BIOGRAPHY
Isaiah Johnson was born in Bryan, Texas. He attended James Earl Rudder High School in Bryan, Texas. In high school, he was a three-star recruit by ESPN and 247Sports. ESPN named Johnson the no.82 player in the state of Texas. He pulled in 29 receptions for 301 yards and touchdowns as a junior. As a senior, he was named his team’s MVP and Offensive MVP. After graduating high school, he committed to the University of Houston to play college football and majoring in Human Resource Development.
Johnson played at Houston from 2014 to 2018. He spent his first two years as a wide receiver before switching too cornerback prior to his junior year in 2017. During his two years as a receiver, he had 21 receptions for 208 yards. In his two years as a cornerback, he had 115 tackles and four interceptions. He was a four-year letterman and played in total of 45 games in his college career. In the 2019 NFL draft, Johnson was selected 129th overall by the Raiders as a Cornerback.
“I was a big film study guy so I studied formations studied route concepts - studied what people do and how they like to do it and that was a big thing for me especially in the fast conference that we had to you have to dissect and learn so fast what other people are doing to get a jump on it. I had to study and make sure I knew they were going to do before it happened,” - Johnson, on his experience as a receiver that helps him at being a cornerback.
Johnson is a relative novice technically, considering his defensive inexperience, so he’ll need time to develop. The Raiders can give him that, with plenty of cornerbacks to get the job done in 2018. Gareon Conley, Daryl Worley, Nevin Lawson and second-round pick Trayvon Mullen already are in the mix. The team’s on the hunt for long-term solutions at the position, and Johnson could be one if he works hard and progresses well.
