Matthew Quinn Johnson (born September 9, 1992) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, who is currently the quarterbacks coach for

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Bowling Green Falcons The Bowling Green Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Bowling Green State University (BGSU), in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The Falcons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Divi ...

High school career

Johnson attended Harrisburg (PA) Bishop McDevitt in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

. As a senior, he passed for 2,975 yards with 26 touchdown passes. Throughout his high school career Johnson was rated as a three-star recruit and was offered by Temple, Miami (OH) and Bowling Green. On July 9, 2010, Johnson committed to Bowling Green. He was recruited by Warren Ruggiero. Johnson went 39-5 as Bishop McDevitt's starting quarterback. He still ranks among PIAA football records for all-time passing yards (7,994) and touchdown passes (85).

College career

Freshman season

As a redshirt Freshman for the

in 2012, he was a backup quarterback behind Matt Schilz. He appeared in eight games and made his collegiate debut on September 1 against

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He threw his first collegiate touchdown against

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

on September 29.

Sophomore season

In 2013, Johnson competed to open the season as the starting quarterback. Shilz started the first game, but Johnson was inserted into the game for the beginning of the third drive in the season-opener against

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

, leading the Falcons to victory. Johnson defeated

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

in his first collegiate start the following week. Johnson completed 19 of 25 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns. In the

MAC Championship Game The MAC Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). History The game has been played since 1997, when the conference was first divided into div ...

against undefeated and nationally ranked

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

, Johnson threw for a career high 393 yards and five touchdowns. He was named the games Most Valuable Player. On the season, Johnson was named MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week three times.

Junior season

In week 1 against

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

, Johnson suffered a broken hip. He finished the game completing 25 passes for 314 yards and one touchdown.

Senior season

In his season debut, Johnson threw for 424 yards and two touchdowns against

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in a 30-59 defeat where he was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week. In week 2, Johnson led the Falcons to a 48-27 victory over

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Johnson completed 36 of 55 passing attempts for a career high 491 yards (2nd in school history) and six touchdowns (T-1st school history), earning him the MAC East Offensive Player of the Week award for the second consecutive week. He was subsequently named

Davey O'Brien Robert David O'Brien (June 22, 1917 – November 18, 1977) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Philadelphia Eagles for two seasons. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, w ...

quarterback of the week,

Maxwell Football Club The Robert W. Maxwell Football Club (originally called the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia) was established in 1935 in sports#American football, 1935 to promote safety in the game of American football. Named in honor of Tiny Maxwell, Robert ...

National Player of the week,

Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that inc ...

Star of the Week and honored as CFPA National Performer of the week. In week three, he passed for 443 yards and four touchdowns in a loss to the

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

. The next week against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, Johnson threw for his fourth straight 400-yard performance with 402 yards and a career high 43 completions on 59 attempts and one touchdown in a 35-28 upset victory. His performance earned him MAC East Offensive Player of the Week and Manning Award Star of the Week. After a victory against Buffalo, Johnson went on a three game stretch where he threw five touchdowns in each game against

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

and

. He won MAC East Player of the Week all three weeks. In week 10, Johnson threw three touchdown passes in a MAC East-clinching win at

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

. In the

he led the Falcons to a 34-14 victory against

. In his last game as a Falcon, he had three passing touchdowns in the

GoDaddy Bowl The 68 Ventures Bowl is a postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. In 2021, the game was moved from Ladd–Peebles Stadium to Hancock Whitney Stadium, on th ...

against

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah ( Armstrong Campus) and Hine ...

. Johnson was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year and named First Team All-MAC. He was honored as the MAC's Vern Smith Leadership award recipient. He also earned the prestigious

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horne ...

Award announced by

Touchdown Club of Columbus The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More ...

. Johnson was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week six times and passed for a school and MAC record 4,946 yards and 46 touchdowns. He was named honorable mention All-America by

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

and a semifinalist for

Davey O'Brien Award The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National C ...

. He finished his career with 8,846 passing yards which ranks third in school history and a school-record 73 touchdown passes. On January 23, 2016, he played in the

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl was a postseason college football all-star game for National Football League Draft-eligible players, held annually in January. The event was founded in 2012 by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). In ...

Statistics

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

On May 5, 2016, Johnson signed as an undrafted free agent with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He was released on May 16, 2015.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On April 26, 2017, Johnson signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. He was released on June 12, 2017.

Coaching career

Bishop McDevitt

In 2016, Johnson was the Quarterbacks coach for his alma mater. He coached former

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

commit Tayvon Bowers and appeared on QB1: Beyond the Lights.

Syracuse

In 2017, Johnson reunited with his former collegiate coach

Dino Babers Dino Sean Babers (born July 19, 1961) is an American college football coach. He was most recently the offensive coordinator for the University of Arizona. He was previously the head coach at Syracuse University from 2016 until 2023. He has also s ...

and became the offensive quality control assistant at

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. He also joined former BGSU assistants

Kim McCloud Kim McCloud (born May 8, 1968) is an American football coach and former defensive back who is currently the cornerbacks coach for the University of Montana. He was previously the cornerbacks coach at Syracuse University and then interim cornerb ...

and Sean Lewis.

Kent State

In January 2018, Johnson joined

as the offensive quality control coach with a focus on offense and quarterbacks under head coach Sean Lewis. He was promoted to running back coach prior to the 2020 spring season. In 2023, Johnson was promoted again to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under new Kent State head coach Kenni Burns.

San Diego State

On December 5, 2023 Johnson was named the quarterbacks coach of the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

. Johnson is reunited with Lewis after spending six season together between Syracuse and Kent State.

References

External links

San Diego State profileKent State profileBowling Green Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Matt 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Players of Canadian football from Pennsylvania American football quarterbacks Bowling Green Falcons football players Cincinnati Bengals players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania High school football coaches in Pennsylvania Syracuse Orange football coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches