From Cougar fans who saw the speedy cornerback pick off passes on consecutive plays against East Carolina, the second of which went for a touchdown, to teammates, such as receiver Parker Kingston who spends a lot of time with Johnson both in and away from the football team’s practice facilities, most everyone sports a big grin when asked about Johnson these days.

“It’s good to see him play (well),” Kingston said. “We came in together, so I’ve been with him for four years and he’s always been one of my close friends on the team. So it’s awesome to see him play well … Now he strolls into class all high and mighty with teachers showing him the clips…but it’s good for him.”

Arriving to his current status has been an arduous and relatively unusual process for Johnson, who arrived in Provo with zero experience playing the position he now excels at with little to no hype surrounding his prospects. Indeed his recruiting profile on the 247 Sports Network, which is recognized nationally as the most thorough recruiting nationally, shows a BYU offer and only that BYU profile to this day, along with the lowest of all recruiting ratings.

But credit Kevin Clune, who briefly coached the linebackers at BYU during the 2021 and 2022 seasons for seeing what almost no one else saw in the player who is now the Cougar’s top cornerback.

“Coach Clune found him because of a coaching connection he had there,” explained BYU cornerbacks Coach Jenaro Gilford. “Even though Evan was a pure receiver in high school, Coach Clune thought he could make a really good corner, so I went out to see him, watched film and did all of that, and I fell in love with him.”

A strong pedigree

The best football players often are raised and developed by former top players, and Johnson certainly enjoyed that luxury growing up on the Monterrey peninsula, a place that isn’t exactly a hotbed of top football prospects. Guiding Evan from a young age, and in no doubt passing on superior football genes, was his father, Ron Johnson.

Ron Johnson played receiver professionally for ten years, spending his final five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles after spending his prior five seasons playing in both the NFL and Canadian football leagues.

“He comes from a great family, a great area and a great school, so everything matched up from that standpoint,” Gilford said. “I was impressed with all of it and knew his character and personality would fit in very well with what we have here at BYU. And athletically he had everything as well, from being not afraid of contact to his speed, quickness and everything else. Bringing him here was a no-brainer for us.”

Trusting the process

As mentioned, Evan Johnson came to Provo with exactly no experience playing the position he now excels at and obviously needed a lot of development before he could provide significant contributions. The 2022 and 2023 seasons saw him playing in six games, almost exclusively in mop-up duty with just two tackles standing as his only stats.

“I told him he’d have to trust me, and that it was going to take some time,” Gilford said of Evan Johnson’s initial development. “But he trusted us, put in the work and did whatever he’s been asked. He redshirted, played on scout team and special teams and worked his way up from the bottom, which can be a rare thing these days.”

Indeed the current state of college football involves many players opting to switch programs frequently when not afforded immediate playing opportunities. But Evan Johnson kept his nose to the grindstone, trusting Gilford’s tutelage and that eventually he’d receive his opportunity to shine.

“It’s rare and it speaks highly, not only of him, but of his family,” Gilford said. “He has a mom and dad who taught him well and it’s special for a player to just enjoy being coached up and developed and not jump ship. Again, a lot of the credit goes to his parents and a dad that knows a great deal about development and what it takes.”

Seeking to do it all

Although Evan Johnson bided his time, it’s not to suggest he wasn’t actively pushing for playing time in any and all capacities on the field of play.

“Man, from day one he’s always been pushing to play receiver, kick returner, punt returner and everything else. He wants to do it all,” Gilford said with a big smile. “But that’s the beauty of Evan Johnson. He’s not afraid and has a lot of confidence in what he can do out there, and now you’re seeing it. I don’t know, maybe we’ll use him in other areas, but right now I’m just fine keeping him on my side.”

What separates Evan Johnson are his natural ball skills, that combined with his superior speed and athleticism have combined to provide the promising play he provided last season to this season, where through three games played he’s established himself as BYU’s top player at the corner position.

“When you have a guy who has grown up not just wanting to defend the ball, but wanting to go get it every time, that’s an advantage,” Gilford said. “So he’s used to going to get it. It’s natural to him and that can be a rare thing with defensive backs. But you still have to translate those ball skills to being sound in the technique to play effectively on the defensive side. It’s not easy, and it’s why it’s taken some time for him to get to where he’s at right now.”

Considering Evan Johnson is still relatively new to playing cornerback, the future is absolutely bright for the for the rest of this season and beyond.

“His personality, his work ethic and attitude have all really contributed to not only his development, but the development of our cornerback room,” Gilford said. “His teammates all love him and love playing with him. We have a lot of great personalities there and they’re all genuinely brothers who care for each other. So you combine Evan’s abilities with what he adds personality-wise and it’s been a great combination. The sky is the limit for him and he’s really just beginning to tap into the player he can ultimately become.”