VERSATILE JOHNSON 'APPRECIATIVE' OF JOURNEY THAT LED HIM TO UW

By Rich Myhre

By Washington Huskies

October 31^st, 2018

The day Chris Petersen left Boise State University to become the head coach at the University of Washington, Jaylen Johnson’s football world was knocked awry.

It was the late fall of 2013 and Johnson was a senior at Centennial High School in Corona, Calif., a city some 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Though he had scholarship offers from every Pacific-12 Conference school except Stanford and UCLA, and additional offers from Notre Dame, Miami and others, he had committed to play for Petersen at Boise State.

“Growing up,” Johnson said, “I really had no preferences where I played college football. I just wanted to play in a good program, and to be somewhere where I could compete and somewhere where I could grow as a person.”

Petersen’s departure from BSU left Johnson unsure what to do. And in the fall of 2013, he admitted, “I actually knew nothing about the University of Washington.”

VERSATILE JOHNSON 'APPRECIATIVE' OF JOURNEY THAT LED HIM TO UW

Johnson reopened his recruiting and made subsequent visits to other schools. But through it all, he never forgot about Petersen and the coach’s “Built for Life’ program, which emphasizes various aspects of personal development including academic diligence, character, discipline and accountability.

“I knew that (Petersen and his coaching staff) knew what they were doing and that they’d help me succeed as a football player,” Johnson said. “But even more, I fell in love with the program and with Coach Pete’s whole ‘Built for Life’ mantra. I felt like if I wanted to succeed in life, their program was going to help me the most.”

One month after Petersen was hired at Washington, Johnson announced his UW commitment. He was one of several players – defensive lineman Greg Gaines, tight end Drew Sample, offensive lineman Jesse Sosebee were others, as was tight end Will Dissly, a 2017 senior – who switched their commitments from Boise State to Washington so they could accompany Petersen to Seattle.

“When he made the switch to Washington, that’s when I began doing my research,” Johnson said. “And that’s when I discovered how much I liked the city of Seattle and the great state of Washington. I learned about the University of Washington really late, but I really liked a lot about what I saw.”

Johnson arrived on campus in the summer of 2014 and, like many freshmen, went through the rigors of a redshirt season. He saw his first action in the 2015 season opener vs. Boise State and has since played in every UW game, except for the first three games of 2016 which he missed due to injury.

Though mostly a rotational player in his first three seasons, Johnson has started every game this season but two (UCLA and Colorado), joining fellow senior Gaines and sophomore Levi Onwuzurike as the mainstays on Washington’s three-man defensive front.

“I love what he’s done in terms of preparation,” said UW defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe. “Jaylen has always had the mindset that he would prepare to play no matter when. So when his time came, which was this year, he’s started to shine quite a bit.”

Johnson has the versatility to play anywhere on the defensive line, including outside linebacker, Malloe pointed out. “He knows the whole defense. He could draw up (the assignments of) all 11 guys on defense, that’s how smart he is. And then there’s just the way he prepares. He knew his time would come, and when it did he made sure to take advantage.”

All that said, Johnson’s Washington career has not always been smooth sailing. There was a time, he admitted, “when I was not in love with football. … There were growing pains and there were some of those points that happen in every athlete’s career where they second-guess their decision. I definitely went through that.”

A lot of it, he went on, had to do with the continuing demands of time and effort that are part of being a student-athlete in an elite program like Washington. During the season, Johnson is typically awake at 5:30 a.m. to prepare for team practices, which usually begin at 8:45. After practice he heads to class, and later returns to the stadium for meetings, film study and weight training. Along the way, he has to find time for schoolwork.

All in all, Johnson said, “it’s been some of the hardest things I’ve had to go through. … But as I’m on my way out this year, I can look back and appreciate all the struggles and all the journey I’ve gone through.

“I’m definitely grateful for everything I’ve gone through and where I’m at now,” he added.

Johnson will leave Washington with an undergraduate degree in political science, which he chose “mainly because I love debating and arguing politics. I also love history. I love going back and seeing the mindset of people (in the past), and then seeing how that affects modern history. And if you put the two together, I found a love of political science.”

Down the road, he hopes to teach high school history and Advanced Placement government while also coaching football. But in the immediate future, his goal is to play in the National Football League.

With an eye toward the NFL, “I’m staking everything on this season,” he said. “I’m putting in more work than I ever have before. (Playing professionally) is what I’m working towards, and if that doesn’t work out then I’ll still have another plan set in place.”

Johnson likens his years at Washington to a second phase of life. As he explained, “Your parents do the work for (the first) 18 years, and then you get into this program and everybody involved helps to raise you past that and set you up for the rest of your life. … It’s like being in a big family.”

The highlight of his UW experience has been “the people you meet and the relationships that are forged,” he said. “I’ve met some friends here that I’ll have for life, and I’ve made some connections that I wouldn’t have been able to make anywhere else.”