Texas Tech football all decade team: The secondary

Free safety: Jah’Shawn Johnson

Sometimes, it felt like we didn’t fully appreciate how good Jah’Shawn Johnson was.  That’s probably because he was part of some truly forgettable defenses.

But it wasn’t Johnson’s fault.  From 2014 (in which he saw action in four games before taking a medical redshirt) to 2018, the Ennis, Texas native amassed 312 tackles, six interceptions, six forced fumbles, and five fumble recoveries.

Twice earning honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors (2015, 2018) and once being named second-team all-conference, he was one of the few bright spots from some awful Red Raider defenses.  In all, he started 46 games at Tech.

Despite being only 5-foot-10, 185-pounds, Johnson was never afraid to make a tackle on bigger players.  In his career, he managed 12.5 tackles for loss proving how willing he was to mix it up in the box.

Sometimes it felt like he was more noticeable when he wasn’t on the field than when he was because his presence seemed to hold the entire defense together.  Though his stats were never overwhelming, there have been few players in the Red Raider secondary over the last 10-20 years that have been more reliable.