[3] Johnson was an all-state selection and a SuperPrep All-American as a senior, and set the school record for the 110-yard intermediate hurdles in track & field.

[5] The Gators coaching staff decided to redshirt him as a true freshman in 1998, and he spent the season practicing with the scout team; subsequently, Johnson became a four-year letterman and started in thirty-three out of forty-nine games in which he played.

[4][5] Johnson started all eleven games as junior in 2001, tallying seventy-two tackles, three passes defensed, and two interceptions and again received first-team All-SEC honors.

[4][5] As a senior team captain in 2002, he started all thirteen games, and compiled eighty-eight tackles and two interceptions and was a second-team All-SEC selection.

He returned in 2004, playing in sixteen games including ten starts, and finished the season with seventy-five tackles.