Johnson finished his senior season as the second-most efficient passer in the nation, behind only Heisman Trophy-winner Sam Bradford of Oklahoma.
[1] As a college prospect, he was overshadowed by Erik Ainge of nearby Glencoe High School, who eventually played as a starting quarterback at Tennessee.
[3] For his final remaining season of eligibility, in 2008, Johnson had to compete with anticipated recruit and Bakersfield junior college transfer Jacob Bower for the starting position.
[4] After his performance against New Mexico, in which he completed 24 of 39 passes for 469 yards and six touchdowns, he was named a Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
In the 2009 GMAC Bowl, Johnson engineered a rout, 45–13, against Ball State, which had finished the regular season with an undefeated 12–0 record.
[4] In that season, Johnson recorded 4,059 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions (five of which were in the C-USA title game), and finished as the second-most efficient quarterback in the nation, behind only the Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford.
[8][9] During the season, The New York Times, The News & Observer, and CBS Sports had named Johnson as a Heisman Trophy contender.
Tulsa head coach Todd Graham said of Johnson, "We'd like to have a guy who can run, but we've adapted to Dave's style with more drop-back passes instead of naked [bootlegs].