‘It wasn’t a hard decision’: Why one of the country’s top cornerbacks is staying at BYU

BYU defensive back Evan Johnson (0) celebrates his game-saving interception in the end zone with teammates giving the Cougars the 25-21 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News It could be argued that cornerback Evan Johnson made some specific plays last season that won games for the BYU football team against East Carolina and Georgia Tech.

Without Johnson’s two picks against the Pirates — he returned one for a touchdown — and the interception in the end zone in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Cougars probably would not have won 12 games in 2025. His playmaking ability in the BYU secondary was matched perhaps only by safeties Tanner Wall and Faletau Satuala. At least one national football publication noticed, as Johnson was recently named the No.

4 returning cornerback in the country by the Pro Football & Sports Network. The redshirt senior from Monterey, California, was also named second team All-Big 12 by PFSN, and honorable mention All-Big 12 by the league itself. Johnson turned himself into a hot commodity last fall.

In other words, the 6-foot, 185-pound ballhawk could have entered the transfer portal and commanded some decent money in the ever-expanding NIL market after the 2025 season. There were also some serious concerns among BYU fans and coaches that he would follow cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford and defensive coordinator Jay Hill to Michigan. “It can’t be overstated how important those two plays were in us winning the (ECU) game,” Hill said after Johnson’s heroics in Greenville, North Carolina.