Career: Johnson was an opportunistic player as EWU’s “Buck” defensive end and tallied 201 tackles in his 58-game career (41 as a starter). His 58 games played ranks second in school history. Johnson has 39 tackles for loss, 18 1/2 sacks (t-12th in school history), five interceptions, 20 quarterback hurries, 10 passes broken up, four fumble recoveries and six forced fumbles (tied for second in school history).
2022: Was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team. Johnson earned an All-Big Sky honorable mention nod after playing in and starting all 11 games for the Eagles, as he was named to the All-Big Sky second team by Phil Steele Publications. He led the team with five sacks, 12 1/2 tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries. Johnson forced two fumbles, recovering one. He started the season with two sacks against Tennessee State (9/3/22), recording a career-high 11 tackles in the game. Against Weber State (10/8/22), Johnson recovered a fumble that he returned 13 yards for a touchdown. Against Portland State (10/29/22), he recorded seven tackles and a sack. In his final game as an Eagle against Northern Colorado (11/19/22), Johnson tallied nine tackles, three of which were for a loss of yardage.
2021: He earned All-Big Sky Conference third team honors and was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team after starting in all 13 games for the Eagles. He made 50 total tackles and had 9 1/2 tackles for loss, resulting in 36 negative yards for opponents. Johnson was also credited with 5 1/2 sacks for 27 yards, five pass break ups, five quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles. He opened the season with five tackles, 1 1/2 tackles for loss, and a sack against UNLV on 9/2/21. On 10/2/21 against Montana, he totaled six tackles (two for loss) and a pass break up. He forced a sack fumble against Weber State on 10/23/21 and Portland State on 11/20/21. Johnson was selected to the preseason All-Big Sky Conference team, and earned the same honor from Phil Steele Publications (second team).
2020-21: He earned All-Big Sky Conference first team honors after starting six of the seven games he played as a defensive end. Was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team. For the season he had 26 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, four quarterback hurries and a pass broken up. In EWU’s 62-10 victory over Cal Poly (3/27/21) he had his first career touchdown on a 34-yard return just six minutes into the game to give EWU a 21-0 lead over the Mustangs. He also had a pass broken up versus CP. Two weeks later against Idaho (4/10/21) he had his fifth career interception with a leaping/twisting pick on fourth down against with 1:29 remaining to help seal the 38-31 victory. He also equaled his career high with nine tackles in that game and was credited with a half-sack. He also had eight tackles versus Northern Arizona (3/6/21) with 1 1/2 sacks. All four of his quarterback hurries came in consecutive games versus Idaho (2/27/21), NAU, Idaho State (3/13/21) and Cal Poly. Phil Steele Publications selected him to its preseason All-Big Sky Conference squad as a third team defensive lineman.
2019: He was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team. Played in all 12 Eagle games, starting the first 11 before a senior started in his place on Senior Day. He closed the season with 41 tackles, with 4 1/2 for losses and 1 1/2 sacks. He also was credited with five quarterback hurries, including two versus Lindenwood (9/7/19). Johnson had the third interception of his career, two fumble recoveries and a fumble forced during the 2019 season. He had a season-high seven tackles against North Dakota (9/28/19), six versus Portland State (11/23/19) and five on two other occasions. Mitchell had an interception and a half-sack versus Jacksonville State (9/14/19), and a solo sack against UND. He had three of his hurries versus Northern Colorado (10/10/19). His pressure on a two-point conversion with 4:58 left against Cal Poly (11/16/19) led to a tackle by teammate Joshua Jerome to preserve EWU’s 42-41 victory. He also had a fumble recovery and 22-yard return against the Mustangs. He was a first team preseason all-conference selection as chosen by Phil Steele Publications. Johnson had three quick-whistle sacks in the Red-White game, giving him a total of five in three spring scrimmages with 14 total tackles.
