Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
3/31Inside-5 share
3 of the team's 31 inside-the-5 carries (9.7%).
LJ Johnson Jr.
LJ Johnson Jr. is a running back who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at California.
Johnson does a little of everything without one standout trait. Played for three head coaches at three programs in five seasons: Jimbo Fisher, Rhett Lashlee and Justin Wilcox. One game to point at: 39 rushing yards against San Diego State — Week 4, 2025.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | California | 33 | 108 | 3.3 | 2 | 12 |
| 2024 | SMU | 74 | 303 | 4.1 | 5 | 35 |
| 2023 | SMU | 109 | 576 | 5.3 | 4 | 67 |
| 2022 | Texas A&M | 10 | 39 | 3.9 | 2 | 14 |
| 2021 | Texas A&M | 21 | 76 | 3.6 | 0 | 20 |
| Career | 247 | 1,102 | 4.5 | 13 | 67 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | California | 4 | 18 | 4.5 | 0 | 14 |
| 2024 | SMU | 11 | 80 | 7.3 | 0 | 31 |
| 2023 | SMU | 7 | 58 | 8.3 | 0 | 16 |
| 2022 | Texas A&M | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Texas A&M | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 |
| Career | 23 | 170 | 7.4 | 0 | 31 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 34-15@ Oregon State | 8 | 22 | 2.8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-3vs Texas Southern | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 3 | W 27-14vs Minnesota | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | L 0-34@ San Diego State | 10 | 39 | 3.9 | 0 | 7 | Season-high 39 yds |
| Wk 5 | W 28-24@ Boston College | 6 | 7 | 1.2 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 6 | L 21-45vs Duke | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-18vs North Carolina | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 6 | |
| Total | 33 | 108 | 3.3 | 2 | 12 |
Signature game
Week 2 · 2025
W 35-3
14 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD · 2 rec · 2 yds
Dominant 32-point win at home against Texas Southern.
With J. De Jesus — 5 rec · 61 yds · J. Sagapolutele — 259 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 18.4
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 5 · Boston College · 4th and 1 · Q1 · EPA +2.79LJ Johnson Jr. 1 Yd Run
- Week 1 · Oregon State · 4th and 1 · Q3 · EPA +2.02LJ Johnson Jr. run for 2 yds to the CAL 43 for a
- Week 1 · Oregon State · 2nd and 4 · Q3 · EPA −1.41LJ Johnson Jr. run for a loss of 2 yards to the CAL 36
- Week 8 · North Carolina · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −0.94LJ Johnson Jr. run for no gain to the UNC 43
- Week 4 · San Diego State · 4th and 1 · Q1 · EPA +0.91LJ Johnson Jr. run for 3 yds to the SDSU 20 for a
- Week 2 · Texas Southern · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA −0.67Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele pass complete to LJ Johnson Jr. for 2 yds to the CAL 41
4 more plays
- Week 5 · Boston College · 1st and 5 · Q2 · EPA −0.65LJ Johnson Jr. run for a loss of 1 yard to the BC 8
- Week 5 · Boston College · 2nd and 1 · Q1 · EPA −0.64LJ Johnson Jr. run for a loss of 1 yard to the BC 2
- Week 3 · Minnesota · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA −0.63LJ Johnson Jr. run for 2 yds to the MINN 48
- Week 5 · Boston College · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA −0.59LJ Johnson Jr. run for 2 yds to the CAL 49
Teams and coaches
2021Texas A&M8-4HC: Jimbo Fisher · Balanced
2022Texas A&M5-7HC: Jimbo Fisher · Balanced
2023SMU11-3HC: Rhett Lashlee · Run-leaning
2024SMU11-3HC: Rhett Lashlee · Run-leaning
2025California7-6HC: Justin Wilcox · Pass-leaning
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 10.0 | 4.2 | 0.2 |
| Road3g | 22.7 | 2.6 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 16.3 | 3.6 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 10.0 | 3.3 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Justin Wilcox
Pass share
57.0%
502 pass / 379 run
Plays / game
67.8
13 games
Team sack rate
5.6%
518 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
33 carries and 4 catches in 7 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Five seasons, three schools
- 2025 California WilcoxYear 5 · 7 games
- Apr 2025 Entered the transfer portalSMU to California
- 2024 SMU LashleeYear 4 · 11 games
- 2023 SMU LashleeYear 3 · 12 games
- 2022 Texas A&M FisherYear 2 · 5 games
- 2021 Texas A&M FisherYear 1 · 4 games
- High school Cy-FairCypress, TX · Class of 2021Four-star, No. 46 in the 2021 class. Signed with Texas A&M.Also from Cy-Fair: Landon Rink (Texas A&M), Trey Owens (Arkansas State), Wyatt Herbel (Houston) and 2 more.
Moves
- Transferred from SMU to California, Apr 24, 2025.
A stat line in 39 games over five seasons.
2021 4 games
- Signed with Texas A&MFour-star, out of Cy-Fair
2025 7 games
- Transferred to Californiafrom SMU
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Jimbo Fisher, Rhett Lashlee and Justin Wilcox.