Dustin Johnson enters his fourth season as William Paterson’s head football coach in 2021.
Following the 2019 season, six WP student-athletes were selected to the All-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Team, including 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year running Back Terrique Riddick and 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year cornerback Devyn Blount. The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Offensive Rookie of the Year, Riddick was also named to the 2019 First Team, along with linebacker Andrew Anthony and tight end William Frese. Offensive lineman Richie Squeo (second team), running back Marcel Mason (honorable mention) and Blount (honorable mention) also received all-conference accolades.
Johnson came to Wayne in 2018, following a successful five-year stint as Stevenson University’s defensive coordinator.
Johnson helped lead Stevenson to a conference title during just its sixth season of intercollegiate competition, thanks to assembling defenses that ranked among the top 25 in Division III in several categories during each of his last three years. He brought strong New Jersey recruiting ties to the Pioneers, and his philosophy of preparing student-athletes for successful futures has focused on academic and athletic achievement, teamwork, community involvement, social preparedness and professional development.
Johnson was an integral part of the program building process at Stevenson, which played its inaugural football season in 2011. The Mustangs’ defensive backs coach since August of 2010 , the special teams coordinator for the 2012 season and the defensive coordinator since 2013, he helped lead the team to its first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) title in 2016.
Under his tutelage, Stevenson led Division III in turnover margin per game (1.91), takeaways (40) and interceptions (29) in 2015, rated fourth in interceptions (26) during the 2016 campaign, and ranked 12th in fumbles recovered (13) in 2017. Among his protégés was defensive back Austin Tennessee, a 2016 first-team American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D3football.com all-American, the MAC and D3football.com East Region Defensive Player of the Year, the winner of the Rocky Myers Division III Defensive Back of the Year award, and an eventual signee with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
As the Mustangs’ defensive coordinator (2013-17), Johnson oversaw all facets of the defense, including practice and game planning, play calling, skill instruction, student-athlete performance evaluation, film breakdown and scouting. He also managed the special teams and defensive coaching staff members, and completed administrative tasks that included budgeting for apparel, uniforms, travel and meals. His recruiting efforts focused on Northern New Jersey (Bergen, Morris, Passaic and Somerset Counties), as well as Maryland (Baltimore and Prince George’s Counties and the Eastern Shore) and Delaware.
Johnson’s charges excelled in the classroom, with 15 earning conference academic laurels during his last three seasons, as academic support, monitoring grades, conducting weekly academic meetings and supervising study halls were among his responsibilities at Stevenson. He also collaborated with the Special Olympics, Kennedy Kreiger Institute and Mechanicsville Elementary School on community outreach efforts that connected Mustang student-athletes with the local community, and utilized a retention and leadership program that created strong bonds between the program’s upper- and underclassmen.
Also a key contributor to the program’s alumni relations efforts, Johnson was heavily involved with the Mustangs’ evaluation and recruitment of prospective student-athletes, and organized campus visits, recruiting days and overnight visits while tracking all applications during the admissions process. He also worked with Stevenson’s compliance staff regarding transfers, eligibility, official visits and other NCAA Division III rules and regulations.
A four-year starting quarterback and two-time team captain at Salisbury University (2002-05), Johnson finished his Sea Gull career with several records in tow. He was the second-leading rusher with 3,215 yards and the sixth-ranked passer with 2,204 yards, while also finishing 10th with 174 total points.
Johnson was named the 2002 Atlantic Central Football Conference (ACFC) Rookie of the Year after he rushed for 1,204 yards, the national leader among quarterbacks. Johnson was acknowledged as a second-team all-ACFC pick three times during his career while twice earning academic all-ACFC selections.
The Delmar, Md., native played three seasons (2007-09) in the Arena Football League as a quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back for the Amarillo Dusters and Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings. He began his coaching career at Delmar High School in 2001, working with the quarterbacks and defensive backs, and was a facility coordinator at Salisbury in 2002. He was the Sea Gulls’ running backs and assistant strength and conditioning coach from 2005-07, and Salisbury’s defensive backs coach from 2008-10 before joining the Stevenson staff.
Johnson completed a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at Salisbury in 2006, and a master’s in athletic administration at Concordia University in 2018.