DT Jeffery Johnson 'Still Trying to Wrap My Head Around' Being at Oklahoma

After standing out last year against the Sooners while playing for Tulane, Johnson said his transition to OU has been smoother than he expected.

Jeffery Johnson didn’t know anyone in Oklahoma. All he knew was he wanted to be a Sooner.

“I kind of went out on a limb,” Johnson said.

Johnson — OU’s new defensive tackle from Tulane via the NCAA Transfer Portal — spoke to the media on Tuesday and expressed sincere appreciation for his new lot on life.

He was a four-year letterman and captain with the Green Wave, a dominating, disruptive defender who, as fate would have it, made an unplanned trip to Norman last fall and left impressed.

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“Yeah, I’m kind of still trying to wrap my head around it, the fact that I’m at Oklahoma,” Johnson said. “A lot of people saying, ‘Oh man, you’re at Oklahoma.’ I’m like ‘Yeah, I’m at Oklahoma.’ I sit in my room at night, I’m like, ‘I’m at Oklahoma.’ That’s kind of cool.”

The Sooners scheduled Tulane for the 2021 season opener, but Hurricane Ida wrecked New Orleans and the game had to be moved to Norman. If the storm hadn’t come, or if it was earlier or later, that game would have been played at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium — and who knows if Johnson would be at OU right now?

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Either way, Johnson played well that warm, September day, posting six tackles and a tackle for loss. He was a regular in the OU backfield, and made an impression on the OU offensive staff and his future teammates.

“I think everybody did pretty good in that game,” Johnson said. “I think we came in here and did things they didn’t expect us to do, so I think overall, we had a pretty good game on both sides of the ball. There were some things we struggled with. Football’s a game of inches so it didn’t come out our way. But I thought I had a pretty good game. That’s why I’m here.”

Jeffery Johnson via social media

Johnson saw the facilities, he saw the commitment from Sooner Nation. He even saw the Green Wave logo painted on the field — a small but warm gesture from OU administration to make sure Tulane knew they were still technically considered the “home team.”

But it wasn’t any of those things that ultimately landed Johnson in the crimson and cream.

“I had a lot of options coming in the transfer portal,” he said, “but one thing that stuck out to me was the coaching staff. … I mean, just coming in here on my visit, they were upfront. What stuck out to me is that they really cared about you as a person and not just a player. Just the whole time it was just about family and just about being together.”

With three defensive linemen from the 2021 team off to the NFL Draft, Johnson is expected to be a key contributor next to senior Jalen Redmond on this year’s front four.

“I thought the transition was going to be harder,” Johnson said, “but I know it’s a new coaching staff so everybody’s trying to adjust and get familiar with what they’re doing. So it’s not what I expected it to be: just come in, fit in, everybody’s trying to learn and do the same things.

“Ultimately, it’s really been a smooth transition. All the guys — just being respectful — we don’t always compete. The standard’s the standard, but it’s definitely been great for me.”

OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof said Johnson walked into the Oklahoma locker room with instant “street cred” because of his body of work at Tulane.

“No. 1, he’s a grad transfer, a grad transfer captain,” Roof said. “So you’re putting a guy that was the captain of his football team in our locker room. When it’s obvious they have one year left, walking in the door. The first couple of days, it’s like, OK, you’re here for a reason. 

“With his leadership and work ethic, he was accepted by his peers. Not only accepted, but helping lead the group. When you recruit a captain from another team, it’s a good thing. It’s a really good thing. I’m proud of him. I’m proud of our guys and how they’ve accepted him. That’s a mutual thing. That’s street cred, man, you have come in and earn that. He has.”

Coming out of Brookhaven High School in Mississippi, Johnson was a 4-star prospect by 247Sports and Rivals and was the No. 8 prospect in Mississippi by ESPN while earning first-team Mississippi 5A All-State honors from the coaches association in 2017.

Almost five years later, Johnson is a Sooner.

He said after one day of spring practice that he was excited about the level of coaching he would be getting this year from new defensive tackles coach Todd Bates. Bates made a habit out of sending talented d-linemen into the NFL Draft, so Johnson is hoping he can join that list.

“I ain’t going to say I took for granted my old coaching at my old school,” Johnson said, “but I was just saying, I thought everybody was getting the same coaching. When I met coach Bates, it was kind of like, the technique, the scheme, the fundamentals of d-line is all pretty much the same. I’m coming from the same system, it’s just at a new place. That was big for me just coming here.”