All 105 is a Pittsburgh Sports Now series profiling each of the 105 members of the Pitt 2024 training camp roster.
Nahki Johnson, a redshirt junior defensive tackle from West Mifflin in Pittsburgh, Pa.
2023 season: Johnson played in 10 games last season, serving primarily as a reserve defensive end
Stats: Johnson has recorded nine tackles (four), 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack in his three seasons at Pitt
Camp outlook: Johnson has been working with the 1s and 2s since moving from defensive end to defensive tackle, and he’s firmly in the mix to crack the starting defensive tackle rotation
Projected role: Johnson may not be a season-opening starter, but there’s a good chance he’s at least in the starting rotation. And after three seasons as a reserve, he’s certainly going to see the field a lot more in 2024
Nahki Johnson (6-foot-2, 280 pounds) was the first Pitt commitment in the class of 2021, choosing the Panthers over offers from Akron, Central Michigan, Penn State, Syracuse, Temple, Toledo, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
He was a top recruit in the class, rated as a four-star by multiple outlets, but he hasn’t been able to see the field during his first few seasons in Pittsburgh.
Johnson received just 67 defensive snaps last season, hitting that double-digit snap count in just two games, and it was undoubtedly a disappointing and frustrating season. If Johnson was frustrated, he didn’t show it.
He recorded just three tackles (all assists) and 0.5 tackles for loss in 2023, coming off a second-year freshman campaign in which he recorded three tackles (two solo), a tackle for loss and a sack in five appearances. And he’s moving inside for the duration of his Pitt career.
“He’s permanently there,” Pat Narduzzi said in April. “He’ll never move back to defensive end. He’s doing a nice job. He’s got that (Calijah) Kancey ability to be twitchy at the three-technique, and he’s got a chance to be pretty good in there. We like what we see a lot, and he’s just going to keep getting better.”
The Pitt defensive tackle unit will be all new. Johnson is competing with veterans like Sean FitzSimmons, Anthony Johnson and Nick James and young guys like Isaiah Neal, Jahsear Whittington and Francis Brewu.
