John Johnson - Running Backs Coach - Football Coaches - South Dakota State University Athletics

John Johnson

Title:
Running Backs Coach
Email:
John.Johnson@sdstate.edu
Recruiting Area:
Missouri

John Johnson rejoined the South Dakota State University football coaching staff in the spring of 2020 and will again mentor the Jackrabbits' running backs.

Johnson previously served as the team's running backs coach from 2016-17 before embarking on a coaching stint at the professional level with the Atlanta Legends of the short-lived Alliance of American Football.

In his first tour at SDSU, Johnson worked with an experienced and versatile group of running backs. In 2016, Brady Mengarelli earned second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors after rushing for a team-high 754 yards and adding an additional 333 yards in the passing game. The Jackrabbits ranked third in the 10-team league for rushing with an average of 181.9 yards per game in eight league contests and led the MVFC in both scoring and total offense.

The 2017 Jackrabbits reached the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals for the first time in program history with a running game that complemented a potent passing attack. Mengarelli again was an all-MVFC honoree being one of four players on the team to top 1,000 all-purpose yards, including a team-best 849 rushing yards. Fellow running backs Isaac Wallace (516 yards, 5 touchdowns) and Mikey Daniel (482 yards, 11 touchdowns) combined for 998 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Johnson began his collegiate coaching career at Ouachita Baptist University (Ark.), where he filled a variety of coaching roles from 2009-2012. He coached the team’s running backs for three seasons and wide receivers for one year, while overseeing the squad’s strength and conditioning efforts in addition to his football coaching duties.

He then moved on to Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee for two seasons. He spent the 2013 season as wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator. The following year he was elevated to offensive coordinator, while also mentoring the team's quarterbacks and running backs.

After helping coach running backs as part of a summer internship with the Kansas City Chiefs in the summer of 2014, Johnson filled the role of running backs coach at the University of Tulsa that fall.

He later served as running backs coach at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, while also overseeing the punt team. He recruited extensively in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

As a player, Johnson was a three-year letterman at fullback at Oklahoma State and was a member of three teams that played in bowl games. He completed his playing career in 2008 at Ouachita Baptist.

Johnson completed his bachelor of science degree in education from Oklahoma State in 2008, and completed a master’s degree in sports administration at Henderson State (Ark.) in 2011.