Johnson grew up in Wichita, Kansas and attended Maize High School.[3] He played baseball and basketball in addition to football at Maize.[4] Johnson completed 117 of 207 pass attempts for 2,109 yards with 25 touchdown and three interceptions and also rushed for 10 touchdowns as a sophomore.[5] He was named first team All-State after he passed for 2,549 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 1,080 yards and 22 touchdowns during his junior season.[6] Following his junior year, Johnson competed in the Elite 11 quarterback competition and was named a finalist.[7]
As a senior, Johnson was named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year after completing 153-of-228 pass attempts for 2,768 yards with 29 touchdown passes and three interceptions and rushing 98 times for 817 yards and 15 touchdowns.[8] He was also selected to play in the All-American Bowl and the Under Armour All-America Game.[9][10] Johnson was rated a four-star recruit and was the consensus top prospect in the state of Kansas and committed to play college football at Kansas State over offers from Oregon and Washington.[11][12]
College career
Johnson joined the Kansas State Wildcats as an early enrollee in January 2023 in order to take part in the team's spring practices.[13] He entered his freshman season competing to be the backup to Will Howard.[14] Johnson made his college debut in the Wildcats' season opener against Southeast Missouri State, where he played the final three series of the 45–0 win and completed three of four pass attempts for 55 yards and rushed five times for 32 yards and one touchdown.[15]
