Report: USC grad assistant, Oklahoma alum Will Johnson to be hired as DB coach at North Dakota State

USC graduate assistant and former Oklahoma defensive back Will Johnson is set to take over as the defensive backs coach at North Dakota State, according to Matt Zenitz. He had previously been a graduate assistant at his alma mater.

Johnson earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2017 playing defensive back for the Sooners before going on to coach there. He was a graduate assistant for a number of seasons and even served as the interim defensive backs coach for the Alamo Bowl in 2021.

He joined the USC staff in January 2022, spending two seasons working under then-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. He worked primarily with defensive backs.

The USC defense had plenty of ups and downs across the past two seasons, ultimately resulting in Grinch’s ouster, but the defensive back play for most of the stretch stayed solid. That group was integral in capitalizing on mistakes in 2022 to lead USC to an eye-watering turnover margin that carried the defense for much of the season.

Johnson is also not the first move between USC and NDSU for a coach this offseason, as Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley brought in Bison head coach Matt Entz to coach linebackers on the new defensive staff.

At NDSU, Johnson will be joining the staff for one of the premiere programs in the FCS in the modern age. North Dakota State has an FCS-leading nine national championships, winning all nine since 2010, including five in a row from 2011-15. The most recent national title for the Bison came in 2021.

More on Entz’s move the other direction

He’ll work with the linebackers under head coach Lincoln Riley, and he’ll also be the assistant head coach with the Trojans. It’s just another serious offseason move Riley has made in attempt to improve the USC defense, which has been among the worst in college football the past few years.

The timing of the news was a bit strange, since Entz and NDSU were in the middle of another successful playoff run in the Division I-AA Playoffs. He remained with North Dakota State until the end of their playoff run. In his five seasons with the Bison as their head coach, Entz has compiled a 60-11 overall record, including a 32-7 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Before starting to work with NDSU in 2014, Entz made a number of stops across the college football landscape including: Western Illinois, Northern Iowa, Winona State, Wayne State, and Illinois College.