Former Ole Miss standout and Philadelphia product C.J. Johnson joins EMCC’s football coaching staff

SCOOBA – Former Ole Miss defensive standout C.J. Johnson has returned to the Scooba campus as East Mississippi Community College's newly hired defensive line coach, as announced by EMCC head football coach Buddy Stephens.

A Philadelphia (Miss.) product, Johnson previously served as a defensive graduate assistant coach on EMCC's 2016 MACJC state championship football team that went 11-1 and finished with a No. 2 season-ending national ranking in the NJCAA poll.  He replaces Davern Williams, who has been hired as the defensive line coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

"We're very excited to welcome C.J. Johnson to our staff as the Lions' defensive line coach," Stephens said.  "He is very enthusiastic and does a great job teaching and motivating his group of players.  C.J. is also an excellent technical coach who genuinely cares about his players, and it shows every day through his hard work and enthusiasm." 

This past season at Florida Atlantic University while working as a second-year defensive graduate assistant on Lane Kiffin's coaching staff, Johnson was reunited with defensive coordinator Chris Kiffin, who mentored the defensive end-turned-linebacker at Ole Miss.  The 2017 FAU Owls went 11-3 on the year en route to claiming the Conference USA championship and winning the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl.

"This is a place I consider home," Johnson noted.  "EMCC has been the gold standard for junior college football, and I'm blessed to have the opportunity to coach at this perennial powerhouse."

Prior to beginning his coaching career in 2016 with his initial EMCC stint, Johnson was a five-year letterman (2011-15) at Ole Miss, where he helped lead former head coach Hugh Freeze's Rebel squads to four consecutive postseason bowl game appearances, including three bowl victories.  As a three-year defensive starter for the Rebels, Johnson recorded 180 career total tackles, 27 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including 13.5 sacks, 11 quarterback hurries, three pass interceptions, four fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

As a sophomore starter at defensive end, Johnson was the Rebels' sixth-leading tackler with 55 stops on the year, including a team-high 6.5 sacks, on the way to earning third-team All-SEC honors from College Sports Madness and honorable mention All-America status by College Football News.  After bouncing back from a medical redshirt season because of an ankle injury, Johnson served as a game captain for all 13 games as a junior when Ole Miss led the nation in scoring defense and topped the SEC in tackles for loss en route to playing in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.  Individually as a redshirt junior for the 9-4 Rebels, he ranked second on the team with four quarterback sacks and tied for third with eight tackles for loss.

Following a move to middle linebacker during spring practice of his senior year, Johnson was a preseason third-team All-SEC pick by Phil Steele and a member of the 2015 Butkus Award watch list.  Despite missing some game action with a torn meniscus, Johnson battled through the injury to record 43 total tackles, two quarterback sacks, two pass interceptions and four quarterback hurries as a starting member of the Rebels' 10-3 squad that defeated Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl.

Johnson earned his undergraduate degree in criminal justice and is currently working on his master's degree in sports management.  Following graduation from Ole Miss, he participated in the NFL Combine and was later signed as a free agent by the New England Patriots before opting to pursue a career in coaching.

"I will be forever grateful to Coach (Buddy) Stephens and Coach (Cliff) Collins (EMCC's defensive coordinator) for believing in me and giving me this opportunity to coach and mentor these young men during their journey of chasing their dreams."  

Prior to seeing action in 51 career games for the Ole Miss Rebels, including 38 starts, Johnson was a prep All-American at Philadelphia High School.  With 149 tackles and two pass interceptions as a senior, he garnered Class 3A Defensive Player of the Year accolades by the Mississippi Association of Coaches in addition to collecting consensus first-team all-state honors after helping lead head coach Teddy Dyess' 12-1 Tornadoes to the 2010 Class 3A state playoffs.  Johnson capped his senior year by earning team defensive honors at the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game after being credited with 17 tackles in the contest.  He also had 151 tackles as a junior starter.