Cornerback D.J. Johnson (9) grew up in basketball-crazed Indiana with football as his first love. He’s now thriving at cornerback for Southern Illinois. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Barry Bottino
In basketball-crazed Indiana, D.J. Johnson got a late start in the favorite sport of his fellow Hoosiers.
“I didn’t actually start playing basketball until sixth grade,” said Johnson, a starting cornerback at Southern Illinois.
By that time, though, football had taken hold. Growing up, he played plenty of running back before switching to wide receiver in high school – where he found out catching the ball wasn’t his strength.
But defensive back is where he thrived, earning him a scholarship to the University of Iowa.
During his football journey at three different schools, Johnson also discovered another passion.
“Every team I’ve been on, I’ve been the team barber,” he said.
In our Moving the Chains Q&A, Johnson tells Prairie State Pigskin about his love for steak tacos, the most famous person in his phone contacts and an unsung hero he appreciates in the SIU football program.
What do your initials D.J. stand for?
Donald Junior. My dad’s name is Donald Johnson as well.
As a native of Indianapolis, what are three must-do things in the city for someone who’s never been there?
The first thing is to visit Long’s Bakery. I’m biased, of course, but they’ve got some of the best donuts I’ve ever had. Maybe a Pacers game. We love basketball in Indiana. And then, just roam downtown and see what’s going on down there.
You grew up in a state that loves basketball, so how did you start playing football?
Football has been my No. 1 sport since I was a kid. I didn’t actually start playing basketball until sixth grade. When I started playing basketball, I fell in love with it. I did baseball for a little bit. I loved basketball. I wish I would’ve started earlier. I’m a basketball guy at heart. If I was taller (than 6-feet), I might have gone the basketball route. My first football experience was that I started playing flag football when I was maybe 5. I just loved it. I played running back pretty much my whole life.
In high school, I switched over to receiver for a bit and found out I wasn’t that good at catching the ball, so I went to DB. It worked out good.
Growing up, who were the professional athletes that you admired?
I loved (former NFL running back) Adrian Peterson and Kobe Bryant. Those two were the biggest ones. I loved how Adrian Peterson ran the ball and then with Kobe, he was just a great player who had a great work ethic.
Did you have favorite teams growing up?
I’ve never been a “this is my team” type of guy. I loved watching good ball, whether it was college or NFL or whatever. With any sport, I never had a specific team. I liked watching good players go at each other and good competition.
If you were to play a different sport in college, what would it be?
Definitely basketball. I’d like to say I’d play the one through five. (Laughs) I’d probably playing shooting guard. But I’ll defend every position, rebound, whatever.
You played at North Central High School in Indy. Do you still have a rival school that you can’t stand?
I’d say Carmel High School (which is 6 miles north). I did not like Carmel in basketball or football. My team was not very good in football. I lost a lot of my high school games. Now in basketball, we were really good. We won most of the time. We were ranked nationally in basketball.
What’s your favorite SIU uniform combination?
The SEMO game, we had white jerseys, maroon pants and maroon helmets. I love the white jerseys and the maroon pants. I also like the white helmets with the maroon face masks and the Saluki bubble letters on the side. I thought that was a cool adjustment to the helmets.
After football, what’s a dream job look like for you?
Hopefully football can continue. I want to get into real estate. That’s always been attractive to me. I’d like to have my own business. That would be fun. I want to get into helping people sell their houses.
Who’s the most famous person in your phone contacts?
We have a couple of guys from Indy who are in the NFL right now. Probably (cornerback) Julius Brents, who got drafted this year by the Colts. We played on the same 7-on-7 team in high school and he went to the same high school as (SIU running back) Ro Elliott. We’re in the same conference, so we played (against Warren Central) every year. He was also my roommate at Iowa, and we both ended up transferring out.
You played at two different Big Ten schools – Iowa and Purdue. What do you think of the new expanded Big Ten coming next fall?
I think it’s going to be interesting. It’s a different style of football (on the west coast). We ended up playing USC in a bowl game (the 2019 Holiday Bowl) when I was at Iowa. We beat them pretty bad (49-24), but it was just a different type of ball. The Big Ten is more gritty defense and running the ball. The west coast is more spread offenses and throwing the ball. That’s crazy to add those teams in because they’re nowhere near the Midwest.
What’s your favorite postgame meal?
Steak tacos from Don Taco (in Carbondale). I love steak tacos.
Other than Saluki Stadium, do you have a favorite spot on or near campus?
There are a couple of nice parks. I’d say Giant City State Park (in Makanda).
Who’s the best player you’ve ever played against?
(Former Penn State running back) Saquon Barkley or the running back at Wisconsin, Jonathan Taylor. He was really good. Their O-line was really good at Wisconsin too.
Do you have a hobby that you enjoy?
I cut hair. Every team I’ve been on, I’ve been the team barber. I like to cut hair. I’m pretty good at it. I cut my own hair too, and I’ve been doing that for a while. When I went to Iowa, I only had one barber in Indianapolis. For like 10 years, she cut my hair. I wasn’t comfortable with letting anybody else cut my hair, so she ended up teaching me how to do some stuff. I started learning how to do it on YouTube, then started cutting my own hair and got pretty good at that. A couple teammates started letting me cut their hair and ever since then I’ve been cutting. It’s Year 6 now.
Who’s the toughest player you have to cover in practice?
Either Izaiah Hartrup or Vinson Davis. They’re both pretty shifty and give our defense a good look. Those two guys are pretty good.
Who is an unsung hero in the SIU football program who deserves recognition?
I’m going to give it to Matt (Orbany), our equipment manager. He does a really good job. He’s got a lot on his shoulders because he’s got more than just the football players to work with. You’ve got 100-plus guys on the (football) team, then you’ve got other sports that you have to take care of as well. Sometimes he’s there (doing laundry) all night. (After a road trip) we don’t even think about that stuff. We just know our stuff is going to be in our locker the next day.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
Find us on social media!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin
Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin
Instagram: Prairiestatepigskin
Prairie State Pigskin 
Leave a comment