Justin Johnson joined the Baylor Football staff in February 2020. He serves as running backs coach.
Johnson helped the BU running game break out in 2021 behind a big season from Abram Smith as part of offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ “Reliable Violent Offense”. The Bears led the conference and were 10th nationally in rushing offense with 219.3 yards per game.
After converting him from linebacker, Johnson helped Smith lead the Big 12 and finish fifth nationally in rushing yards (1,601). Additionally, Smith finished second in the Big 12 and seventh nationally with 114.4 yards per game, notching 6.23 yards a carry which was also good enough for second in Big 12 and 14th nationally. For his big season, Smith earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team, and signed a lucrative contract with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in April.
In his first season at Baylor, Johnson led a deep running back position that included All-American Trestan Ebner. Ebner finished the season with 1,047 all-purpose yards and scored a team-high six touchdowns (one rushing, three receiving, two kick return).
Additionally, five different running backs led the team in rushing at least once in 2020 including underclassmen Craig Williams, Taye McWilliams, Qualan Jones and Jonah White.
Johnson joined Baylor following a one-year stint in 2019 as running backs coach at his alma mater, the University of Houston. He helped UH achieve its 18th straight season with at least 1,500 rushing yards in 2019. The Cougars’ rushing attack ranked 37th in FBS, averaging 188.2 yards per contest.
Prior to his time at Houston, Johnson spent three years at Kansas, including serving as wide receivers coach in 2018. He spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons as an offensive analyst.
Johnson served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 2013, helping the Aggies to a 9-4 record including a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl win over Duke. He began his coaching career in 2012 at UH, serving as an offensive quality control assistant for the Cougars.
A native of Richardson, Johnson was a four-year letterwinner at Houston from 2008-11. An All-Conference USA first-team pick in 2011, Johnson competed in three bowl games and two Conference USA Championship games.
Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Sports Administration from Houston in 2011. He and his wife, Aisha, have two children, Jayden and Kingsley.