Oregon's DJ Johnson preparing for NFL Draft; will not play for Ducks in Holiday Bowl
DJ Johnson’s Oregon career has apparently come to a sudden, unceremonious end.
Johnson, a sixth-year who was the Ducks’ most productive edge rusher in 2022, will set his sights on preparing for the NFL Draft rather than participate in the Dec. 28 Holiday Bowl, according to head coach Dan Lanning.
Following Oregon’s loss to Oregon State on Nov. 26, a video emerged of Johnson punching a Beavers fan in the head after the fan made a comment to him while players were exiting the field.
According to Lanning, that will be Johnson’s last act in a Ducks’ uniform.
“First, it’s just gathering information,” Lanning said when asked what his reaction was to the incident and what Johnson’s status with the Oregon program is. “We don’t want to be a program that just operates based on what we don’t have; taking a deeper dive into that situation, doing some investigating on our end, really, on our end, through a few avenues.
“You realize that DJ was in a moment there that he certainly wishes he would have acted different. But, something was said that was pretty extreme to him that some people might act in a similar fashion. So, certainly not condoning the behavior; I know DJ wishes he could have that moment back. It was an intense situation, but those things happen at times and I know that he would handle it differently given the opportunity.
“Right now he’s a guy that has the opportunity to compete and move on in the NFL Draft and has put himself in the position to do that. I think he’s gonna take a chance to go to the Senior Bowl, but I don’t want to speak for DJ too much.
“I think, right now, he’s in preparation for the Draft.”
This season, Johnson led the Ducks with 6.0 sacks and was second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss. He tallied 39 tackles, including 15 solo stops.
In five seasons with the Ducks, Johnson recorded 9.0 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss. Early in his Oregon career, he split time at tight end and edge rusher.
The No. 75 overall prospect in the class of 2017, Johnson originally enrolled at Miami out of high school and spent one year with the Hurricanes before transferring to Oregon in 2018.
With Johnson’s departure, the Ducks are suddenly very thin at the Jack linebacker position.
Sophomore Bradyn Swinson, who served as the primary backup to Johnson for much of the season, announced last week that he will enter the transfer portal.
Lanning was asked who will play at the position for the Ducks during the Holiday Bowl.
“You’ll see when we go out there on the field,” Lanning responded. “You know the guys on our team.”
