Huskies RB Johnson (foot) feeling ‘a lot better’
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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
NEW ORLEANS — Washington running back Dillon Johnson said Thursday his foot is feeling “a lot better” after playing through significant pain in his last three games.
Johnson had his foot stepped on against Oregon State on Nov. 18, requiring him to wear a walking boot the week leading up to the regular-season finale against Washington State. Though he was questionable to play, Johnson gutted it out and led the Huskies with 82 yards.
Though he was feeling a little better against Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game the following week, Johnson revealed during his first availability Thursday before the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl that he was heavily medicated to be able to play.
He said the month break between the Pac-12 championship victory on Dec. 1 and the matchup against Texas in the semifinals has been great.
“It’s the first time that I’ve been able to get my foot back together, and it’s been a blessing because the resting time came at the perfect time,” Johnson said. “God blessed me with some strong high pain tolerance because there’s no way I would have been able to play if I didn’t. And whoever made medicine, bless their heart because I wouldn’t have been able to play without that, either. So I appreciate them, too.”
Johnson emerged as a force this season, rushing for a career-high 1,113 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first season with Washington after transferring in from Mississippi State. He played through hamstring and knee injuries earlier this season, too, and is one of several Washington players who has played through pain this year to never miss a start. He also mentioned receiver Rome Odunze, who sustained a fractured rib and collapsed lung earlier this season.
“We’ve got guys that are willing to do whatever and he’s one of those guys,” Johnson said. “Like we say, ‘We don’t care if we lose an arm, leg, knee. We’re going to be out there playing.”
Johnson described his own performance in the championship game against Oregon this way, “I was out there struggling. I had to take so much medicine. I was kind of out of it.”
He specifically noted the final play of the game to clinch the win — an 18-yard run on third-and-9 with 53 seconds left. Johnson ended up with 152 yards and two touchdowns, and recalled what coach Kalen DeBoer told him before the play.
“When I slid, the medicine had me so low, that I really didn’t even know what happened,” Johnson said. “I was just holding onto the ball because I just remember that’s what they told me. Coach DeBoer, he was like, ‘Just hold on to the ball. If you get tackled for a loss, it’s OK.’ I looked up. I was already tired. I was like, ‘Nah, we’re [going to] finish the game right here. So o-line did a great job, I made a good cut, and the game was sealed.”
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, a day after the Badgers’ 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon.
In a statement, Badgers coach Luke Fickell thanked Longo for his two seasons with the program, while adding, “We are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.”
Wisconsin ranks 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing while operating an Air Raid-style offense that Longo brought with him from North Carolina and other stops.
The Badgers, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending injury Sept. 14, had only three points and 88 yards in the second half against Oregon, which rallied from a 13-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin ranked 101st nationally in scoring in Longo’s 23 games as coordinator and failed to eclipse 13 points on its current three-game losing streak. Quarterback Braedyn Locke had only 96 passing yards against the Ducks.
Fickell did not immediately announce an interim coordinator for Wisconsin’s final regular-season games against Nebraska and Minnesota.
Fickell had long targeted Longo for a coordinator role, going back to his time as Cincinnati’s coach. Longo, 56, oversaw productive offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina, Sam Houston State and other spots but never consistently got traction at a Wisconsin program that had operated dramatically differently on offense before his arrival.
“This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success,” Fickell said in his statement.
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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has committed to Florida, he told ESPN on Sunday, joining the Gators’ 2025 class four days after pulling his pledge from Florida State.
Jones, a four-year starter at Florida’s Mandarin High School, is ESPN’s No. 9 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2025. After multiple trips to Florida throughout his recruitment, Jones returned to campus Saturday, taking an official visit with the Gators during the program’s 27-16 win over LSU. A day later, Jones stands as the lone quarterback pledge in a 2025 Florida class that includes five pledges from the ESPN 300.
“I pretty much saw everything I needed to see when I visited last spring — I just love everything around the campus,” Jones told ESPN. “And then hanging out with the guys yesterday, seeing the camaraderie with each other, that really just sealed it for me.”
Jones was the longest-tenured member of Mike Norvell’s 2025 class at Florida State before his decommitment from the Seminoles on Thursday morning.
Jones’ exit came days after Norvell announced the firings of three assistant coaches on Nov. 10, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins. Jones was the first Florida State commit to pull his pledge in the wake of the staff shakeup but marked the Seminoles sixth decommitment since the start of the regular season, joining five ESPN 300 recruits who have left Norvell’s recruiting class across the program’s 1-9 start.
Jones’ commitment follows a key late-season victory for Billy Napier on Saturday and marks the Gators’ first recruiting win since athletic director Scott Strickland announced on Nov. 7 that Florida would stick with the third-year coach beyond the 2024 season.
Uncertainty over Napier’s future had weighed down Florida’s recruiting efforts in the 2025 class as the Gators began November with the No. 39 class in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. But Jones’ pledge comes as a boost for Florida one day after the Gators hosted a handful of high-profile flip targets, including five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas (Florida State pledge) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (Texas pledge).
When Jones signs with Florida, he’ll arrive on campus flanked by fellow in-state offensive talents in four-star wide receivers Vernell Brown III (No. 44 in the ESPN 300) and Naeshaun Montgomery (No. 115), as well as four-star running back Waltez Clark (No. 223). Florida is also set to sign a pair of in-state defenders from the 2025 ESPN 300 between four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins (No. 68) and four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 121).
With Jones’ commitment, Florida has another jolt to its momentum on the recruiting trail as the Gators seek to chart a strong finish in the 2025 cycle next month. More imminently, Florida will host No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday.
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