Former Pitt DT Anthony Johnson Lands First Official Job in College Football

Former Pitt defensive tackle and player personell assistant Anthony Johnson has landed his first official job in college football.

Johnson will be joining the Michigan Wolverines in the scouting department as a recruiting analyst, he told Pittsburgh Sports Now.

For the past few months, Johnson has worked inside the Pitt football program on the recruiting side after suffering a career-ending injury during practice.

Following the 2024 season-opening game against Kent State, Johnson was completing a routine play in practice. After bumping up against an offensive lineman, Johnson fell to the ground and could not feel anything on his entire left side of his body. The spinal column injury left him in the hospital for a few weeks and would spell the end of his playing career.

Looking for a purpose, Johnson approached the Pitt staff looking to help in any capacity, which led to his calling as a volunteer recruiting assistant as he finished up his final year of school.

“I really just asked for it,” Johnson told PSN in April. “I knew that a lot of schools that have a person that can connect for the coaches and for the players. I’ve been through a lot, transfer portal, NIL and doing all that stuff myself multiple times, there’s just so much to learn that I did learn from it. I see kids maybe getting frustrated or making mistakes that I’ve made. I just want to help them not make those mistakes and learn and further their career and do better.

“As I continue to grow in evaluating talent, I feel like I will be able to out-recruit anybody in the country with my ability to build relationships.”

Pitt football’s Anthony Johnson now serves on the staff in a player personell role. March 13, 2025 / Ed Thompson. PSN.

Johnson joined Pitt as a grad transfer after spending the 2024 spring window at Illinois and then committing to Mississippi State before finally flipping to his hometown team in Pitt.

A Pittsburgh native, Johnson played his junior season of high school football at Jeannette, where he won a WPIAL title, before moving to Cleveland Height in Ohio for his final year of prep ball.

He then committed to Bowling Green and spent one season with the program before transferring to Youngstown state. He appeared in 36 games during his four years at Youngstown and compiled 45 tackles, nine for a loss, five sacks and one fumble recovery.