2018: Was awarded first team Freshman All-America honors from both Hero Sports and Phil Steele Publications after earning second team All-Big Sky Conference accolades. Was named to the Big Sky Conference All-Academic team. He played in all 15 games as a backup in 2018, and had season highs of four tackles in three different games. He had four of his sacks in consecutive games versus Northern Arizona (9/8/18), Washington State (9/15/18) and Cal Poly (9/22/18). Two of them came against the Cougars, and he also had a half-sack versus Maine (12/15/18) to advance EWU to the NCAA Division I Championship Game on Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas. Mitchell also had interceptions against Southern Utah (10/6/18) in the regular season and UC Davis (12/8/18) in the playoffs. His fumble recovery came against Weber State (10/13/18) – Eastern’s last setback until losing to North Dakota State in Frisco.
2017: Redshirted. Was selected as EWU’s Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year. He was the team’s defensive scout team player of the week four times on defense and once on special teams.
HS: Graduated from West Linn HS in 2017. Coached by Chris Miller in high school. Was selected by the
Oregonian as a first team 6A All-State selection as a senior linebacker. He earned first team All-Three Rivers League honors on defense as well. He had 170 tackles (12.1 per game) as a senior, including 16 tackles for loss and three sacks. He also had three quarterback hurries, two interceptions, five passes broken up and two fumble recoveries. He had at least 10 tackles in his first nine games of the season, and finished with double figures in 11 of 14 games. He had a season-high of 22 with five for losses in a 54-7 win over Lakeridge. Helped lead the Lions to a perfect 14-0 finish and the State 6A championship, beating Central Catholic 62-7 in the title game. He had six tackles in that blowout victory. In five playoff games, they outscored opponents 277-75 (average score of 55-15) after winning the 6A Three Rivers League title with a 7-0 record (average score of 44-10). For the season, West Linn outscored opponents 684-198 (48-14). In his junior season, he had 38 tackles, including one for a safety. West Linn was 12-2 and advanced to the 6A title game where it lost to Jesuit 21-14. He equaled his season high with seven tackles in the championship game. Johnson also played on the varsity as a sophomore when West Linn was 9-3, for a collective 35-5 record in his three seasons.as a Lion. He also competed in lacrosse at West Linn, earning All-USA Oregon honors from
USA Today following his sophomore season. He scored five goals as West Linn beat Lakeridge 10-6 to capture the 2015 Oregon High School Lacrosse Association championship and finish 18-4 on the season. He earned honorable mention All-State honors as sophomore, and as a junior he was selected to play in an Oregon all-star game. He was a National Honor Society student at West Linn with a 3.5 grade point average. The
Oregonian gave him honorable mention on its list of top college prospects following the 2016 season. Was rated a two-star recruit by
scout.com, rivals.com and on
247sports.com, which also ranked him as the 28th best prospect in the state of Oregon.
Personal: Management major with a 3.47 grade point average through spring quarter 2021. Born 6/25/99 in West Linn, Ore. Parents are David and Shannon Johnson.
| Year |
GP |
TT |
Hi |
S |
TL-Yds |
FF-FR |
PBU |
I-Yds |
| 2018 |
15 |
31 |
4 |
4.5 |
8-41 |
1-1 |
2 |
2-13 |
| 2019 |
12 |
41 |
7 |
1.5 |
4.5-17 |
1-2 |
1 |
1-0 |
| 2020-21 |
7 |
26 |
9 |
2.0 |
4.5-14 |
0-0 |
1 |
2-38 |
| 2021 |
13 |
50 |
7 |
5.5 |
9.5-36 |
2-0 |
5 |
0-0 |
| 2022 |
11 |
53 |
11 |
5 |
12.5-57 |
2-1 |
1 |
0-0 |
| Totals |
58 |
201 |
11 |
18.5 |
39-165 |
6-4 |
10 |
5-51 |
Kick Returns: 2021/2-28-14.0 (long of 14); 2022/1-16-16.0 (long of 16); Totals/3-44-14.7 (long of 16).
QB Hurries: 2018/2; 2019/5; 2020-21/4; 2021/5; 2022/4; Totals/20.
MITCHELL JOHNSON Top Tackling Performances (1 with 10+)
11 tackles – Tennessee State – 9/3/22
