hear what he was prior to me getting here and what he has been and what he is as of now since I've been here," Woodson said. "I mean, he's a mature kid. He shows up every day to go to work. He's a tough kid as well, you know, mentally and physically. And that's the unique thing you know, when it comes to toughness, that's one of the characteristics that we have in terms of embracing the Hog.
"Jayden and I were talking earlier. He's never experienced a two-a-day practice, right? And we were just talking about how times have changed based on my experience as a player and what they're experiencing now. And toughness is always going to be relevant, but how you create a tough team is unique now compared to what it used to be. And Coach Pittman has done a phenomenal job in terms of putting the players in position to create the toughness."
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According to a team spokesperson, Johnson snagged an interception during Thursday's closed scrimmage at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. Johnson said that he saw his confidence start to rise when he decided after the spring that he just wants to win.
"Put all the 'it’s about me' stuff away and focus more on the team, because I know the team is what’s going to help me get to where I want to go and help everybody else get to where they want to go," Johnson said.
Arkansas will open its season Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
